Divide and Devour - Tumkur Thatte Idli

This Post is next in line under my Divide and Devour feature.

District - Tumkur

Recipe - Thatte Idli. 

Tumkur district is an administrative district in the state of Karnataka in India. 

I first tasted Thatte Idli in a restaurant in Bangalore. It tasted great with the Sambar and Chutney. But the texture was what I liked most. It was soft and fluffy and one Idli was filling enough. The chutney and Sambar combination complemented the soft idlis very well.

However, I am not very sure where these idlis originated from. All over Bangalore, I see Bidadi Idlis and then all over the net I see only Tumkur Thatte Idli. So though both the places are geographically close by, I am not able to find out where the Idlis originated from.

So, nothing much to talk about. Here is the recipe.

Thatte Idli 

Ingredients :

Idli rice -  1/2 cup
Raw rice - 1/2 cup
Urad dal - 1/2 cup
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp.
Salt - per taste
Soda - a pinch
Sesame oil - 1 tsp

Method :  

 

1. Soak Idli rice and Raw Rice together for atleast 6 hours.

2. Soak Urad dal and Fenugreek seeds separately for 30 minutes. Do this towards the end, just before grinding the rice so that the Urad and Fenugreek are not soaked for long.

3. Wet grind the above separately. Grind them into a semi smooth paste. Do not grind it too fine. 

4. Now mix the ground rice with the ground urad dal. 

6. Add salt, soda and sesame oil to the ground mixture. Mix well.

7. Allow it to ferment overnight.

8. Next day, mix the fermented batter well before using.

9. Use the Thatte Idli stand and smear sesame oil on the plate. Pour little batter in to it. Repeat for rest of the plates. ( If you do not have a thatte Idli Stand, you could use a rimmed flat plate instead for steaming)

10. Steam cook for about 10 mins. A fork inserted into the center should come out clean.
11. Serve warm with Sambar and Chutney. 

Verdict :

The Idlis did not turn out as fluffy as the restaurant Idli. 

I would like to blame it on the soda which is usually generously used in the restaurants. Till I figure a way out,I would gladly let Soda take the blame.