Red Rice Idli Recipe with Sprouted Black Urad Dal

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Recipe for red rice idli made with unpolished red rice and whole grain black urad dal thats been sprouted. Recipe with step by step pictures.

We all know that sprouted grains and lentils are more nutritious and I wanted to try making Idli with Sprouted black urad dal. I got this idea after watching a video of the popular organic farmer, Thanjavur G.Sither. He spoke about the numerous benefits of idli made using sprouted whole black urad dal. I wanted to try. He encourages people to use 100% unpolished red rice for making idli. I do make whole grain idlis at home, but nowadays I make it with 50% unpolished rice and 50% regular white idli rice so the idlis turn nice and soft (my son would not touch it otherwise) and at the same time, we get the goodness of unpolished grains and also makes for a healthy breakfast.
If you are making Idli for the first time, Please READ this post before you begin.
https://www.kannammacooks.com/tips-tricks-making-idli-batter/
TIMELINE
Day 1 Morning – Soak Black Urad Dal
Day 1 Night – #Keep the Urad dal for sprouting #Also soak the rice #soak the fenugreek seeds
Day 2 Morning – Grind the Idli Batter
Day 2 Evening – Fermented idli batter is ready. Store in fride and use accordingly!
Here is how to do it! For recipe measurements, scroll to the bottom!!
Soak the black urad dal in water for about 10-12 hours.
Soaked-Urad-Dal

Drain the soaked urad dal and place it in a bowl and cover it with a lid and allow it to sprout overnite.
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The urad dal will start to sprout and here is a picture of the same.
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When the urad dal is kept for sprouting, also soak the red rice and the regular idli rice. I have used the Jolaga variety of red rice today that’s popular here in Bangalore. You can use any kind of unpolished red rice thats popular in your state and it works fine.
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Soak the rice overnite. Also soak the fenugreek seeds separately over nite.
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Now its time to grind the batter. I always prefer to use a wet grinder for making whole grain idlis.
I use an Elgi Ultra wet grinder and I am very happy to recommend the same.

I always grind the fenugreek seeds seperately as it fluffs up so much and the resultant idlis are so soft. Add in the fenugreek seeds along with the water used for soaking (around half a cup of water) to the wet grinder. Grind for about 5 minutes.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/BcUY_NSgdRb/?taken-by=kannammacooks

Once the fenugreek seeds are fluffed up, add in the sprouted urad dal. No need to remove the ground fenugreek seeds. Add the urad dal on top of the ground fenugreek paste. Its fine. Start grinding the urad dal. The urad dal will take about 30 minutes to grind. Sprinkle little water every five minutes. Do not add more than a cup of water for grinding the urad dal. The lesser water, the better.
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The dal will be smooth after 30 minutes. Also remember that the ground dal will be slimy to touch as its sprouted. That’s perfectly fine.
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Remove the urad dal to a big bowl.
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Now add in the soaked and drained rice to the grinder along with a cup of water. Let the rice grind for 30 minutes. After 10 minutes, check the batter. If its really really thick like a dough, then sprinkle some water. Else do not add more water. Let it continue to grind.
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While the rice is grinding, we will make some sabudana powder. Take a mixie and grind the sabudana (javvarisi) to a powder.
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Add it to the rice that’s getting ground in the wet grinder. Sabudana makes for the softest idlis. As this is a whole grain idli, it can be hard. The addition of sabudana produces super soft idlis.
Note: If you dont have sabudana, you can also use aval / poha (about 1/2 cup). Powder the aval in a mixie, add little water and make it to a paste. Add the aval paste to the rice.
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After 30 minutes of grinding, the rice is nice and smooth.
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Remove the rice and add it to the bowl. Add in the salt. Mix the batter well (preferably with hands – they are the worlds best spatula – isnt it?) and cover the bowl with a lid.
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Keep the bowl in a warm and draft free place and allow it to ferment for 6-8 hours.
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The batter would rise and be very bubbly after fermentation.
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Mix the batter well and the batter is now ready for making idlis. Store the batter in the refrigerator and use it in 3 days.
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Lets make idli.

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

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The idlis are ready if a spoon / knife inserted in the middle of an idli comes out without wet batter.
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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 from the idli plate immediately. It might stick. Leave it undisturbed for 4-5 minutes and then spoon it out. Serve hot with your favorite chutney and sambar.

Annapoorna Hotel Style Sambar

The one common comment I get from a lot of readers is that, their idlies did not rise and the idlies were flat. The main reason is watery or runny batter. Watery batter will not rise and the idlies will be hard and flat. So use caution while grinding and do not add too much water while grinding. The batter will thin out a little after fermentation. So a BIG CAUTION on using water. Please use correct measurements as mentioned in the recipe.

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Many people have commented asking if this batter is good for dosas. The answer is yes. This batter makes excellent dosas too!
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Print
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red-rice-idli-sprouted-urad-dal-idli-recipe-21

Red Rice Idli Recipe with Sprouted Black Urad Dal

Recipe for red rice idli made with unpolished red rice and whole grain black urad dal thats been sprouted. Recipe with step by step pictures.

