Healthy Steamed Rice Cakes
Steamed rice cake a.k.a Idly is endorsed by many as the healthiest food one can have as breakfast. With practically no oil or any other fat content in it, it surely is a health conscious delight.
The only limitation to the normal white idly is that it has high GI and gets digested very fast thereby raising the blood sugar levels. The wise option would be to include it in the dinner when the metabolic rate is at the lowest. Or add wholegrain in the preparation of idlies such as broken wheat (Bulgar), Ragi and the like, to lower its GI and make it a healthy breakfast option.
Ingredients for Normal White Idly;
* 3 cups of raw rice or (2 cups of boiled rice and 1 cup of raw rice)
* 1 cup of de-husked black gram(urad dal)
* 1 tsp of fenugreek seeds (optional)
* Water as required
Method: I normally mix brown rice in all my rice preparation, which adds the fiber content and other benefits of wholegrain. Wash the rice and urad dal and soak it for 3 hours with fenugreek seeds (methi). Grind the urad dal and methi seeds for nearly 40 minutes in the grinder or about 30 minutes in a mixie by adding water as and when required. Do not make the batter too runny. Grind till the urad dal is light and frothy. Remove from the grinder or mixie and then grind the soaked rice for 5-10 minutes till it resembles rawa consistency.
Mix both the ground ingredient in a big vessel, add 1/2 tsp of salt, cover it and keep it aside in a warmer place to let it ferment for nearly 15-20 hours.
Note: The softness of idly comes by the method of grinding ie. stone grinding Vs mixie. The light and fluffy texture of urad dal, which is responsible for soft idly, comes in the grinder easily. In south of India people use big grinders with heavy stones inside, which makes the work easy and more perfect. A normal mixie can also be used to grind the above ingredients, but the result may not match the output of a grinder.
Bulgar Idly
The following recipe is to add wholegrain in the batter of Idly and make it more healthy with low GI.
Ingredients for Bulgar Idly;
(For 4 idlies)
* 1 cup of fermented idly batter
* 1 tbsp of Bulgar (dalia/broken wheat)
* 1 tsp of curd
* salt as desired
Method: Soak 1 tbsp of bulgar in the curd for 10 minutes.
Mix in the rest of the ingredients, take an idly mould, grease it lightly with oil. Pour a ladle the above mixture in the moulds. Pour a cup of water in the pressure cooker and keep it on the stove, let the water start boiling. Put the Idly mould in the pressure cooker and steam at high flame for 10 to 12 minutes. Off the flame and check the idlies, it should be firm to touch. Take out the mould and let it cool before removing the Idlies.
Serve hot with coriander chutney or any other accompaniment of your choice.
Note: Bulgar idlies take a little longer time to get cooked than the normal white idly which can be cooked in 7 to 8 minutes.
Kids Lunchbox: Get small Idly moulds and make small size idlies. Add grated carrots or any veggie of your choice to make it more nutritive and kids friendly. Pack these with tomato sauce or chutney.
Combine your nutritional knowledge with cooking skills and make a healthy living. A little improvisation of the traditional dishes can make them more nutritive and keep alive the flavors of our tradition as well.
What other healthy variations you use to your breakfast table? Do share with us.
Eat right and stay healthy!
