Plain Idli

Put the rice in one largish bowl and the urad dal in another bowl. Fill the bowls with water and let soak for 8 hours or overnight. Optional: Add 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (known in India as methi seeds) to the bowl of dal before adding the water.

When it is time to make the idli batter, drain the water out of the bowl of rice. Add half of the rice to the food processor, and run it until it resembles cornmeal. Add 1/2 cup warm water to the rice and again process until smooth (if there is a slight amount of roughage, that is still OK).

Put the processed rice in a large mixing bowl. Repeat with the second half of the rice.

Drain the water from the bowl of urad dal (dal translates to lentils).

Add half of the urad dal to the food processor bowl. Add 1/2 cup warm water. Process for 5 minutes. Mixture should be light and fluffy. [This 1/2 cup warm water may vary depending on factors like the particular batch of rice or dal that you are grinding, or even the measuring cup that you are using--sometimes 1/2 cup is not exactly half a cup so you may need to add a few Tablespoons more or less of water.].

Add the processed urad dal to the processed rice mixture. Repeat with the second batch of urad dal. Be careful when processing your batter that the food processor does not overheat.

Once the rice and urad dal batter are in the large mixing bowl, add 2 teaspoons salt and gently mix.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the oven with the light on. Let ferment in the oven until small bubbles start to form, at least 12 hours. In the winter I have had fantastic idlies by letting the batter ferment for 24 hours before using.

When it is time to make the idlies, remove the bowl of idli batter from the oven. Gently stir in 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. Be careful that you don't stir out all of the air that has been created in the fermentation process.

In a large dutch oven or soup vessel, add water 1-2" deep. Make sure that the sides of your container are high enough to contain your idli trays.

Put the stove on high heat and bring the water to a boil.

Meanwhile, while the water is coming to a boil in the dutch oven, separate your idli trays and oil them (I usually use a paper towel to apply the oil). Put 1 1/2 Tablespoons of the idli batter into each idli tray. Put together your idli trays.

When the water is boiling in your dutch oven or soup vessel, reduce the heat to medium high and add the idli trays. Cover with a lid or a large plate. Steam for 14 minutes.

After 14 minutes, remove the idli trays and I let them sit for about 5 minutes to cool off. This make it easier to remove the idli from their trays. I often use a large spoon to remove the idlies.

Repeat with the rest of the idli batter.

Good served with chutneys or chutneys and sambar (a lentil soup). If you have extra batter that you choose not to use up, store it in the fridge for up to two weeks and later you can thin the batter with water and make dosa.

Note: Preparation time varies depending on how long it takes to process your rice and dal into a batter. Keep checking your food processor to make sure that it does not over heat. Minimum time for fermenting the batter is 12 hours, unless you live in a hot climate. Time to steam each batch of idli trays is 14 minutes. This recipe makes a minimum of 40 idlies.