When MTR does such a great job of producing a great instant rava idli mix, you may ask why I even bother with a from-scratch rava idli recipe.
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp channa dal
1 tbsp chopped cashews
1/4 tsp hing
2 tbsp oil
2.5 cups curd / plain yogurt
1 tsp Eno fruit salt (secret ingredient for spongy rava idlis)
A handful finely chopped coriander leaves
Salt to taste
How I Made It:
1. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds and chana dal.
2. Once the mustard seeds pop and the chana dal starts turning golden brown, add the hing and cashews. Fry until the cashews start turning golden brown.
3. Now add the rava and fry till it turns golden brown (a lot of golden-brown-turning needs to happen in this recipe), approximately 5-7 mins. Add salt (regular, not eno), mix well, and let it cool.
4. Then add 1 cup of curds to the dry mixture and mix well. Let it rest covered for 10 mins. Add the rest of the curds and mix well ( it should be little thicker than idli batter). Add the Eno fruit salt and mix well. Ladle the batter into idli moulds. Steam in an idli maker or pressure cooker for 10-12 mins (without weight). Allow it to cool and unmould.
PS: Excuse the picture quality. This was dinner on Saturday and I didn’t have the patience to set up the light box.
Wari says
September 14, 2016 at 10:16 pmHow much would 2 cups of Dahi be in grams? Any idea?
nags says
September 15, 2016 at 1:20 pmi am not sure in grams but my one cup is 240 ml
ulfath fahima says
March 31, 2013 at 5:36 amI tried it today for bf… came out really perfect… instead of eno i used soda salt. and one more thing, can i add little veggies like carrot, peas, onion to this idly batter??? please reply me
Nagalakshmi V says
March 31, 2013 at 8:54 amyes of course 🙂
Anonymous says
June 13, 2012 at 8:55 pmHi, Do I need to use fine semolina particularly? As the one I have in my kitchen doesn't say anything (like fine or coarse) and it's not that fine either.
Nagalakshmi V says
June 14, 2012 at 11:12 amcan't tell for sure without knowing what exactly you are talking about, unfortunately
Penny says
April 25, 2012 at 8:37 amInspired, going to try this as soon as i can. Thank you!
Anonymous says
March 21, 2012 at 9:51 amwat is eno salt ? wat if i add normal salt??
Nagalakshmi V says
March 21, 2012 at 6:28 pmeno salt is actually an antacid but it's ingredients help in this process of making rava idli. no, you cannot substitute with regular salt.
Bhags says
February 8, 2012 at 11:06 pmlooks amazing……both the idlis n the plate, where can I buy these? My hubby loves to eat in banana leaves n this is the closest I have a seen to a real leaf. Thanks for the awesome blog n pics. I love your Hyderabadi baingan n have made it several times.
Bhags
Nagalakshmi V says
February 9, 2012 at 6:44 amI live in Singapore and I got these banana leaves plate from Mustafa Centre
Bhags says
February 8, 2012 at 11:04 pmHi Nags,
Beautiful presentation n equally tempting idlis….. I absolutely love the plates, any idea from where I can get these…please please, my hubby loves to eat in banana leaves n this is the closest. Thanks n love your blog.
Bhags says
February 8, 2012 at 11:03 pmHi Nags,
Beautiful presentation n equally tempting idlis….. I absolutely love the plates, any idea from where I can get these…please please, my hubby loves to eat in banana leaves n this is the closest. Thanks n love your blog.
Pooja Pillai says
July 14, 2011 at 6:14 amhi nags,
a gr8 yummy recipe, had been looking for this recipe for a long time, and i tried it immediately this morning !
lovely, and the presentation with plaintain leaf looks awesome !
Nags says
May 18, 2011 at 3:43 ami was reconsidering posting this rava idli recipe because i felt the pictures had come out very average. glad so many people tried it and liked it 🙂
Anu Nandu says
May 18, 2011 at 3:42 amThe day you posted this, I prepared this. But I also took pictures for a post of my own. Just published it. Your pictures were a total inspiration to me and made me move my lazy bum and prepare this pronto. Thank you girlie for inspiring me..especially when I was very hungry!
Nags says
May 16, 2011 at 9:13 amThat's awesome. So glad you liked the rava idli recipe 🙂
Ranjeetha Bipin says
May 16, 2011 at 9:09 amHey tried the idli this weekend… They were a super hit…made tomato chutney to go with it…the combination was mind blowing!!!
Loved it…Thanks 🙂
Nags says
April 27, 2011 at 2:37 amJust add it to the rava idli batter before pouring into idli moulds 🙂
Anonymous says
April 27, 2011 at 2:36 amPriya: When to add coriander leaf in your above recipe. The photo is perfect, looks so real, just take out from the screen and have it. Yummy!!!
Shoba Shrinivasan says
April 20, 2011 at 5:13 amyou know i love the plate more than the idlis…i fall for that banana leaf effect…lovely adn the idlis look very soft and fluffy…YUM!
