Soft Idlis, Green Mango Chamundi, Mint and Coconut Chutneys

I thought that I would share some of my recipes and experiences with vegetarian Kerala cooking. My husband’s family are Keralite Brahmins, and in the visits we’ve had, both in India and over here, I’ve had a great time learning new recipes and cooking with my mother-in-law (Amma). As I have a chance to document more of these recipes (cooking with a camera in the kitchen is a new thing for me), I’m going to try to post them here. While the techniques usually aren’t difficult, seeing examples really have helped me with my dishes, so I thought I would post photos with recipes I post here.

I’m starting with a simple, typical breakfast: idlis, chutney, and podi. On their last visit in May, my Amma was very excited to have a new trick to make the softest idlis – softness being a prized idli characteristic in the extended family. These are definitely very soft idlis, much softer than the ones in restaurants. I’ll put the recipe and then follow with pics and extra details.

(By the way, Sazerac has a nice post on different idlis from 2005, but I’m hoping this one is additive as well.)

Soft Idlis
2 cups rice (I usually use the basmati that I have on hand)
½ cup beaten rice (thin poha)
1 cup urad dhal (white and split, not whole and black)
1 tsp fenugreek/ methi
salt

Wash and soak the rice. Wash and soak the urad dhal and fenugreek together. About one hour before grinding, soak the beaten rice in water as well. Grind the urad dhal with its soaking water until you can feel no graininess of any kind when you rub batter between your fingers. Grind rice and beaten rice to liquid (this can have small grains). Mix the ground dhal and rice batters, cover, and let sit overnight to ferment. I use a heating pad to get it to rise properly. In morning, batter will be nearly tripled in volume and have a foam-like consistency. Gently stir the batter to even out the consistency and add salt. (I’m actually not sure how much salt I add. 1 tsp maybe? ) Steam the batter in idli molds (or in any little cups) for about 10 minutes. It’s a good idea to spray cooking oil on the molds beforehand, or the idlis will stick. Also, you can see if the idlis are done when you open the steamer and wave away the steam. The dumplings should pull away from the edge of the molds slightly.

Idli ingredients ready for wash and soak


Soaking grains


I’ve included this picture because you need the soaking water to make the batter, and I never measure how much water I cover the grains with. So, hopefully this picture will give an idea.

Soaked ingredients and Indian Mixie


When my in-laws first visited us here in 2006, they wanted to make sure we had a properly kitted-out kitchen. One necessity was an Indian grinder for making podis (spiced powder dishes), chutneys, and idli /dosa batters. While a stone mill for the batters is considered ideal, this grinder does a really good job. Regular blenders and food processors have not been able to get the smoothness I needed. We got this one on Devon.

Fermented batter and idli molds


Here’s a picture of the batter after it had sat overnight in a heating pad for about 12 hours. It’s increased in volume about 2.5 times from the night before.

Foamy batter


I’m not sure if this photo shows it, but the batter has the consistency of light foam or a mousse.

Batter in the idli molds


Bowl of finished idlis


Plate of idlis with green mango chamundi, coconut chutney, chamundi podi, and mint chutney


Green Mango Chamundi

This is one of my favorite chutneys. (Chamundi -which I’m spelling phonetically- means something like “side dish.) It has the tangy-sour flavor of the mango mixed with the heat and zip of the chilis and raw onion.

Green Mango Chamundi
1 green mango
About ½ cup of red onion
4-6 chilies (adjust according to your taste)
About 1 cup of grated coconut (frozen works fine)
About 16 curry leaves
About 1+ tsp salt

Cut up the mango, leaving the skin on. Grind the mango and onion together first. Since there is no added liquid to this chutney, the mangos and onions are ground first to that there’s enough liquid in the jar before adding the coconut. If coconut is ground without any liquid-like stuff, it can burn out the engine or more likely, crack a piece of the mixie. Then, add the coconut, salt, the chilies, and the curry leaves last. All done.

Green Mango Chamundi Ingredients


It turns out my red onion was really potent. In retrospect, I would not include that extra piece of red onion on the top of the plate.

Cut up green mango and onions


Green mango is not fibrous. It’s usually pale yellow inside, but can have a pale orange color and still be sour. The seed is small and soft. I got this mango at HMart.

Finished Green Mango Chamundi


The color on this varies quite a bit depending on the mango and how many chili peppers you put in. At my husband’s aunt and uncle’s house, the chamundi is rich orange because of all the chilies they put in it. Mine usually looks more or less like this.

Mint Chutney

This was a new recipe for me. I got this recipe from Amma when I visited her in 2004. She never measures anything. So my recipes come from measuring the amounts she pours by hand and eye. I really appreciate her patience and good humor with me during this process.

