Rava Idli | Semolina Idli

Home-made steamed savory cakes/idli prepared with semolina and yogurt and simple spices with the goodness of carrots and cashews.

Rava Idli is a quick and yummy dish prepared with semolina and curd. In my opinion, Rava Idli is the solution to prepare Idli in a jiffy. No rice, no lentils, no soaking, no grinding, no fermenting is required for rava Idli. Just mix and steam, and you are done. This is a great variation to the regular Idli, and also, it has lots of room for variations. The sky is the limit. You can add nuts, veggies, any purees and prepare yummylicious Idlis in a jiffy.

I tried this and thought of posting this for my A-Z Tamil Nadu cuisine for the alphabet R. But then, when I was researching the recipe, I learned that it is popular in Udipi/Udupi cuisine. As I had the Rasavangi recipe in hand, I thought of scheduling that for A-Z, and here is the Rava Idli Recipe. This is pretty much like Kanchipuram idli but prepared with semolina.

I have no clue what is with Idli and me. I come up with all weird combos with them. Last year I tried Blue Berry Idlis, and this time I tried spinach and cheese stuffed Idli (sent it for IMC’s Treasure Box, recipe coming soon). Somehow kiddo likes them, so it is worth the effort. I have had my own share of mishaps too. My husband and my friend N always pull my legs the moment I say idli. Their first question will be, “Ennatha ma kalaka pora ennaiku?” What are you going to mix today?

This is the regular idli, and I am sticking with the regular ingredients. All we need is rava/sooji/semolina and yogurt, along with some grated carrots and cashews. This makes 8 Idlis. So adjust the ingredient proportion according to your needs. The rava and yogurt ratio that I follow is 1: ½. Here is the super simple recipe,

Ingredients:

• Rava / Sooji / Semolina – 1 cup
• Yogurt / Curd – ½ cup
• Baking soda – a pinch
• Ginger – 1-inch piece (finely chopped)
• Salt – 1.25 tsps
• Grated Carrots – ½ cup
• Green Chillies – 1 (finely chopped)
• Oil – for tempering and greasing the idli plates
• Cilantro – 2 tbsps
• Turmeric – a pinch
• Sweet Paprika – a pinch (optional)
• Water – ¼ cup (adjust as required)

To Temper

• Mustard Seeds – 2 tsps
• Hing – 1 tsp
• Urad Dal – 1 tsp
• Channa Dal – 1 tsp
• Cashews – 10
• Curry leaves – few (option)

How to make rava idli

• Slightly roast the rava without adding any oil.
• Transfer the roasted rava to a bowl and add the chopped green chilies, ginger, carrots, cilantro, salt, baking soda, turmeric, sweet paprika.
• Add the yogurt and mix them well. It should be thick like below.
• Now add the water and bring it to idly batter consistency. Add water as needed. 

• Heat a kadai or tadka pan and add oil. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, cashews, curry leaves, and hing. As they start to splutter, add it to the rava idly mix.
• Mix it well and meanwhile grease the idli tray.
• Add a ladle full of rava idli mix to the idli tray and fill them all.
• Now steam it for 15 minutes.
• Let it cool and remove them from the idly tray and serve hot with sambar and idli.

That’s it. Yummy idlis are ready.

Recipe Notes:

• Sweet paprika and turmeric are completely optional.
• Adjust the green chilies and ginger according to your preference.
• Skip baking soda, and use eno or fruit salt instead.
• Depending upon the sourness of yogurt, adjust the salt.
• Add and adjust the veggies of your choice. Other veggies like beans, grated cauliflower can be added.

📖 Recipe

Pin Recipe Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Rava Idli | Semolina Idli

Home-made steamed savory cakes/idli prepared with semolina and yogurt and with simple spices with the goodness of carrots and cashews.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: South Indian

Servings: 4

Calories: 261kcal

Author: Srividhya G

Equipment

• Mixing bowl
• steamer like idli cooker

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 cup Rava Sooji / Semolina
• ▢ ½ cup Yogurt / Curd
• ▢ ⅛ tsp Baking soda – a pinch
• ▢ 1 inch Ginger finely chopped
• ▢ 1.25 tsp Salt
• ▢ ½ cup Carrots grated
• ▢ 1 Green Chilies finely chopped
• ▢ 2 tbsp Oil for tempering and greasing the idli plates
• ▢ 2 tbsp Cilantro finely chopped
• ▢ ⅛ tsp Turmeric
• ▢ ⅛ tsp Paprika optional
• ▢ ¼ cup Water adjust as required

To Temper

• ▢ 2 tsp Mustard Seeds
• ▢ 1 tsp Hing
• ▢ 1 tsp Urad Dal
• ▢ 1 tsp Channa Dal
• ▢ 10 Cashews
• ▢ 5 Curry leaves optional

Instructions

• Slightly roast the rava without adding any oil.
• Transfer the roasted rava to a bowl and add the chopped green chilies, ginger, carrots, cilantro, salt, baking soda, turmeric, sweet paprika.
• Then add the yogurt and mix them well. It should be thick like below.
• Now add the water and bring it to idly batter consistency. Add water as needed.
• Heat a kadai or tadka pan and add oil. Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, cashews, curry leaves, and hing. As they start to splutter, add it to the rava idly mix.
• Mix it well and meanwhile grease the idli tray.
• Add a ladle full of rava idli mix to the idli tray and fill them all.
• Now steam it for 15 minutes.
• Let it cool and remove them from the idly tray and serve hot with sambar and idli.
• That’s it. Yummy idlis are ready.

Notes

• Sweet paprika and turmeric are completely optional.
• Adjust the green chilies and ginger according to your preference.
• Instead of baking soda, you can use eno or fruit salt. 
• Depending upon the sourness of yogurt, adjust the salt.
• Add and adjust the veggies of your choice. Other veggies like beans, grated cauliflower can be added.

Nutrition

Calories: 261kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 1287mg | Potassium: 149mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 2797IU | Vitamin C: 28mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 1mg

I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.

Tried this recipe?Mention @vidhyasvegetariankitchen or tag #vidhyasvegkitchen

For Video RecipesCheck out My YouTube Channel