Ilaneer idli - Tender Coconut Idli

Tender coconut idli, the name says it all. Idlis are my favourites and I can gobble them anytime of the day or night. Idlis [if made the right way] are so soft, fluffy and the accompaniments are endless. Idlis are a perfect medium to carry out numerous variations which yields delicious goodies, a flexibility trait very few dishes possess.

I know the process of soaking the rice / dal , grinding and fermenting is a long process but there is no gain without pain. I mean it is this process that lends Idlis their crown as "the most healthiest of dishes".

Coming to the recipe, I saw this recipe in one of the Tamil magazines [Snegithi - May 2015] by Mallika Badrinath. The recipe was very intriguing but I have reduced the recipe by half in weight as it was the trial version. I must say that the trial version is a great success.

I am sure you are aware of all the common variations and additions :  millets / vegetable / sweet / savoury / manchurian / podi etc and the list is endless. Adding tender coconut was something new to me atleast. Yes, I do add fresh coconut when grinding for appam but this was something new.

Tender coconut is abundantly available throughout summer. There are two kinds of tender coconut available - the green one which is quite large and red one which is a bit smaller. The red variety [sevilaneer] is more tasty than the green variety.

For this recipe I chose the Sevilaneer [5 nos] which lends a subtle sweet taste to the idlis. I know it is a lot of tender coconuts to buy, even the vendor looked at me asked if anyone was sick in my household. When I mentioned that I was going to make idlis, he was even more amazed.

This idli has a subtle sweet taste which was complimented by peanut chutney and sweet beetroot chutney perfectly. Any chutney which has a sweet vegetable ingredient [carrot / sweet potato / pumpkin etc] would be fine. You can sweeten the batter more by adding palm sugar [powdered] and can make sweet idlis.

I haven't yet tried making dosai with this batter but should try it in the future.

All the other commitments have kept me away from my dear blog but the passion to blog doesn't vanish, no matter what. I am starting with all the draft posts which have been in the file for more than 6 months.

Kindly read the "Notes" section before trying this recipe.

Idli rice : 2 cups
Urad dal : 1/2 cup
Fenugreek seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Tender coconut water : 6 cups
Tender coconut flesh [scrapings] : 1 cup

Wash the rice and urad dal in cold water twice. Soak the rice and dal in coconut water for 4 hrs. Grind to a smooth batter. Add the tender coconut scrapings at the last stage and grind for about a minute. Collect the ground idli batter onto a vessel [stainless silver preferably]. Cover and ferment for about 6 to 8 hours. Use the batter to make idlis the usual way.

Pour onto greased idli plates or idli plates lined with a thick cotton cloth and place it in the idli cooker. Steam for 10-15 minutes. Serve with any of the usual accompaniments.

Notes:
The number of tender coconuts [water and scrapings] used depends on the size of the fruit. It is a good idea to keep a cup of tender coconut water extra. The liquid should be one inch above the the rice and dal when soaking.
It is essential to cook all the batter on day 1. It will not taste good the second day like the normal idli batter..
The tender coconut scrapings should be very tender [இளம் தோசை பதம்] . Kindly don't use mature coconut scrapings.
Keep the soaked rice and dal in a cool place. Even when grinding, don't let the batter become warm. Transfer the batter once done.
There is no need for the batter to be ground to a very fine paste.

Enjoy..

Scribbled by Reva