Idli & kosamalli

Tamilian traditional breakfast is Idli & sambar/chutney. One of the thing, we don’t forget to pack as a luggage to US along with homemade spices “The wet-grinder”. This appliance “ wet grinder” plays a predominant role in tamilian kitchen. It helps make some soft idlis to crispy vadas.
When we have the Idli batter in stock, it is just a matter of seconds to prepare many varieties.
Fermenting the batter is the crucial thing when you live in cold place. But, I found it easy when we use the heating system in winter. I just place the batter near the heat went (the heat should be indirect to ur pot)… Till now, I never had any problem to fermenting the batter (touch wood)…I even lived many years in snowing area and the fermenting job was a huge success…
Once the batter is ready, first two rounds, it would be idlis, after that; I mix little water to the batter to make it thin and prepare some Dosas. When the batter turns sour, time to do Uttapam with some minced onion & chillis, which balance the sourness. Or if u mix the onion, chillis and pour in special paniyaram pan it turns into Paniyaram. With only one batter, all the tiffins are created day by day!
Any blogger, help me out if I forgot to mention any items from the idli batter!
Few tips to grind: The rice should be parboiled rice/idli rice soaks it at least 4 hours. Make it little coarsely not fine batter….
The grinder should not heat up! In US, we use the converter so the machine heats up easily, don't let the batter turns hot , the result, you get some hard rock not soft idlis. Stop every 15 to 20 minutes – give a break to the appliance! I know it is time consuming, but u save ur precious appliance and the batter will be perfect.

For Urad dhal:
Soak only 1 or 2 hours. Yes, It doesn’t have to be soaked for long time. The urad dhal batter should come out like butter…. If you re doing in blender sorry the outcome is not the same! The ratio for blender should be little different try to add little more urad dhal….



Idli & Kosamalli

Ingredients:

Rice (Idli rice or parboiled rice):
4 cups (u can even use small tea cup but try to use the same cup for urad dhal also)
Whole Urad dhal (dehusked) : 1 cup
Fennugreek seeds: 2 tsp

Soaking time :
Urad dhal + fenugreek seeds 2 hours soaked in plenty of water
Rice (parboiled or idli) 4 hours minimum soaked in plenty of water

Grinding:
Rinse well and start with urad dhal and grind into smooth batter.
Rinse the rice and ground into coarse batter, keep sprinkling water so you can end up making thick rice batter which is key to have fluffy idlis , if the rice batter is watery, the idlis re thin!
Mix well the two batter together with 1 tbsp of salt.
Let ferment the batter for at least 10 to 24 hours until it raise little high! (US only) or Depend you room temperature.
Once the batter is ready, can make idlis with idli mold/Idli plate.

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For the side dish, I prepared Kosamalli which is a Chettinad Classic side dish. Got tired of sambar, chutney, this gravy is light and had a mild spices. When I say Chettinad dish, many bloggers are already awared it originated from Solai’s True Chettinad cuisine. She recommended trying this classic dish. One of the must try recipe by everyone, the taste cannot to be compared to our sambar/chutney. I didn’t made any modification to the recipe except to add few more chillis, replaced pearl onion to normal small one to my curry. Her recipe is fool proof; I want to keep the recipe for my reference. All the credits go to her blog.

Kosamalli:

Brinjal (used purple small): 4 counts
Potato: 1 medium (for US size)
Tamarind: A small piece or like ¼ tsp of paste
Onion: 1 medium
Tomato: 1 big
Green chillis: 6 num – could be less or more depend what kind of chillis u use.
Salt: 2 tsp or more –less

Seasoning:
Oil:
1 tsp or more
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Red chillis: 2 num
Curry leaves: few leaves



Method:

Cut the brinjal and potato into big chunk and steam in pressure cook for 2 whistles. Once the pressure is released, take out , peel the skin for brinjal and potato and mash it.
Soak the tamarind in 4 cups of water with salt . Extract the juice or dissolve the tamarind paste, add the mashed vegetable.
Heat a pot with oil; add the mustard seeds followed by red chillis and curry leaf. Add the onion and tomato, green chillis, doesn’t need to be cooked, pour the tamarind vegetable mixture. It will should be watery so don’t panic! When the mixture starts to boil, switch off the stove and garnish with cilantro leaves.

The dish is watery and can be easily served for 4 adults, goes well with iddiapam/idli or dosa. Thank you Aunty to share such an authentic recipe.

Note: Tamarind is a key ingredient, less is better! If u want to make for just 2 adults, cut the recipe by off. As it is a classical dish don't try to modify ! U may end up with different taste!


This curry is ending to Srivalli's curry mela! And WBB-combo breakfast , hosted by Latha, event originated by Nandita .

