Make soft Idli using Rice Rava – Mixie Method

soft-idli-batter-recipe-using-idli-rava-mixie-method

Make soft Idli using Idly Rava or Rice Rava – Mixie / blender Method. Fool proof recipe for making batter from scratch that will produce the softest idlis. Recipe for idly dosa batter.

After the post How to make Soft Idli Recipe I have been receiving a lot of comments asking how to make soft Idli with Rice Rava also called as Idly Rava . To be honest, I have never made Idli using Idli Rava. So I went on to experiment making Idli with Rice Rava. The first two tries were OK but not very satisfactory. I wanted to make an equally good batter with the Rava instead of rice. I learned a few things on the way. The mixie / blender was making the urad dal hot when ground. While warmth encourages the growth of the bacteria, heat kills it. A very hot environment can make the batter sour too soon and the taste will not be good.

Fermentation of Idli batter is carried out largely by lactic acid bacteria. Not yeast. There are two kinds of lactic acid bacteria. Homofermentive and heterofermentive.
Homofermentive lactic acid bacteria produces only lactic acid.
Heterofermentive bacteria – the Idli bacteria (Leuconostoc mesenteroides) produces carbon dioxide in addition to lactic acid.

So for good Idli, we need the rise of batter (CO2 effect) and also souring of the batter. If the batter is too hot at the beginning, it gets fermented too soon and the resulting Idlies might not be very soft. Also the Idlies may be good for the first day but hard on the second day. So how do we solve the batter from getting hot when ground? Refrigerating the urad dal over nite in the fridge helped to a big extent from keeping the Dal getting hot when ground in the blender.

This is how I do Idli batter using rice rava.

There are just 3 ingredients for this recipe. 1 part urad dal, 3 parts rice rava and salt.

Optional ingredient: 1 cup Poha.

 

Method:

Whole White Urad Dal – This is what I use. I use unpolished whole white Urad Dal. I prefer this dal for the sake of convenience. First wash the urad dal in water and soak it over-nite in the refrigerator.

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Wash the rava and soak the rava in water and leave it over-nite at room temperature.

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Next day, grind the Dal in a mixie / blender with a cup of water to a very smooth paste. Use cold water to grind so the batter doesn’t get hot. The Dal will not fluff up like it does in a wet grinder. That’s fine.

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Pour the ground Urad Dal in a bowl and set aside.

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Squeeze the soaked Rava by hand and add it to the ground Dal.

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Add salt. Mix the batter well.

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Tip on Poha:

For a really soft idli, soak 1 Cup Avalakki  (Aval or Poha) in 1 cup of water  for 5 minutes. Grind in a mixie and add to the batter. Aval makes for softest idlis. Try it if you live in cold climate or your idlis are always hard. (Aval – Thick or Thin – The size doesn’t matter).

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Set the bowl in a warm place for 8-10 hours. It should have increased in volume to almost double.

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Lets make some Idli. Put some water in an Idli vessel and put it on medium flame. Oil the Idli plate and gently fill the rounds with the batter. Put it inside the Idli vessel and let it steam for 6-7 minutes.

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The key to good Idlis – Do not allow it to over cook. It might become hard and dry. Just keep an eye and remove the Idlis after 6-7 minutes. Do not remove the Idlis immediately. It might stick. Leave it undisturbed for 4-5 minutes and then spoon it out. Serve hot with your favorite chutney and sambar.

A good idly must be soft and tender.

I have also shared the tips and tricks for soft idli batter here below. This article also has answers for a lot of frequently asked questions. Please refer to this article and I am sure most of your doubts will be answered.
Tips and Tricks for a better idli.

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soft-idli-batter-recipe-using-idli-rava-mixie-method-idly

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Make soft Idli using Rice Rava – Mixie Method

Make soft Idli using Idly Rava Mixie Method. Fool proof recipe for making batter from scratch that will produce the softest idlis. Recipe for idly dosa batter.

