Hardly anyone doesn’t like to indulge in soft, puffy idlis. This popular South Indian dish, when paired with sambar, makes the nation’s favourite breakfast. Idli, for the longest time, has been making South Indian cuisine proud across the subcontinent. It is not oily or greasy, yet it is considered the most popular snack of all time.
Apart from being tasty, idli has a lot of health benefits. Idlis are low in calories and rich in fibre. Thus, it helps to keep the stomach full for a longer time and enables digestion. Apart from being healthy, cooking steamed, puffy, delectable idlis is an art. You must have often wondered how the idlis presented in restaurants appear to be so soft. Well, there are no secret ingredients to it. Rather, adhering to certain steps can help you attain a soft texture at home as well.
If you’re thinking about avoiding the mistakes you're making while cooking idli, then here are some tips to avoid the hard texture of the idlis. Take a look:
- Select The Correct Type Of Rice
Rice is the key ingredient for making idli, and not finding the right rice may hamper the taste as well as the texture. There are a lot of varieties of rice available in the market; however, the one that is perfect for idli is parboiled rice, also known as ukda chawal. If you’re unable to find parboiled rice, you can also use medium-grain rice. However, it may not be advisable to use long-grain rice at all, as it doesn’t give the desired texture.
- Follow The Soaking Method Of Ingredients Correctly
To make idli, dal and rice are soaked beforehand. If you’re soaking them together, we would suggest you stop immediately. If you want to make perfect idlis, soak them separately. This is because rice and water need different quantities of water to fluff up. Soaking them together will ruin the texture of the idlis.
- Allow The Batter To Ferment Well
One of the major steps in making idli is fermentation. To make the idli soft, you must allow the batter to sit for a while. We would recommend leaving the batter overnight for fermentation. However, if you’re short on time, leave it for 2–3 hours. Fermentation helps the batter get aerated, thus turning the idlis soft.
- Avoid Overmixing The Batter
Now, you must be wondering why, though your fermentation process was correct, the idlis didn’t turn soft. This is because you overmixed the batter. Give it a nice stir to ensure that the batter is smooth and consistent. If you overmix, you’ll ruin all the air that was incorporated into it during the fermentation process.
- Do Not Overfill The Idli Moulds
Another mistake that you must avoid making is overfilling the idli moulds. We often end up filling them completely, which does not result in proper cooking of the idlis. Besides, the batter may overflow and create a mess inside the steamer or pressure cooker. Fill the batter with ¾ of the mould’s capacity. Note: Grease it with some oil before pouring it.