Masala Rava Idli 

Rava idlies are so soft and tasty, when infused with vegetables, they become healthier. Here we go, with our Masala Rava Idli 

The below measurements will make 14-16 idlies

Ingerients

1. Rava - 300 gms
2. Sour thick curd - 600 gms
3. Baking soda or Sodium Bi carbonate - 2 tsp
4, Salt to taste
5. Finely chopped carrot - 1/2 cup
6. Finely chopped beans - 1/2 cup
7. Finely chopped Capsicum - 1/2 cup
8. Finely chopped cabbage - 1/2 cup
9. Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
10. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tbsp
11. Chilli powder - 1 tbsp

To Temper

1. Mustard - 1 tbsp
2. Urad dhal - 1/2 tbsp
3. Channa dhal - 1/2 tbsp
4. Asafoetida - 1 tsp
5. Curry leaves - finely chopped
6. Dry red chilli - 2 nos

To Garnish:

1. Carrot - 1/2 cup grated
2. Chilli flakes - 2 tbsp
3. Cashews - few

Method :

1. In a Pan, Add a very little oil about half a teaspoon  and add all the vegetables.

2. Once they get cooked for a couple of minutes, Add the salt for vegetables alone, coriander powder, turmeric powder and chilli powder

3. Saute them well until the seasoning ingredients are cooked.

4. Remove them and allow it to cool

5. In the same pan, add the rava to dry roast it. We need not add oil now.

6. Dry roast it, until every granule of the rava is golden brown. This is a time consuming step, also an important step, as , only the roasting will make the idlies soft. Else they become a hard mass after cooking, making it really less appetizing and less tasty.

7. Roast the rava until it becomes brown as shown below

8. Remove it from the pan and allow it to cool

9. In a separate pan, Add all the ingredients for tempering and fry them 

10. Once the Rava cools down completely to room temperature, add the veggies and tempered ingredients to it and salt and mix well. Cooling of all the ingredients is very important , as hot ingredients might dilute the Curd, which will make batter watery and thus idlies loose their shape.

11. Add the curd to the mixture and stir well.

12. Add the soda Bicarb to the batter and mix well. Allow the batter to rest for 2-5 minutes.

13. Grease the idli mould with oil and then add the grated carrot, chilli flakes, place one cashew exactly at the center of the mould.

14. Add the batter to the moulds very slowly, as the below pattern set should be disturbed , else, cashews , flakes might be misplaced

15. Steam the idlies for 10-15 mins and allow it to cool a little, before carefully un-moulding it. Slowly flip the idlies to find a beautiful colorful pattern on them 

Serve hot with tomato chutney