Idly is a healthy popular South Indian breakfast dish. It is commonly prepared with rice and black gram. I did try to prepare idly with a variation by adding Red gram / Thuvaram paruppu / Toor dhal. Here comes the recipe for this idly and it goes well with any spicy chutney of your choice.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups – Idly rice
• 1 1/2 cup – Red gram / Thuvaram paruppu / Toor dhal
• 1/2 cup – Whole black gram without skin / Ulunthu
• Salt as needed

Preparation method:

Making of Red gram idly batter:

1. Wash and soak idly rice along with red gram in a wide bowl for atleast 3 to 4 hrs. Same way wash and soak whole black gram separately in a bowl for atleast 2 hours. Set aside.
2. Grind soaked black gram in a wet grinder (I always prefer wet grinding for idly and dosai) until it is light and fluffy by adding water little by little (I use either ice water or ice cubes while grinding) and transfer it to a container.The batter should not be sticky but it should be light and fluffy. I usually grind ulunthu for about 40 mins.
3. Now add soaked rice along with red gram to the wet grinder and grind it coarsely by adding water little by little for 15 to 20 mins. Rice batter should be little watery than ulunthu batter.Then add ground ulunthu along with required salt to the ground rice and grind for another 5 minutes so that it gets mixed well.
4. Transfer ground batter to a big container or two wide container for fermentation. Container should have enough room for the batter to ferment. Consistency of batter should not be too thick or too thin. Ferment the batter for at least 4 to 6 hrs or until it ferments. Mix the fermented batter well. Now it is ready for making idly.

Making of Red gram idly:

1. Heat enough water in the idly pot, grease the idly platter with little oil or ghee (for kids) and then take a scoop of batter and fill in the idly platter. Once you see steam from the idly pot, place the idly platter and close it with a lid.
2. Steam for 9 to 10 mins. Using fork you can check whether it is done or not. If it is done, then remove platter from the pot . Either allow them to cool for 5mins or you can turn over the idly platter and show it in the cold running water.
3. Remove idly from the platter and transfer it to a hot pack. Spongy red gram idly is ready and now serve with any spicy chutney and idly podi.

Notes:

• Red gram idly batter takes very less time to ferment than our regular idly batter. So check in between for whether it is done or not. If you are not going to use batter immediately, then refrigerate it for later use.
• The quality of idly rice, red gram and black gram/ulunthu is very important. Never stock rice and ulunthu for long, better get it in small quantity or when needed.
• The duration for fermentation may vary depending on the climatic conditions. In winter it may need longer time and in summer it may require less time to ferment. Always try to keep it in a warm place.
• The consistency of the batter is also equally important. If your batter is too thin, then your idly will be flat. If your batter is thick, then your idly will be hard. That is the reason why you should add water little by little by checking the consistency.
• You will get spongy idly only when your batter is nicely fermented. You will see lot of small bubbles in your batter and never forget to mix your fermented batter before pouring into the idly platter.
• You need to take out the batter from refrigerator about 30 mins before you make idly. Mix well once before pour into idly platter.