All-time Favorite Cocktail Sambar Idlis

Soft and white mini idlis immersed in spicy traditional sambar!

If there is one South Indian dish that has truly gone global then that has to be Idli! From the tiny glass shelves in the street side make-shift shops these wonderful yet humble South Indian breakfast has made its way to 5-star and even 7-star hotels within and outside India. If you think about it, there's hardly anything attractive about this dish save for its health quotient. It is simple rice and urad dal batter steamed to perfection! Versatile enough, idli goes pretty well with anything you can probably think of. However, its relationship with sambar is sort of inseparable and for that reason the most beautiful. 

I have been to all of the South Indian states and have been lucky enough to taste idlis from everywhere. I remember going out on an idli date too (well, that is a funny story)! In Vizag (the place I am based in now) there used to be a shop called "Murugan's Idly" that served about some 30+ or more varieties of this dish! The "bhavans" chains of restaurants in Chennai have satiated my taste buds a number of times and the best I still remember is what one of my dear friends ordered for me when I was down with low BP and was resting in her house - amazing Saravana Bhavan mini idlis oozing out ghee and immersed in spicy sambar and I satiating one at a time to my heart's content! That was the first time I tried mini idlis and it was until a month or so ago when I got to try it again at one of our acquaintance's place. They had served it as a snack, something sort for of a cocktail idli; whatever it was they were marvelous. I felt so fascinated with the mini version and the many ways of serving it, I went ahead and got the mini idli trays. 

Blame the winters, for the past few days I have not been making good breakfast. Today we had the sub-way sandwich we packed yesterday night. So  with the guilt working within me, I prepared idly/dosa batter today. And tomorrow morning, I am going to relive my sambar idlis days but the mini version. 

Ingredients

Rice - 1 cup, washed and drained

Urad dal - 1/2 cup, washed and drained

Salt to taste

Mini idly trays

Preparation

1. The previous day, soak rice and urad dal for at least 4 hours. In a blender, grind the soaked rice and dal together with enough water to make a smooth batter. (You can put it for soaking around late noon and grind it by late evening).

2. Pour the batter into a big enough vessel, (which has enough space for the batter to rise) close with a lid and leave it overnight for fermentation. If the climate is very cold, better keep it above your fridge or preheat oven and leave it inside. The temperature needs to be warm for the batter to ferment nicely.

3. Next morning, stir the batter with salt to taste.

4. Liberally grease the mini idli moulds with ghee. Use a tablespoon and spoon out the batter carefully into the tray. Believe it or not, this is an act of precision :-) which you will realize when you do it.

5. Steam in the idli maker until done. When done, use a spoon to carefully remove the idlis from the mould and keep aside.

6. Take sambar in a bowl and immerse a good number of idlis in it. Eat it as it is and feel "nirvana"! :-)

Improvement Ideas

If you do not want to take too much of a trouble then buy ready made batter and proceed from step 3 above.
You can serve these dry mixed with your own favorite chutney as an appetizer.

Mini idlis are also good for making upma.