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Idli with sambar
Also known as இட்லி · idly · idli sambhar · idly sambar
Steamed rice-and-lentil cakes, spongy and almost plain on their own, taken with a hot tamarind-and-lentil broth that carries all the flavour.
Typical serving
300 kcal
usually 230–380 kcal
 Protein | 10 g |
|---|---|
 Carbs | 55 g |
 Fat | 4 g |
Reference figures for a dish as it is commonly cooked — never a measurement of your plate. The range is the honest part: two kitchens make this differently. In the app, a photograph replaces the guess.
Before you start
- a blender
- a steamer or idli tray
- started the day before — 6h soaking, then overnight fermenting
Ingredients
Serves 4 · dimmer marks are storecupboard
- 300gidli rice
- 100gurad dal
- 100gtoor dal — for the sambar
- 250gmixed vegetables
- 1 tbsptamarind paste
- 2 tspsambar powder
Method
6 steps
soak · 6 hours walk awayRice and urad dal in separate bowls of water, six hours.
blend · 15mGrind them separately — urad to a light foam, rice a little coarse — then fold together with salt.
rest · 10 hours walk awaySomewhere warm, covered, until it has risen and smells sour. The lift and the tang both come from this, and nothing else in the recipe provides either.
simmer · 35m walk awaySambar: toor dal boiled soft, vegetables, tamarind and sambar powder, simmered together.
steam · 12m walk awayBatter into greased moulds and steamed until a skewer comes out clean.
finish · 2mTurned out hot, with the sambar poured around rather than over.
Worth knowing
The batter ferments overnight. Both the sourness and the rise come from that — there is no raising agent in an idli.
Fermentation breaks down phytates, which makes the iron and zinc in the lentils easier for the body to absorb.
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