Instant Rava Idli & Fried Idli: Easy Recipe, 4 Health Benefits, And More

Rava idli is as delicious as traditional rice idli and is quick and easy to prepare. Unlike rice idli, which requires prior soaking, grinding of rice and dal, and overnight fermentation, rava idli is quick to prepare and comes to the plate within twenty minutes; you feel the craving for it. It is a popular dish in South India, where breakfast is undone without it. Best suited for busy morning schedules, where a working mom has to prepare a healthy lunch box for kids and get herself ready for the office.

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Take it as a morning breakfast or an evening snack with sambhar and chutney; rava idli will keep you sated and energized for hours. In this blog, I will share instant rava idli and fried idli, a high-demand breakfast in my home. I love it for its amazing health benefits. So before sharing the recipe, let’s know some facts and the health benefits of rava idli, which will encourage you to prepare this food regularly for your family.

What are Rava and fried idli?

Rava idli is a steamed pudding containing semolina(rava), curd, vegetables, and spices. It is effortless, quick to prepare, and served with sambhar and coconut chutney. A popular restaurant chain in Banglore originally invented it. Fried idli is just the fried version of Rava Idli.

health benefits of rava & fried idli

good source of energy

Rava idli is made from semolina flour(rava), which is high in carbohydrates and provides energy for a long time. It is made from durum wheat, which is rich in fiber and helps keep satiated, Fried Idli is just a fried version of the Rava idli.

gut friendly

The fibers in the idli’s semolina promote healthy bacteria growth. It also helps in regular bowel movements, thus preventing constipation. Curd used in this recipe further enhances gut health as it is a good probiotic.

helps in weight loss

The idlis take time to digest. Thus, it reduces food cravings and binge eating for a longer time. If you use low-fat curd for this recipe, then idli prepared are low calories. All these factors support weight loss.

An excellent way to add veggies to your kids’ diets

Kids generally hate vegetables, and it isn’t easy to make them have their daily requirement of vegetables as they are essential sources of minerals and vitamins. These recipes are loaded with vegetables, delicious, and loved by everyone, even kids.

Rava idli recipe

ingredients

1 cup semolina
1/2 cup plain fresh curd
3/4 cup water
1tsp salt
1 tbsp roasted cashew nuts
1 cup finely grated vegetables(carrot,green peas)
1tsp eno or (1/4 tsp baking soda 1tsp of lemon juice)

Process

For making rava idli, take one cup of semolina in a mixing bowl. Add half a cup of fresh curd to it, and mix it well. Make sure that curd you are using is fresh and not sour, as it will give an unpleasant rancid smell to your idli.

Add 1/2 cup of water,1tsp of salt, and mix it well to a thick consistency. Cover it and leave it for half an hour.

Grease the idli plate with oil or ghee. Fill water in the idli maker to the marked level, or fill it to the point in the cooker or steamer, where it should be just below the lowest idli plate when kept inside.

After half an hour, check for the batter. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of water slowly to get the desired thickness, as shown.

Bring the water to the steamer to boil. Add all grated vegetables and cashew nuts, Eno or baking soda, and lemon juice to the batter and mix it thoroughly. Do not use lemon juice if you are using eno. Lemon juice is required to activate baking soda.

Quickly half-fill the idli plates with batter and transfer them to the steamer in the idli stand. Cover the steamer with the lid.

Steam it for 10 mins. Then check the idlis with the help of a toothpick or knife. If it comes out clean, switch off the steamer or cook it for 3 to 4 mins more if the sticky batter appears on the toothpick or knife.

Allow the idli plates to cool for 5 mins, and then with the help of a blunt spoon, de-mold the rava idlis and serve it with coconut chutney and sambar.

Fried idli

Ingredients

A handful of finely chopped curry leaves
1 teaspoon of mustard seed
1 pinching hing or asafoetida
2 tablespoons of oil or ghee (clarified butter)
2 medium-sized onions (finely chopped)
Green chilies according to taste (finely chopped)
3 cloves of finely chopped garlic
A teaspoon of black pepper powder
Salt, according to preference,
4 Rava idlis, prepared from the above method, cut into four pieces

Process

Idli Fry is very easy to make. It is preferably prepared from the leftover idlis, which are kept in the refrigerator overnight, as refrigerated idlis are less likely to break into crumbs while cutting. Cut the rawa idli prepared from the above method into four pieces each. Keep it aside.

In a frying pan, take 2 tablespoons of oil or clarified butter and add one teaspoon of mustard seeds to it. Keep the flame low as the popping mustard tends to come outside at a high flame. After the mustard seeds have popped up, add the asafoetida, curry leaves, chopped onions, garlic, green chilies, and black paper powder.

Stir fry all the ingredients till they become golden brown.

Now add idli pieces to the pan and fry them. Add salt according to taste, as rava idli already contains salt, and stir fry it for 5 to 10 minutes on a low flame.