Horse gram steamed cake ( கொள்ளு இட்லி )

Horse gram steamed cake

கொள்ளு இட்லி

Ingredients:

Parboiled rice ( புழுங்கல் அரிசி )  -  2 cups

Horse Gram  ( கொள்ளு )              -  1/2 cup

Fenugreek seeds  (  வெந்தயம் )   - 1 tsp

Salt                                                     - 3 tsp

Steps:

Horse gram will have impurities like small stones. Clean and soak it separately for minimum 3 hours.

Wash and soak the rice as well. It needs minimum 2 hours but no harm in soaking an additional hour.

In a wet grinder, grind the horse gram first together with the fenugreek seeds to a very fine paste. 

You will get a fluffy texture similar to the urad dal batter.

Remove and then grind the soaked rice until a fine texture. This is done as you would do for normal idli batter.

Add salt and mix both horse gram and rice batter into an uniform consistency.

Mixing well plays a part to get  soft idlis. 

Leave the batter undisturbed to let it ferment overnight or minimum 6 hours. 

grinded horse gram 

horse gram & rice batter

Mix the fermented batter to get an uniform smooth consistency. Scoop out and pour in the mold ( idli plate) and steam . The time taken to cook is the same as normal idli, around 4 to 6 min. 

Serve the hot horse gram idli, as the steam cake is called in tamil, with sambar and coconut chutney.

My Notes:
Horse gram is a protein rich healthy lentil.
The steam cake is slightly dull in colour not as white as the normal idli. A slight differ in taste as well.
It is an excellent breakfast together with sambar ( lentil curry ) and coconut chutney.
Eat while it is hot.