Thalicha Idli | Tempered Idli

My 192nd recipe, “Thalicha Idli | Tempered Idli", an interesting twist on the traditional South Indian Idli. Idli is a South Indian steamed rice cake made from a fermented rice and dal batter. Now-a-days I love having idli for breakfast. But there was a time during my childhood when I was a tough nut to crack for my mom. I would never eat a plain idli for breakfast. I literally forced my mom to innovate and make dishes which I would find interesting to have for breakfast. One such twist on a classic Idli, which my mom made frequently is this Thalicha Idli. The tempering added to this idli gives an unique flavor to it. Also, rather than using a regular idli plate my mom used to make these using short tumblers or plate. As a kid I would love it and would have no qualms in having it for breakfast. Also, whenever we used to make a trip to Tirupati, my mom would pack this for breakfast. Regular Idli, when packed, tends to get dry on the surface when not had immediately. So my mom used to make this thalicha idli instead which used to remain soft and fluffy for longer. All in all this is the perfectly healthy dish you could make for your Kid for breakfast or pack for lunch 🙂  

Thalicha Idli

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

• Idli batter - 3 Cups
• Oil - 3 tsp + for greasing
• Mustard - ¼ tsp
• Chana dal - 1 Tbsp
• Urad dal - 1 Tbsp
• Cashews - 10 Nos
• Jeera - ½ tsp
• Coconut - 2 Tbsp small flakes
• Green chilli - 1 finely sliced
• Ginger - 1 tsp finely chopped
• Curry leaves - 1 Sprig
• Asafoetida - A large pinch

Instructions

 

• First heat a pan with 3 tsp oil, add the mustard and once it splutters, add the remaining ingredients listed, one by one, in the given order. Saute until the dals and cashews turns golden brown. Turn off the flame.
  
   
• Add the prepared tempering to the idli batter and mix well until combined.
  
   
• Now grease the idli molds/ tumblers/ plate/ bowl as you prefer with oil. Fill upto ¾ of the molds with the prepared batter. Steam in medium flame for about 15 minutes or until done. Check by inserting a tooth pick in the middle and it should come out without batter sticking to it. Turn off the flame and remove the molds from steamer and let them cool down for few minutes. Gently loosen the idli from mold using a knife and just tapping the mold by placing upside down.
  
   
  
   
• Enjoy the idli hot with chutney/sambar/gravy.
  
   

Notes | FAQ

- Be generous in using oil while greasing. It will help in removing the idli from mold easily.
- You can even use grated carrot. You can either add directly to the batter or saute along with tempering items and then add to batter.
- Idli batter already has salt in it, so no additional salt is needed. However you can add an additional small pinch if you like for the tempering.