Kanjeevaram aka Kanchipuram is a district in Tamilnadu, famous for silk sarees and a number of temples. The Varadaraja Perumal temple in Kanjeevaram serves these idlis as prasad to the devotees. Made with rice and lentils, these idlis are spiced with a tempering of ghee, ginger, cumin seeds, whole peppercorns etc…..
Ingredients:
Idli rice/Par boiled rice – 1 cup
Whole Udad dal – 1 cup
Pepper corns – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds/Jeera – 1 tsp
Ginger – 1 inch piece finely chopped
Cashewnuts – 5 – 6 chopped
Asafoetida/hing – a pinch
Curry leaves – 1 sprig chopped
Ghee – 1 tbsp
Salt – to taste
Soda Bi-carbonate – 1/4 tsp
Water – 2 tbsp + 2 tbsp
Preparation:
Wash and soak the udad dal and rice separately for 4 hours or overnight, with 4 cups of water each.
After 4 hours, remove the water and grind the udad dal coarsely adding 2 tbsp of water. Keep it aside.
Next, grind the rice coarsely adding about 3 tbsp of water. Keep it aside.
Mix both the batters, add salt and let it ferment for atleast 8 hours.
Heat ghee in a pan. Add cumin seeds, pepper, chopped ginger, curry leaves, chopped cashewnuts and asafoetida. Add this tempering to the fermented batter. Mix the soda with a tsp of water and add it to the batter. Mix the batter gently.
In a pressure cooker, pour the batter into small katoris or into idly moulds . The idly moulds or the small katoris need to be greased with ghee. Steam it for 8-10 minutes and put off the cooker. Wait for 10 minutes to let it cool.
USe a sharp knife or spoon to remove the idlis and serve it with any chutney.
Note : Mix the soda just before pouring the batter for steaming. If you are not going to use the entire batter, remove as much as you want and add the soda. Store the rest of the batter in the fridge.
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