Mint Chutney
About 1.5 cups mint leaves (packed) (can also use coriander instead for coriander chutney)
2 green chilies
½ - 1 small white onion or 2-4 shallots
½-1 inch piece ginger
½- ¾ cup of grated coconut
About ½ lemon of juice
2 Tbl – ¼ c yogurt
½ - ¾ tsp salt
Water to thin as needed
2-3 curry leaves (optional)

Grind everything together in the mixie.

Mint Chutney Ingredients


The mint is from my garden. Wow, it turns out I have some really industrial mint. Even though this sat for about a half hour, it wasn’t enough to blend the flavors properly. The mint predominated. The next day, it was nicely balanced, and I used to make cheese, cucumber and onion sandwiches. When I make this again, I’m going to use a mix of coriander and mint. Also, I might try this with a different mint. The one my Amma used had much smaller leaves and red stems. It was a milder herb.

Finished Mint Chutney


One thing I noticed about this chutney is that it oxidizes very quickly. The taste isn’t affected so much as the color. I think laying plastic wrap on the surface when storing it should help.

Coconut Chutney
After making the chamundi and mint chutney, I found that I had a small amount of coconut left over. Since I didn’t want to save such a small amount, I decided to make a small bowl of coconut chutney. It was such a small amount, that the measurements were fudged. Hopefully, the picture will help. When I make a large batch of coconut chutney, I’ll post the measurements

Coconut Chutney Ingredients


Ingredients for the grinding: grated coconut, curry leaves, ginger, green chili, red chili, and salt. Ingredients for frying and adding at the end: mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chilies, urad dhal. Hopefully the picture gives some sense of the proportion of ingredients. When grinding the coconut, it’s good to thin with warm water, otherwise the fat in the coconut can clot up and stick in the grinder. For the fry, pop the mustard seeds in oil on medium heat, then add the curry leaves, red chilies and urad dhal. The urad dhal should turn red, but not brown before adding to the ground mixture. The final chutney should have a very thin consistency.

Finished chutney


I’m sorry that this picture is blurry. This coconut chutney is another favorite of mine.

Notes on curry leaves, chamundi podi, and dosas

Since the stores that sell curry leaves are pretty far from my house, finding good ways to store them has been essential. The best way I’ve found is to throw them in the freezer in a freezer baggie. They retain more of their oils and flavor. When stored in the fridge, they usually either dry out or get slimy.

Chamundi podi (powder) is a mixture of ground toasted coconut and a mixture of toasted dhals, spices, onions, garlic, tamarind, jaggary, chilis, and salt. I just made this for the first time by myself last week. It deserves a post on its own. It’s a flavorful powder that can be eaten with idlies, dosas, or on the side of any meal. It’s different from idli/ dosa podi which is mixed with oil before eating.

The idli recipe can be used to make dosas as well. The differences are that the fenugreek should be doubled, and the batter should be fermented for less time – maybe just about 8 hours instead of 12. You don’t want it as foamy as for idlis because it becomes impossible to spread properly. I’ll try to put together a separate dosa thread.

All the best,
Jen

Yum. I am very familar with this food. Do you have a recipe for the dry chamunthopodi which is sprinkled dry on food? I do prefer dosa to idli though.

Great pictures. I fell in love with most of these things when I visited Kerala a few years ago. I brought home several Kerala cookbooks, but haven't gotten around to making too many of the dishes. However, seeing your coconut chutney makes me want to get cooking right away. Thanks for the recipe -- and the details.

Thanks Cynthia! My favorite Kerala cookbook is Savoring the Spice Coast of India, Fresh Flavors from Kerala by Maya Kaimal.

Sure Toria, here’s my recipe for chamundi podi.

Ingredients
1 cup urad dhal (white and split)
½ cup chana dhal (yellow split peas, not chana)
½ cup toor dhal
¾-1 cup dried red chilies
1-2 Tbl mung dhal (whole green)
~2 Tbl whole coriander seeds
~12 black peppercorns
~1/2 tsp fenugreek/ methi
1 pinch cumin seeds
~30 curry leaves
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
3 shallots or 1 small red onion, small dice
¼-1/3 cup tamarind bits (make sure no seeds included)
½ tennis ball sized piece of jaggery
~2 tsp salt
~2 shakes asafetida/ hing
1 tsp oil
2 coconuts, ground. Also, you can use the dried, ground coconut sold in bags at Indian grocery stores. In proportion, the amount of coconut should equal the amount of the dhal spice mixture.

Instructions

Toast the fresh coconut or dried coconut until it has a golden color, not reddish brown. After toasting, put coconut aside to cool. My Amma says you want to toast it until all the moisture is gone, but the oil hasn’t separated out. If using the dried coconut, the oil will probably separate a little in toasting, but it will turn out ok. I used fresh coconut for my last batch. I hadn’t toasted fresh coconut before. It changes at the end very fast. It went from too pale golden to reddish brown within probably a minute and half. The flavor was still good, but it did affect the taste and texture a little.