  • Total Time: 10 hours 10 mins
  • Yield: 14 idlies 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/2 cup Urad Dal
  • 1 1/2 cups Rice Rava
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • Optional: 1 cup Poha

Instructions

  1. Wash the urad dal in water and soak it over-nite in the refrigerator.
  2. Wash the rava and soak the rava in water and leave it over-nite at room temperature.
  3. Next day, grind the Dal in a mixie / blender with a cup of water to a very smooth paste. Use the same ice cold water used for soaking the Dal so the batter doesn’t get hot. The Dal will not fluff up like a wet grinder. That’s fine. Pour the ground Urad Dal in a bowl and set aside.
  4. Squeeze the soaked Rava by hand and add it to the ground Dal.
  5. Add salt. Mix the batter well.
  6. Set the bowl in a warm place for 8-10 hours. It should have increased in volume to almost double.
  7. Put some water in an Idli vessel and put it on medium flame. Oil the Idli plate and gently fill the rounds with the batter. Put it inside the Idli vessel and let it steam for 6-7 minutes.
  8. Serve hot with your favorite chutney and sambar.

Notes

Store the left over batter in the refrigerator.
Tip on Poha:
For a really soft idli, soak 1 Cup Avalakki  (Aval or Poha) in 1 cup of water  for 5 minutes. Grind in a mixie and add to the batter. Aval makes for softest idlis. Try it if you live in cold climate or your idlis are always hard. (Aval – Thick or Thin – The size doesn’t matter).

  • Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
  • Prep Time: 10 hours
  • Cook Time: 10 mins
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Cuisine: South Indian

idli-rawa-nl

81 thoughts on “Make soft Idli using Rice Rava – Mixie Method”

  1. Hi suguna
    Thank you for your recipe
    I doubled the ingredients to make a larger batch of batter. Idlis turned out super soft. But my bad dosas didn’t
    I couldn’t spread the dosa over the tawa as the first thing, the dosas would stick to the pan. I ended up making a mess
    Could you please help me with it ASAP






  2. 1 cup poha when soaked, doesn’t it become a huge quantity for the measurement?

    Also, I have read that for idli udad dal proportion should be more to fluff up BUT if we put poha in it the rice contentincreases in the mix… do let us know your take on it. Thanks

  3. I’ve not tried this method. My mom has been using idly rawa for a long time. She makes super fluffy idlis. The method is different though. She soaks urad gota(whole) for an hour. Grinds it in wet grinder and adds 2.5x idly rawa (dry) directly to the grinder and turns it off. She leaves it overnight for fermentation. It comes out very well. We use the batter for 2-3 days. Refrigerate after fermentation of course.

  4. Your methods achieved by constant experiments are so helpful. Just a tip squeezed rice rava can be blended in the ground urad dal in the mixer bowl and blended with soaked pohe for some minutes to achieve homogenous mixture.

  5. MRS RANI HARISH

    I prepared idli batter by using idli Rava. But it has become very watery. How to repair it. I don’t have idli rava too. Advance thanks for the reply.

  6. Dear, hank you so much for sharing.
    I just came back to Europe after spending 3 months in India and I fell in love with Idly and dosa. I want to make it at home myself, but to be honest my only concern is leaving rice over night in a warm place, as I once got a very bad food poisoning from leftover cooked rice. I know that idly and dosa are safe to eat, I just want to make sure not to experience the same like with the leftover rice.
    Do you have any thoughts on that matter?
    Thank you. 🙂

    1. Gayatri Melkote

      What is used in this recipe is uncooked rice and not cooked rice so it is a totally different matter. It ferments not spoils with time. Don’t keep it for days on end though because even this has it’s limits.

  7. I am trying rava idli for the very first time. It has been a battle of sorts trying to make soft idlis using rice. i gave up! now i am trying with rava. I have gone through your reciepe. Everything is explained well except for the batter consistency. How should the batter before fermentation look like- consistency of batter? if u could post a video it would have been a major help for beginners like me.






