Idlis

Ingredients

Main
3 cups Sona Masuri Rice
1 cup Urad Gota
1 tbsp Methi Seeds
Dry Yeast (Optional)
Salt

Method
Soak the rice for 6-8 hours.
Soak the Methi Seeds and Urad Dal together for 4-5 hours.
Grind both the rice and urad dal individually into a very fine thick paste using as little water as possible.
Grind the methi seeds with the urad dal.
Both the rice and the urad dal paste should be really viscous and super fine.
Blend them together in a big pot such that it only uses half the pot by volume.
Add 2-3 tsp salt and beat this batter vigorously for a few minute to beat some air into it.
Put on an airtight lid and set it in a warm dark place to fermet for about 8-10 hours.
I usually heat the oven toabout 200 degrees, turn the heat off and place the pot in the warm oven to ferment.
If the weather is too cold, the fermentation can be aided with some yeast.
Dissolve 1 sachet of active dry yeast in 2-3 tbsp of warm water and let it foam for a minute.
Make sure the water is just warm and not too hot or it will kill the yeast.
Add this into the batter before beating it.
After fermenting, the batter should have doubled in volume.
Beat this again to let some of the air out.
Refrigerate immediately if not using right away.
When ready to make idlis, take a portion of the batter and mix in some water in the below ratio:
3 x Batter : 1 x Water
Taste the batter to test the salt and add some if reqd.
Pour into idli moulds and steam for 12-15 minutes.
Serve hot with coconut chutney and sambar.