Dry roast the chilies in the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, and salt. Fry until the chilies are brittle and the garlic and onion are fried with moisture mostly gone.

Add dhals, spices and curry leaves. Toast until the urad dhal is golden colored. A reddish tinge to the urad dhal is too dark. The dhals and spices will toast and the curry leaves will completely dry out. When finished toasting, add the asafetida/ hing. The dhal will be hot enough to heat the asafetida. Take the dhal spice mixture off the heat to cool.

Grind dhal mixture to a fine powder with the tamarind pieces.

Grind fine the toasted coconut and jaggery pieces together.

Mix the two powders together thoroughly.

Comments

When I made this last, I forgot to turn over the paper to get the last few instructions. So, I threw the tamarind pieces in with the dhal to be toasted, and put the jaggery in as well at the end. When I ground it, I ground the dhal mixture fine, but then reground it with the toasted coconut. It turned out fine, so there is some flexibility to processing. However, I put my Amma’s version above. The only change I made was adding the salt with the garlic and onion to help pull out the water rather than adding it at end.

I didn't have any mung dhal when I made it, so I just added extra urad dhal.

Also, a scant cup of red chilies makes for a spicy powder. You can drop the chili amount by quite a bit, even a half cup or more, and it will still taste good.

Chamundi Podi


Jen

Jen,

What "fermentation" makes the batter rise overnight? Is there something—yeast or some other organism—in the beaten rice? and, btw, what IS beaten rice?

Your pictures are beautiful! You can be our southerly Bridgestone...

Geo

Thanks Geo! Bridgestone’s posts set the standard I aspire to.

Beaten rice, also called flattened rice or poha, are rolled rice flakes. I’ve heard it’s commonly used in the Mumbai area for breakfast dishes. Here’s a picture of the bag I bought from Patel Brothers.

Poha Thin


Also, here’s a close up picture of the rice flakes with a dime for reference.

Poha Flakes


Regarding fermentation, the organisms are wild since no yeasts or cultures are added. It seems to be based more on the dhal than the rice. I know that my in-laws are very careful to use most, if not all, of the dhal soaking liquid when grinding the batters. The rice liquid is also used too, but there seems to be less emphasis on it. The dhal liquid during the soak gets somewhat cloudy and thicker, and if left too long, will start to bubble on its own.

Whatever the organisms are, they like to be very warm. The first time I made idlis, I tried to ferment the batter in a warm oven overnight. It took 18-24 hours for the batter to get bubbly, and by then, other organisms had started growing on the surface of the batter, affecting the flavor badly. What I do now is use a large heating pad that I bought from Walgreens and wrap the covered container. I initially set it for high, and then when I go to bed, turn it down to low. When I get up, if the batter isn’t as foamy as I would like, I put it back up to high for a little while.

Here’s a picture of the batter wrapped in the heating pad for the night.


Jen

Thank you so much!!

Thanks so much for this post! It's interesting since I've been obsessed with iddly lately, and I've been getting the mint and coconut chutneys with them which are just fantastic. I might have to start making my own.

Thanks for the recipe & photos!

For those moments for which I want a quick idli fix, does anyone know of a place in Chicago that has them on their menu...and not just for breakfast??

Thanks!

I know that Udupi on Devon and in Schaumburg has idlis all day. I would think that any of the south Indian restaurants on Devon would have them all day as well. Also, I've seen them at the buffets of restaurants that serve both north and south cuisine, usually as an accompaniment to sambar.

Jen

Udupi Palace Restaurant
2543 W Devon Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
(773) 338-2152

Udupi Palace Restaurant
730 E Schaumburg Rd
Schaumburg, IL 60194
(847) 884-9510

I'm flattered and honored to see my (screen)name thrown around here!

However, even without that bait, I was planning on posting a "beautiful post" and "thank you" after reading the first 1/3 of your post. Wonderful pictures, wonderful post and an excellent guide into an exotic style of cooking.

Thank you, JenDath!

One of my coworkers brought idlis that his wife had made. It was an amazing breakfast! A tupperware of 50 idlis disappeared in minutes!



The coconut chutney was made with roasted channa, coconut, curry leaves, peanuts and some kind of bean? It was small, round and crunchy... Is this a different type of chutney? I had never had a chutney like that!

He also sprinkled a dry powder made with garlic on top. Does anyone know what this is? He speaks Telugu but I don't know where he's from!

Jen, I was thinking of you and this post the other day at Fresh Farms - I bought frozen idlis along with a kind of idlki sandwich with a chutney filling. They were good enough for me to think about following your recipe for homemade!

Excellent! Probably one of the best, most informative threads I've seen. I am definitely going to be trying out some of your recipes.

Mhays, that would be really cool. Please post if you give it a try. I'd love to hear how it goes. Also, that idli sandwich sounds good. I'll have to keep my eyes out for it. Thank you gooseberry!

All the best,
Jen