Quinoa Brown Rice Idli
Quinoa Brown Rice Idli – super soft wholesome steamed savory cakes made with equal parts urad dal, quinoa, brown rice, white rice with hint of methi!
Idli is type of savory rice cake. It is one of those South Indian comfort food that is consumed widely all over India. It is considered a breakfast of champions when consumed with sambar and coconut chutney. These steamed rice cakes are made of black lentils (Urad Dal) and rice batter. The batter is fermented for 10-12 hours, which helps the process of breaking down the starches so that they are better metabolized by the body.
There are special type of thick short idli rice to make the batter of idli. We live in the time where we tend to eat less whites which includes this idli rice. For that vary reason, I have been using equal parts urad dal, quinoa, brown rice, white rice with hint of methi (fenugreek seeds). The original process of making the batter includes soaking of rice and dal separately for about 8 hours. And then separately grinding them, mixing them and ferment it over night. It surely is time consuming. I like to cut it short as much as I can, so I alway just grind all the dry ingredients using Vitamix Dry Grain container and make batter our of that “idli flour”. Then the only lengthy part is fermentation.
All that being said, there are two key parts of this. One is “idli batter” made out of dry flour mix using wholesome ingredients and second is fermenting it over night. I have been following this process for long time now, way before I had kids. Now that I have kids, I honestly find this recipe very helpful. Especially when it comes to lunch box ideas. I try to have this batter handy so I can quickly make them soft delicious idlis in just few minutes! I know this is not an authentic way of making idlis. However this is what works for me and my family!!
You do not need to soak daal/rice with this method. I grew up eating idlis made out of fresh idli flour. Flour that my mom always got from local flour mills. As I grew up she started sending me to these mills down the street from our house. That fresh smell and dabbas full of warm flours were a kind of an experience. The food made out of these freshly milled grains will never be replaced with pre-made store bought flour mix!! Many weekends in my households are all about comforting idli, sambar and coconut chutney! I say you try the same and thank me later!! If you end up making this super soft Quinoa Brown Rice Idli and like it, tag me on Instagram @myvegetarianroots. I would love to see your recreation of this deliciousness!
Cleaning tips – since there is no washing of rice/dal/quinoa is required in this recipe, I suggest you dry roast the mix for few min, let it cool down and then place it on a towel and rub it between towel. Rest is the same as shown in the video below!!
Happy & Healthy Eating!!
Quinoa Brown Rice Idli
Ingredients
- 1 cup Urad Dal
- 1 cup Quinoa
- 1 cup Brown Rice
- 1 cup Idli Rice or Jasmin Rice white rice can be sub with ½ cup quinoa + ½ cup brown rice
- 1 tbsp Fenugreek Seeds
- ¼ cup Thick Poha
- ½ cup Oil oil amount can be cut down to ¼ cup to bring the fat amount down
- ½ cup Desi Whole Milk Yogurt yogurt amount can be cut down to ¼ cup to bring the dairy/fat amount down
- 4 cup Water +/-
- 1½ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 3 tbsp Eno, fruit salt (original without any flavors)
Instructions
- Grind urad dal, quinoa, brown rice, idli rice or jasmine rice, fenugreek seeds and thick poha into flour, not too fine and not too grainy.
- Right after grinding while it is somewhat warm from the grinder, add oil, yogurt, salt and sugar. Mix well.
- Start adding warm water to make pancake like batter, making sure there are no lumps. Use your hands to make the batter. The warmth of the hands helps with fermentation.
- Once batter is made, cover it and keep it in warm place for up-to 10-12 hours. I like to place it in the oven (DO NOT TURN IT ON) with only the light on. It brings some warmth to the batter.
- Once it is well fermented, it's time to steam the idlis. Start bringing water to boil in your idli steamer.
- Once water is boiling, oil the idli trays (each time you use them) and place it in the steamer so that the tray starts to warm up.
- Take just enough batter (enough to make one idli tray, or however many you can fit in the steamer at once) out in a small bowl. If batter thickened over night, feel free to add some warm water to thin it. Be careful with amount of water you add though. Do not make it super runny.
- Add ¼ tsp Eno (or ½ tsp if making two trays at once) to the batter and mix it vigorously in just one direction. The batter should get light and fluffy.
- Immediately pour batter in each idli mold.
- Cover the steamer well to hold the steam. Steam for 12-15 minutes.
- Once idli tray is done steaming, take it out of the steamer and let it sit on the counter for at-least 10 minutes before taking idlis out of the tray.
- Repeat the steaming process for all the batter.
- Simply serve idlis with sambar and coconut chutney!!
