Rava Idli And Chutney.

Yesterday morning when I was setting dahi (yogurt) as part of my daily routine, I discovered that we had too much of it in stock and decided to use up some of it for a dish for Sunday lunch.

What readily came to mind was Rava Idlis. Rava is semolina and idli is a steamed cake. And to accompany this stand alone dish as a dip,  I also got a traditional tomato/onion chutney made, These are the recipes for these two delicious dishes:

Ingredients needed

Rava (sooji/semolina)  ( I used roasted rava)
Yogurt
Salt as required
Coriander leaves
Cashew nuts
Carrot -1
Ghee
For the seasoning

Mustard
Asafoetida/hing – a pinch
Urad dal
Green chilli,
Ginger finely grated
Curry leaves

Preparation

Chop carrots, ginger, green chilli and coriander leaves finely.

Heat ghee in a kadai /pan, add mustard seeds, when mustard splutters, add hing and urad dal.

When dal changes colour, add cashew nuts, ginger, green chilli and curry leaves .

Then add rava and roast the whole lot nicely for a few minutes. Take care not to burn.

Allow the whole mixture to cool a bit and then mix it all with the yogurt to make a fairly thick batter. Let the rava idli batter rest for 15-20 minutes .  Pour the batter on greased idli moulds and steam cook for 10 minutes.  I use a pointed skewer to check if the idlies are ready.  If you poke the idli and the skewer comes out easily without sticking, the idlis are ready, otherwise, steam for a bit longer.  Allow the steamed idlis to cool down a bit before removing them to transfer to a hot case casserole.

Tomato/Onion Chutney.

Ingredients needed

Tomatoes
Onions
Red chillies
Coriander leaves
Oil

For the seasoning

Mustard seeds
Urad dal
Curry leaves

Preparation

Chop onions and tomatoes into medium sized pieces.

Method

Heat  oil in a pan, saute red chillies for a few seconds taking care not to burn and remove from the pan.

In the same pan, add onions and saute until onions turn transparent.

Then add tomatoes, coriander leaves and cook until tomatoes become slightly mushy. Do not cook fully as we will cook again after grinding the concoction.

Allow the mixture to cool. Once it cools, grind it along with red chillies and salt needed to a rough texture.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil, add mustard seeds, when it splutters, add urad dal and curry leaves.

When dal turns golden brown, add the ground chutney and cook until oil separates. Transfer to a container and allow to cool.

Note – You can prepare this and keep it in the refrigerator for 2 days. It will come handy during the morning hours. If you freeze it, you can keep it for more number of days.

This is an idli steamer.