Comments

Laavanya said…
You are so right about the versatility of idli batter - it really is a time saver when handy. I'm so glad that i lugged the wet grinder here - makes a big difference.
Kosumalli is something I haven't tried so far... looks like a perfect accompaniment to the idlis.
Uma said…
thanks for the yummy breakfast Cham! this is such a delicious combo! love both idli and kosamalli!
Indian Khana said…
So soft idli. Never tried Kosumalli too..but its never too late...thanks for sharing e recipe ..wonderful entry for the events.
lubnakarim06 said…
Kosamalli never heard this name. As u said iam really bored of that chuteny and sambar routine with edlis. Something new. Iam gonna try this out for sure.
sra said…
That's interesting, Kosamalli,somehow thought it was a version of Kosambari! Off to Solai's to check.
Cham said…
Sra Somehow i thought the same... But this dish is just awesome.
Unknown said…
nice dish..have to try it sometime..i agree with you,if you have the batter,there are so many things you could make...but I am very lazy to do so!!
Arundathi said…
that's interesting - we make a kosamalli at home and call it kosambri - and its basically a salad of raw carrot/ cucumber with a tarka and some soaked lentils! this looks great!
Sia said…
fermenting the batter during winter is a big headache. it takes 2 days in my neck of wood to ferment it. during summer it gets fermeneted in just half day. thats why i miss india ;)
kosamalli is something i have never heard of. looks delicious cham. and beautiful pic...
ST said…
WOW.......Gr8 combo...Love Idli and kosamalli.......Will try kosamalli this time......
anudivya said…
Hey Cham,
I remember my mom making this combi... but I have not tried it so far, but like it a lot.
And of course cant beat mom's cooking, can we?
kamala said…
Laavanya reflected the same which is my mind too Cham..The first luggage is wet grinder when I packed to US.The Idli batter is handy . I have stock all the time...KOsamalli is something to try.I too see that in Solai's.Great Combo
Ramya Bala said…
thats lovely...tempts to try..we follow a similar authentic recipe in which tamarind is avoided and adding the ridgegourd.
Madhavi said…
Cham, thank you so much for this recipe. Idli look awesome, soft, and delicious. Kosamalli is new for me, can't wait to try!!!
Deepa Kuber said…
Idlis look so gorgeous... so smoooth! loved the kosumalli too.
Sum Raj said…
wooo wht a perfect breakfast cham..love both idlies and kosamalli...delicious and inviting..
Sangeeth said…
great combo dear....thanks for shring the recipes...luv it...it is new to me though...i mean the gravy
Dori said…
Hmmmm, that's a lot of work soaking, and grinding, and waiting... Could you just share some of yours :D
Anonymous said…
Very soft looking idlis cham! And it looks delicious with the kosamalli. I know what u mean about batter- its always so handy to have some maavu at home :-)
Namratha said…
The idlis are perfect Cham, they look so spongy...hmmm! Idli batter in the fridge definitely is a time saver. Kosumalli sounds good.
Sujatha said…
Idlis look so soft and fluffy, Cham! I did see Kosamalli in Solai's blog a while before, but haven't tried yet. Indeed a good change from chutney, sambar. Will soon try it.
Lakshmi said…
Idli is so versatile that almost any spicy gravied vegetable goes with it..and Kosamalli rocks with it. Will try Chettinad style soon..
Srivalli said…
Cham, thats some lovely combo!..thanks for enlighting me on this classic dish, have been planning to check out Solai’s blog..will do right away...

and about using idli batter, I make Arbi deep fry dipped in idli batter..tastes awesome!..:0
Suganya said…
Nice combi breakfast. Looks great. So mouthwatering. YUM! Never tried kosamalli, will try ur version for sure...
Idli looks so soft ...great combo with kosamalli chutney:-)
lubnakarim06 said…
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Paru ... said…
Idli looks very soft.Kosumalli is new to me..Looks wonderful..
Shri said…
nice and lovely recipe
jayasree said…
Vey much agree with you on the All-In-One Idli batter. Yours look soft and fluffy. Thanks for introducing a side. Now that I can think beyond the usual sambhar and chutney.
Srikitchen said…
http://spice-club.blogspot.com/
Jayashree said…
What I call Kosemalli is so different. It is a kind of chundal. Haven't come across this curry before, but it sure sounds good.
Anonymous said…
I never heard of kosamalli before looking awesome.. a must try recipe

I am hosting an event called Sunday Snacks, would appreciate if you can send in something for that event too..
Deepa Kuber said…
there is a surprise waiting for u in my blog :)
Vaishali said…
Cham, your idlis look perfect. I've not been making any precisely because I don't think I can get that fine a batter from my blender.
Swati said…
Hey Cham

The idlis look perfect...Ya, wet grinder does make a big difference but I still manage with Sumeet Mixie.. :))
Thanks for the tips..will keep them in mind ..
Padma said…
Wow girls, those idlis look spectacularly fluffy n spongy, I wanna have them right now! Never heard of Kosamalli though, very new to me, should give it a try
Thankyou dear cham for introducing Kosamalli to the innumerable friends of urs and that too great enough to mention my name in that.You are always great dear.
One thing I recently found out from chettinad is that urudh dhal should be soaked just for 10 minutes.Oh,You cant believe how much batter it gives.But inbetween u have to check and add water.I saw in chettinad even unsoaked urudh dhal been grinded to get an excellent idly.Now a days I make sure not to soak urudh dhal for more than 10 minutes
Subhie Arun said…
hey new for me...kosamalli....looking new combo with idlis/dosas..will try tis soon..thx for sharing and ur have wonderful site wth wonderful recipes...will follow ur blog
ruchikacooks said…
Yup, me again, found where you have hid your treasure..
Kosamalli is new to me, will try next week :) First I thought its the kosumbari...I still grind in a mixie, got two, one for ordinary use and one just to grind for idli..Cant find a grinder repair shop here so no point in buying it just for the two of us..

Unga kai nalla rasiyana kai..Cham kaiya vecha wrong aa pogathu :) (aboorva sagotharargal style)
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