Delicious, Soft Idlis made with Proso Millet or Pani Varugu. A healthy, Millet based South Indian Vegetarian breakfast recipe that contains No Rice. Low Oil and Steamed Snack tastes best with Sambar and Chutney.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 cups Proso Millet or Pani Varagu 1 cup is 125 ml measurement
  • 1 cup Urad Dal
  • 1/2 tsp Methi Seeds or Fenugreek Seeds
  • Water as required to soak, grind the batter and Steaming the idlis
  • Salt to taste
  • 1-2 tsp Oil for Greasing the Idli plates.

INSTRUCTIONS:

  • Measure Proso Millet and add it to a bowl. Similarly, measure Urad Dal and add it in a separate bowl along with methi seeds or fenugreek seeds.
  • Soak both the above i.e. Millets and Urad Dal, separately with enough water for atleast 6 hours.
  • After they have soaked, drain the water and first add the Urad Dal to the mixer grinder jar. Just cover it with little water for grinding.
  • Now in the same mixer grinder jar, add the soaked and drained millets. Add some water for grinding (once again, as shown below) and grind it to a smooth paste.
  • Add the ground millet batter to the Urad Dal batter.
  • Mix both the batters by hand (important step especially during winters)
  • Set the batter aside (covered) in a warm spot or inside an OTG / Microwave if the weather is cold outside to ferment for 8 to 10 hours or overnight.
  • The fermented batter is ready. Gently mix the batter and add salt.
  • You can either make idlis immediately or store this batter in the refrigerator in a steel container or vessel with tight lid.
  • If you plan to make idlis immediately, grease the idli plates with oil.
  • Pour the batter carefully into the idli moulds. Always leave room for the idlis to spread while steaming, which leads to fluflly idlis. Do not overflow the plate with idli batter
  • Steam the idlis for 10 to 12 minutes. After steaming, allow the idlis to rest on the counter top for 5 minutes before serving them.