3 minute Rava Idly | instant recipe | quick breakfast | soft & spongy Idli | south indian

Did your guests give you a surprise visit? Don’t know what to serve them for dinner? Look no further – a rava idli with the side of a yummy chutney will be perfect. It is quick, easy, yummy and delicious! They are my go-to recipe in such situations. And is also my fix for a quick breakfast, when I get bored doing the usual routine.

I can assure you, this recipe will make your guests feel special and they will definitely give you ravishing feedbacks. The rava idli is definitely the easiest version of idli recipes, as it does not involve the whole and time consuming process of soaking of the rice and lentils, grinding and fermenting overnight. Here, the fermenting process is taken care by the magic of curd.

Ingredients: makes – 15 soft and spongy idlies!

Rava – 2 cups

Curd – 3 cups (1:1.5 cups – Rava: Curd ratio)

Salt – to taste

Baking soda – 1tsp

For tempering:

Oil – 2tsp

Mustard – 1tsp

Urad dhal – 1tsp

Gram dhal – 1tsp

Asafoetida / Hing powder – a pinch\6

Curry leaves – 10 nos.

For Garnish:

Oil – 1tsp

Cashews – 15nos. (1 for each idly)

The Method:

Preparation:

• In a thick bottom pan – take 2 cups of rava (semolina). Dry roast well until you can smell a nice aroma. The rava will also turn very light brown. Don’t let it brown further. Set it aside.
  

For tempering:

• In the same pan, add 2 tbsp of oil.
• Add 1 tsp of mustard seeds, 1 tsp of urad dhal, 1 tsp of gram dhal, a pinch of Hing powder and Curry leaves – 10nos. Sauté for a minute and set it aside.

For Garnishing

• Add 1 tsp of oil in a hot thick bottom pan.
• Add 15 nos. of broken cashews (1 for each idli). Roast the cashews until golden brown and set aside.
• This step is completely optional. You can also add unroasted cashews, or grated carrots. or you can even skip the garnishing. The idlies taste good plain as well.

The Batter:

• To the roasted Rava – add the prepared tempering mixture.
• Add Salt to taste and 1 tsp of Baking soda
• To the mixture, add curd in 2 parts. First mix 2 cups of curd to the batter. Mix well and let it rest for 15 minutes.
• The curd reacts with the baking soda to provide the necessary air pockets to make the idli puff up, resulting in soft and spongy rava idlies.
• After 15minutes add the rest 1 cup of curd. Mix well, the batter should be in the consistency of idli batter. Add more curd, if your batter looks thick. Do not substitute with water.

Preparing the Rava Idli:

• Grease the idli plate or line it with a thin muslin cloth.
• Add the batter to the idli plate. And garnish with the prepared cashews.
• Steam cook the idli batter in a steamer for 10-15 minutes, until a tooth pick comes out clean when poked inside.
• Your yummy soft and spongy Rava Idli is ready! Serve hot with chutney of your choice – my favorite is mint chutney or a spicy tomato chutney! Enjoy!

The Method with photo illustrations:

Preparation:

• In a thick bottom pan – take 2 cups of rava (semolina). Dry roast well until you can smell a nice aroma. The rava will also turn very light brown. Don’t let it brown further. Set it aside.
  

   
  

For tempering:

• In the same pan, add 2 tbsp of oil.

   

   

   

• Add 1 tsp of mustard seeds, 1 tsp of urad dhal, 1 tsp of gram dhal, a pinch of Hing powder and Curry leaves – 10nos. Sauté for a minute and set it aside.

  

For Garnishing

• Add 1 tsp of oil in a hot thick bottom pan. And add 15 nos. of broken cashews (1 for each idli). Roast the cashews until golden brown and set aside.

   

  

Note: This step is completely optional. You can also add unroasted cashews, or grated carrots. or you can even skip the garnishing. The idlies taste great, even if left plain as well.

The Batter:

• To the roasted Rava – add the prepared tempering mixture.

   

• Add Salt to taste and 1 tsp of Baking soda

   

• To the mixture, add curd in 2 parts. First mix 2 cups of curd to the batter. Mix well and let it rest for 15 minutes. (The curd reacts with the baking soda to provide the necessary air pockets to make the idli puff up, resulting in soft and spongy rava idlies.)

   

• After 15minutes add the rest 1 cup of curd. Mix well, the batter should be in the consistency of idli batter. Add more curd, if your batter looks thick. Do not substitute with water.

Preparing the Rava Idli:

• Grease the idli plate or line it with a thin muslin cloth. Add the batter to the idli plate. And garnish with the prepared cashews.

   

• Steam cook the idli batter in a steamer for 10-15 minutes, until a tooth pick comes out clean when poked inside.

   

• Your yummy soft and spongy Rava Idli is ready! Serve hot with chutney of your choice – my favorite is mint chutney or a spicy tomato chutney! Enjoy!

This instant Rava idli recipe is a more exotic variation of the humble South Indian Idlies. You can also add vegetables and nuts of your choice to take it to the next level. Do let us know your feedback after trying out this recipe and follow this page for more yummy recipes. Happy cooking J