Name: Kancheepuram Idli / Kanchivaram idli recipe by Sandhya Ramakrishnan at BetterButter
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 33 min
Yield: 32
Ingredients: Raw Rice – 1 cup (I use Sona Masoori); Idli Rice – 1 cup; Ullutham Paruppu / Urad dal – 1 cup; Vendhayam / Fenugreek seeds – 1 tsp; Sour yogurt – ½ cup; Salt – to taste; Oil or ghee – 3 tbsp (preferably gingelly oil, if using oil); Kadugu / mustard seeds – 2 tsp; Kadalai paruppu / Chana dal – 3 tsp; Jeeragam / cumin seeds – 4 tsp; Milagu / Black Pepper – 3 tsp (crushed coarsely); Curry leaves – a handful; Sukku powder / Dry ginger powder – 1 tsp; Asafetida – ½ tsp; Cashew nuts – few

ABOUT Kancheepuram Idli / Kanchivaram idli RECIPE

In the temple, since it is used as prasadam for the god, they only use raw rice and not idli rice. In the restaurants though, they use the combination of both the rice. I also decided the same and hence used the recipe from the Rama’s Café and Krishna Vilas, where they use equal quantities of raw rice and idli rice.

Ingredients Serving: 32

Raw Rice – 1 cup (I use Sona Masoori)
Idli Rice – 1 cup
Ullutham Paruppu / Urad dal – 1 cup
Vendhayam / Fenugreek seeds – 1 tsp
Sour yogurt – ½ cup
Salt – to taste
Oil or ghee – 3 tbsp (preferably gingelly oil, if using oil)
Kadugu / mustard seeds – 2 tsp
Kadalai paruppu / Chana dal – 3 tsp
Jeeragam / cumin seeds – 4 tsp
Milagu / Black Pepper – 3 tsp (crushed coarsely)
Curry leaves – a handful
Sukku powder / Dry ginger powder – 1 tsp
Asafetida – ½ tsp
Cashew nuts – few

Instructions

Wash and soak both the rice, urad dal and methi seeds together in water for about 4 hours.
Using the wet grinder, grind the soaked rice and dal into a coarse batter. Add little water when grinding. The batter has to be thicker in consistency. Make sure you grind the batter coarser than you would for normal idli.
Transfer the batter into a large container and add salt. Using your hands mix the batter well. My mother says that using hands to mix the batter helps in fermenting it better and quicker.
Let the batter ferment until it has risen well (about double). It could take 8 to 24 hours depending on how cold it is. Mine took about 24 hours.
Once the batter has fermented, add the sour yogurt to it and mix. This just helps in getting an additional layer of sourness. This could be skipped if you don’t have any.
In a pan, heat the ghee or oil. I used a combination of both. Fry all the ingredients mentioned under the seasoning. Add this to the batter and mix gently to combine.
Grease the idli plates or moulds and pour the batter. I just added a few cashew pieces and then poured the batter. I used small cups/bowls for few and idli mould for few. You could also use a deep plate to make the idli and then slice them.
Steam the batter for about 15 to 18 minutes. The idli plates would be done in about 15 minutes, but the deeper the dish is, the longer it will take to cook. This idli takes longer than regular idlis to cook.
Serve with milagai podi or chutney. The idli is quite spicy and flavourful and just the milagai podi was enough for us.

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