Like me, everyone should agree that mother is the best cook we ever had in our life. Mother's cooking is the best because it's prepared with unconditional love, care, and comfort, nourishing the soul. A mother's cooking often involves significant effort and dedication, whether it's a simple meal or an elaborate feast, all aimed at providing nourishment and love. My mom is not different. She is pure foodholics and never miss out on trying new dishes even at age of 75 +. Yesterday, she surprised me with Semolina Idli dish with peanuts chutney.
She intantly served me with Semolina idli. In begining, it looked like a puffed cake. While traditional idlis rely solely on fermentation for their spongy texture, semolina (rava) idlis often use yogurt and a chemical leavening agent to achieve a quick, pillowy rise. She know how to make any dish looks like tempting.
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To prepare this dish she made use of
- 1 cup of Semolina
- 1/2 cup of yoghurt
- pinch of salt
- Fruit salt (Eno) or baking soda.
Since semolina idlis are an instant version that does not require the lengthy process of fermentation, they depend on an added leavening agent.
To prepare the dish, First of all, mix semolina, curd and salt and Eno powder in a vessel. Now add some water to it and make a thick paste, whisk it well and keep this paste for 10 minutes. To cook it instantly, she place the same bowl inside the pressurr cooker to steam. She let it to steam in lpw flame for 10 to 12 minutes. Turn off the heat and remove the idli bowl leaving it there for 2 minutes. It appears to be a puffed cake.
The plain cake is not yet tempting. To make it delicious she garnish them with oil and herbs tadka.
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Tadka is technique where spices are bloomed in hot oil to release their fat-soluble flavors. This flavorful oil is then either added to a dish to build flavor at the beginning of cooking or drizzled over a finished dish as a finishing touch to enhance taste and aroma. In my Mom case, she garnished the puffed cake with
- Kadi leaves
- mustard seeds
- Green chillies
- mustard oil
She fried all the ingredients in a separate pan.
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The hot ingradients tadka were all spread over the puffed cake. This infusion process amplifies the spices' flavor and fragrance, creating a more intense and layered taste experience.
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She remove the semolina cake from the bowl and place them on the plate. She then cut them into small pieces in cubes shapes.
This simple dish is best serves with spicy chutney. My mom made some special arrangement. She roasted some peanuts, added Green chillies, and Kadi leaves, pinch of salt, garlic and made a paste of it in a grinder. She added rhe left over tadka oil into it, to make more flavourful.
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She was very quick and excited to serve this dish to me. She is a real foodholics and she knew I love rhis kind of simple yet healthy dish. It was delicious especially when combined with the chutney.
The steaming process and its light texture make semolina idli easy to digest. Steaming rather than frying helps keep idlis low in fat and calories, making them a good choice for weight management.
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Semolina idli is a great breakfast option, making it a balanced, satisfying, and healthy start to the day.
In good faith - Peace!!