Shobha
Sobha Shyam says
April 19, 2011 at 8:41 pmThe idlis look great…nice clicks too 🙂
Nags says
April 19, 2011 at 2:37 pmso glad my recipes are helping 🙂
Uncensor'dmynd says
April 19, 2011 at 2:20 pmHi Im Priya from Bangalore. I'm a total amateur in cooking and was googling for recipes since ill be getting wedded soon. I just too the Navarathan Kurma recipe from ur blog and prepared my first dish for my fiance. He was extremely HAPPY with the food. ALl thanks to you. And now i'm ur ardent fan and will be taking more receipes from ur blog with ur permission. This picture of rava idili looks marvellous and now i have my pen and paper ready to write down the receipe. Appreciate ur work and keeping going with COOKINGANDME!!
Madura says
April 19, 2011 at 1:44 pmlove ur plate and the idlis too.
Being in the land of MTR I've never used their ready mix. Homemade always works out cheap and best.
I always buy 1-2kgs of rava, temper and roast it, cool and store it the fridge. works as instant upma or rava idli mix for me.
I add salt and other things while making idli or upma.
Nitha says
April 19, 2011 at 2:51 ammy fav… looks so soft and perfect…
Nags says
April 19, 2011 at 12:55 amMTR rava idli mix is really good ladies, but of course, i definitely agree that nothing beats making rava idli at home from scratch! 🙂
kittymatti says
April 18, 2011 at 11:31 pmwow! i can eat up that entire plate…lovely!
Priya (Yallapantula) Mitharwal says
April 18, 2011 at 5:45 pmwhat an inviting platter dear, love it 🙂
Vimitha Anand says
April 18, 2011 at 4:57 pmHome made is always healthy and yummy… This looks soft and perfect.
Sriram Khé says
April 18, 2011 at 4:29 pmI am not sure which one I love more–the idli or the dish in which you have pictured it … where did you get this serving piece? I want to get a few 🙂
Premalatha Aravindhan says
April 18, 2011 at 2:20 pmWat a soft idlis,luks Perfect…
jeyashrisuresh says
April 18, 2011 at 1:51 pmi have never tried MTR idlis. Eno salt makes a perfect magic in making rava idlis and even i have tried dhoklas too with that.
Perfect spongy idlis
REKHA says
April 18, 2011 at 1:33 pmLooks fab and yum….
Radhika says
April 18, 2011 at 12:27 pmHey Nags the click alone is enough to make me go hungry. So cool. going to try this out with Eno as I too have a couple of sachets.
Ranjeetha Bipin says
April 18, 2011 at 11:20 amHii Nags…I am on a mission of getting my 1yr old toddler to eat solid food now…he is a fussy eater and all my efforts of cooking up something for him goes to waste when he refuses to eat them…this one looks nice…quicker than the normal ones and I don't need to take out my mixy (phew…)so all the more tempting…will surely try this out…
Thank
Kitchen Flavours says
April 18, 2011 at 11:12 amNever tried this at home….love to give this a try…..looks fluffy and yum….thank u for the tip…
Zareena says
April 18, 2011 at 9:42 amMy cutie pie really loves this a lot. Whenever we go out she demands for this when she is hungry. Loved your version Nags.
Sanjeeta kk says
April 18, 2011 at 9:34 amThese really look like one of those Sarvana Bhawans dishes 🙂 Lovely color and beautiful texture of the Idlies, Nags
Priya says
April 18, 2011 at 8:28 amSo soft and spongy idlies looks fabulous..
Nags says
April 18, 2011 at 7:22 amI hear you have rava idli recipe on your blog Raks? Going to check that out now!
Raji says
April 18, 2011 at 6:56 amOnce I made rava idli at home and served to my DH..his reaction…it tastes like steamed upma 🙁 so from then on I had been stuck to MTR…Your version sounds simple to make and looks good too..would try this out.
Sharmilee! :) says
April 18, 2011 at 5:19 amPerfect texture n tempting rava idlis…
Prathibha says
April 18, 2011 at 5:18 amFreshly home made idlis can not b beaten by ready mixes..I will never buy the ready mix ones as I always love home made ones..urs look yumm
Arundhuti says
April 18, 2011 at 5:10 amHubby dear loves idlis for breakfast…so often we are off to South Indian restaurants in the morning…Your recipe is giving me some confidence to try it at home, for the first time…:)Thanks for motivating me with your recipe and pictures.
Nags says
April 18, 2011 at 4:57 amhaha yes, i take that as a compliment 🙂 i usually use the MTR mix but had run out a few weeks back and never managed to get to the Indian store to stock up. The eno salt really pushed me in the right direction to try this 🙂
Saee Koranne-Khandekar says
April 18, 2011 at 4:54 amThey look just like the MTR idlis–I mean in a good way!