  8. Mam if we use wet grinder method idli rava idlies its ratio should be 4:1.
    Mixer method 3:1.
    Is it mam…???






  9. Pallavi Patil

    Hi suguna , I have mistakenly add ghee to the idle rava thinking it’s sooji. Can I still use it to make idle?






  10. Can I keep the batter in sun, as I am going to blend it in morning and need it by lunch?
    Is this method good to have fast fermenting?






  11. Can we make idlies by mixing already fermented batter with wheat rawa instantly if suddenly guests drp in n we have to add the quantity ? I am underlining Wheat Rava. By the way rice n udad dal with 2-1 proportion is it ok ? . Its the proportion we have been using over the years .idlies are very good in taste






  12. Hi Suguna, of late idli batter refuses to rise and idlis go flat after steaming. Earlier this wasn’t happening. I use whole urad dal and idli rawa in the ratio of 1:3 and I grind the dal in a wet grinder ( stone grinder). Even with 1 : 2 it doesn’t seem to raise. I am now frustrated, as earlier I had no problem . Can you help me

    1. Gayatri Melkote

      Try keeping the batter in a warm corner over a hot water bottle all covered up with blankets.

  13. Thanks for the step by step recipe and tips Suguna, the idlis came out super soft and more importantly very fluffy.






  14. Ma’am what should I do if I have used some more(approximately double of the quantity u told?) water while grinding urad dal…please guide me ma’am…

  15. Why u didnt added fenugreek seeds and poha in this method? As it is said that it makes idli softer.

  16. Hello suguna,
    Any idea on why my batter didnt rise? It is almost 12hrs now. .Any lights?

    1. so it does not get hot while ground in mixie. The mixie / blender was making the urad dal hot when ground. While warmth encourages the growth of the bacteria, heat kills it. A very hot environment can make the batter sour too soon and the taste will not be good.

  17. Hi suguna, i tried your recipe for dosa and yes the results were MAGICAL!!!!. Its my first hands on experiment on batter and dosa. Got lot of appreciation for. All the credit goes to KANNAMMA COOKS!!! Thanks a ton. My next experiment would be rava idly.

  18. Hi suguna idli batter me kya soda ya eno milane ke jarurat hai? Ya aise he soft idli ban jati hai.please reply.

  19. This recipe worked very well for me. The idlis were fluffy and soft. The recipe yielded 36 idlis! That of course depends on the size of the depression in the idli stand. Do you think the idli will be fluffier if the rice rawa is coarser?

  20. Kavitha Kumar

    Hi Suguna
    Your receipes are wonderful
    And you website outlay is so convenient and awesome that anybody can access. Thanks for your receipes.






  21. Hi I am amazed at your passion for cooking. I enjoyed reading your posts. Appreciate your efforts at sharing such beautifully laid out page’s. All the best.






  22. Thank you very much for the post on making soft idilis using Idili Rava. Was very helpful.






  23. Hi! Thanx for the recipe. Generally when I make idlis, a small portion of the idlis on the second and third plates become wet and look uncooked as the condensed steam from the upper plate drips on them. Pls can u give any suggestion to avoid this?

      1. Same problem for me. i have aluminium idli cooker with small holes inside the moulds where we put the batter and also holes in the corner of plates. Could you please help me out?

  24. Ohh thanks a ton! Idlis came out awesomely soft and tasty! The best idli recipe using rice rava… 🙂

  25. Thanks a lot Kannamma! Making idlis using idli rava was a mystery unsolved for me till I read your recipe! I’m soaking the ingredients now..I shall let you know the result! ☺






  26. Hi the idlis and chutney look very soft well I usually have urad dal at home not the whole urad so would i need to make any changes in the proportion

    1. Hi Suguna, thank you very much for the detailed explanation. I followed your method and oldies came super soft. This is the first time I made such nice oldies. Thank you for all your efforts.

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