Although I do love to be organized and plan my meals ahead, I am not a strict follower of it all the time. Last week, I had a few hours of leisure time over the weekend so I decided to plan my menu for the week. How’d I do that? Well, I grabbed all my recipe journals that I’ve been collecting over years and started skimming through them for ideas. Then I made a list of what to cook for the week. One among the list was rava idli. Unlike the regular idli’s that require soaking, fermenting before you make them, these are quick with least amount of prep up that saves time. So, the next time you want something quick to pack up for lunch or your child refuses to eat veggies, try rava idli with your choice of grated vegetables, and watch your kiddo walking to the dining table without any struggle. The best part! Make them in large batches and store them in an air-tight container for further use. Here’s how ….

Rava idli Ingredients (Makes about 10-12 Idlis)

1 cup upma rava/semolina/sooji

1 tbsp chana dal/pachi senagapappu/bengal gram dal

½ tsp mustard seeds/avalu/rai

1″ ginger – grated

4-5 fresh curry leaves – finely chopped

2 medium sized carrots – grated

2 tbsps freshly chopped coriander leaves

1 + 1 ¼ cup well beaten thick yoghurt

1 tsp baking soda

Salt to taste

1 tbsp ghee/clarified butter

3 tbsps of cooking oil

¼ tsp turmeric powder

10 -12 cashew nuts (optional)

How To:

• Heat ghee in a wide bottomed pan or skillet. On medium flame fry chana dal till lightly brown, then add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add grated ginger curry leaves, and turmeric. Fry on low flame for a minute.
• Add upma ravva and on medium flame stir fry continuously for 3 – 4 mts till a nice aroma comes out. (Take care not to burn the rava. If you see the rava turns out to be changing brown then lower the heat and fry.) Turn off the flame and allow to cool for a few minutes.
• Add grated carrot, chopped coriander, 1 cup yoghurt, salt to taste, baking soda and mix well. Cover and leave it aside for 30 mts. The batter rises a little bit by this time.
• Remove the cover, add 3 tbsps of oil, and the rest of the yoghurt and give it a good mix. The mixture now looks like thick idly batter.
• Grease idli plates, place a roasted cashew nut in the center of each idli mould, pour the rava batter over the cashew nut. Don’t over fill the idli mould. Fill it ¾ and leave the rest for the idli to rise while cooking.
• Steam them covered on medium flame for around 10 mts. Turn off the heat. Let it sit for 5 more minutes before you open the lid.
• Remove, and carefully spoon the idlis from the mould.
• Serve hot with peanut onion chutney or any other chutney of your choice.

Peanut Onion Chutney

Ingredients:

2 tbsp cooking oil

2 garlic pods (roughly crushed)

3-4 endu mirapakayalu/dried red chillies

1 small onion – peel and dice into chunks

Salt to taste

Small lime sized tamarind

¾ cup water

For the popu/tadka:

1 tsp cooking oil

1 tsp minapappu/split black gram/urad dal

½ tsp avalu

5-6 curry leaves

How To:

• Heat oil, in a skillet/pan, add crushed garlic and fry for 30 secs. Add dried red chillies and diced onions. Saute for 3-4 mts on medium heat till the onion turns soft and the raw smell disappears. Turn off the heat, add tamarind and allow to cool.
• Once cool, grind roasted peanuts, sauted onions - garlic mixture, tamarind, salt, and water till smooth. Remove into a bowl and set aside.
• Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan, add minapappu/split black gram dal and fry till light golden brown. Add mustard seeds/avalu. Let them splutter then add fresh curry leaves, toss them a few seconds and turn off the flame.
• Pour over the popu/tempering on the chutney.
• Serve with idlis, dosas or any choice of your breakfast.

Ingredients: