Konkani Idli

One of our dear forum friend posted a no rice, urad/ moong dal idli last month and I was very surprised hearing about it.  Upon enquiring, I learnt that this dish is a specialty in the Konkani region, and I am happy to name this awesome and healthy urad/ moong dal idli as “Konkani Idli” !!!

For those of you who do not know about this great community, the Konkani people are mostly concentrated in the Konkan coast of south western India and speak the Konkani language.  They originate from coastal Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa and in The Dang dist and nearby Dharampur place of Gujarat (thanks Wikipedia).

Being a foodie I am always open to trying new recipes, and this dish really got my attention as it said “no rice” idli. I got the recipe from our friend and tried it in Senthil’s Kitchen over the weekend, and we absolutely loved it.  As we are trying to cut down rice, I think we will make this Konkani idli every now and then.

We also tried making dosas with this Konkani batter (added a cup of regular idli batter) and the dosas came out very yummy!We enjoyed this Konkani idli with Sambar and OPOS Tomato Chutney (thanks to another forum friend for stirring the interest in the OPOS cooking – more on that later).

Another friend alerted that this no rice, urad/ moong dal idlis have a part in Tamil cuisine as well and are called “Kudalai idlis”. I need to do more research on that.

On a side note, when I made this Konkani idlis yesterday, my dogs Princeton and Newton caught the new food smell and came and were sitting outside the kitchen patiently watching me. I had to ultimately give them some Konkani idlis at the end as they were putting up such a sad face, and it looks like they completely loved them as well.

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Konkani Idli

A healthy, "no rice" urad/ moong dal idli from the Konkani region!

Course Breakfast, Dinner

Cuisine Indian

Keyword Healthy, Idli, Idly, Konkani

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 20 minutes

Fermentation Time 12 hours

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Senthil Sadasivam

Ingredients

For making batter

• 1 cup Urad dal
• 1 cup Yellow split/ green moong dal
• 1/2 tbsp Methi seeds
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Wash urad dal, yellow moong dal (or whole green moong dal for a more healthier option) and methi seeds and soak them together for 2 hours.

2. Add salt and grind to idli batter consistency in a wet grinder.

3. Ferment overnight and make idlis as you would make regular idlis.

Recipe Notes

• Urad : moong dal ratio can be 2:1 as well.
• Heard the shelf life of this batter is not long, so make the idlis within 2 days of making the batter. I made on the third day and it was fine.
• You can season the batter (fermented or non-fermented) with mustard, urad dal, onion, green chilies, chopped curry leaves/ cilantro, shredded carrot etc and make Paniyaram (or Appe) using Paniyaram/ Appe pan.
• You can also season the fermented batter to make Masala Konkani idlis as well.