  • Total Time: 48 hours 10 mins
  • Yield: 40 idlies 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 cups red rice, unpolished
  • 2 cups regular white idli rice ( you can use any parboiled rice and it works fine)
  • 1 cup whole black urad dal
  • 2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
  • 3 tablespoon sabudana – javvarisi (made into a powder)
  • 2 tablespoon salt

Instructions

  1. Soak the black urad dal in water for about 10-12 hours. Drain the soaked urad dal and place it in a bowl and cover it with a lid and allow it to sprout overnite.
  2. Soak the rice and fenugreek seeds when the dal is sprouting.
  3. Grind the fenugreek seeds in a wet grinder with half a cup of water for five minutes.
  4. Add in the urad dal and grind for 30 minutes. Add upto a cup of water (max) while grinding urad dal.
  5. Remove the urad dal to a big bowl.
  6. Now add in the soaked and drained rice to the grinder along with a cup of water. Let the rice grind for 30 minutes. Add in the sabudana powder to the rice.
  7. Remove the rice and add it to the bowl. Add in the salt. Mix the batter well
  8. Keep the bowl in a warm and draft free place and allow it to ferment for 6-8 hours.
  9. Mix the batter well and the batter is now ready for making idlis. Store the batter in the refrigerator and use it in 3 days.

Notes

For smaller quantity,
You can halve the recipe and it works perfectly well.

  • Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
  • Prep Time: 48 hours
  • Cook Time: 10 mins
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Cuisine: Tamilnadu

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39 thoughts on “Red Rice Idli Recipe with Sprouted Black Urad Dal”

  1. O my god this is wonderful came as per your recipe we were everyone happy with that

    Thank you so much

  2. SUNDARAM BOOMINATHAN

    Hello Suguna Mam,

    Could you please share the message link from G.Sither about this Black Urad Dal Idly. My friend also suggested and couldn’t locate his speech as its somewhere in between the video.

    Thanks
    Sundaram B.

  3. So I have this nylon sabudana that you get in TN.. is that fine? Also can we just grind it directly without letting it soak overnight?






  4. Hi …is it soft enough to feed toddlers? I am planning to use whole grains …wanted to know
    If it’s soft enough to feed small ones ??

  5. Thanks for the reply. I think the red raw rice available here is Samba rice. Will it work for this recipe?

  6. Hi Suguna, Great recipe. Can I use 2 cups of Kerala matta rice with 2 cups of regular white idli rice for this recipe? I once used 4 cups of Kerala matta rice for making idli as i wanted to use whole grains and the idlis and dosas did not turn out well. They just did not get cooked and had an uncooked portion in the centre inspite of all my efforts. I have since gone back to using the usual white idli rice for making idlis.

    1. Matta rice wont work. This is whole unpolished red rice. It is different from matta rice.
      Matta rice is partially polished rice and the rice variety does not suit well for idli.

      1. Thanks for the reply. I live abroad and don’t get whole unpolished red rice here. The only variety of red rice available here is Srilankan red raw rice. I think it’s single polished red rice. Can I use it in this recipe? thanks.

  7. Hi i tried your recipe of making idlies with mixie and they came out really soft. Thank you for the recipe. Shall i make this red rice idly recipe using mixie?






    1. Hi,

      Thanks so much for this receipe!

      I don’t have a wet grinder, will it work if I grind using a mixie?

  8. Nithya Ramamoorthy

    Any reason why the batter needs to be used up in 3 days ? We are a two people household and no matter however small my soaking quantities are, it takes us at least a week to use up the batter.

    Your recipes are so inspiring, you are a major influence in my little kitchen. ❤️🙏🏻

  9. Hi Suguna. The picture of your idly doesn’t have the skin of the urad dal(I noticed that in the ground urad picture though). My idlies had the black skin of the urad and I was surprised that yours don’t. Any suggestions

  10. I get only polished red raw rice here. Is it ok to use?
    Also When I am in hurry and don’t have to sprout urad dal can I use black urad dal soaked?

  11. Suguna

    Came out really well.. just like in ur pic
    I used red rice and Kerala rice each a cup.. as i was running short of red rice
    .my kids loved it tooo..
    Your receipes never fail..

  12. Thanks for a very detailed step by step healthy idli recipe.You could make it even more healthier by sprouting fenugreek seeds.






  13. Would it work if I grind the sprouted urad dal as it is in the recipe, but mix red rice flour and then let it ferment ? I couldn’t find red rice where I live, but I do have a bag of unused red rice flour. 😄

  14. Vaishnave sunil

    All your recipes are really superb!! Have tried so many recipes. In this recipe, u have mentioned about unpolished rice and where do we get this unpolished rice??
    Thanks






  15. Hello mam how are you, tomorrow iam going to try your red rice idly because I tried cholam idly it comes very nice so I try give you the result on Friday thanks for your recipes bye happy Shivratri

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