Rava Idli (Steamed Cream of Wheat Cakes)

I spent the major part of  my childhood in Bangalore, India. Every now and then, my father used to take us out for a weekend meal to an MTR hotel, known for their yummylicious , mouthwatering vegetarian food and one of our favorites on the menu was the Rava Idli. The very thought of those Rava-based hot steamy Idly's make me drool. Yummm!!! In the past, I used to buy the MTR Rava Idly mix but since the Indian store is quite a long drive for us, I decided to make this at home to satisfy my sudden craving. The result of my experiments were these soft, spongy and very tasty pieces of goodness and the pure ghee kicked up the flavor a notch. Anyway,  I have decided to never use the ready-made mix again :) 

Yields 15 Idli

Recipe updated on Nov

Ingredients 

2 Teaspoon - Ghee
1/2 Teaspoon - Black mustard seeds
2 Tablespoon- Cashew nuts, chopped
1 Teaspoon - Pottukadala/ Channa dal
1 - Green Chilly (optional)
1 Twig - Curry leave
1/4 Cup - Chopped Onion
1 Cup - Cream of wheat/ Sooji / Rava / Fine Semolina
1 Cups - Yogurt
1 1/4 Teaspoon - Fresh Ginger, grated
1/4 Cup - Carrot , finely grated
1/4 Cup - Cilantro, chopped
Water as needed
1/4 Teaspoon - Baking Soda
Salt to taste
More ghee to grease the idli molds

Directions 

• In a pan, add ghee and sputter mustard seeds, then add channa dal,cashew nuts and stir until it turns light brown. 
• Add green chilly, curry leaves, chopped onion and saute until the onions turn translucent. 
• Add rava and stir until rava gets roasted. Allow it cool down. 
• Add yogurt to the rava mixture and keep it aside for 5 mins.
• Mix in the cilantro, ginger, grated carrots,salt and add water to get the desired consistency.  
• Add baking soda to the batter. 
• Ladle the batter into a greased idli maker and steam it for 10 minutes. 

Notes and Tips 

• I used plain yogurt which was not sour. 
• You can serve it with a chutney like Coconut chutney , Tomato Chutney or Roasted Red Bell Pepper and Coconut Chutney