Rawa Idli (Vegetable Semolina Cakes) – Instant Pot

Rawa IdliMy all-time favorite Indian cooking is brunch or breakfast dishes. The lastest hit in my house is the Rawa Idli. They are steamed, lentil and vegetable studded semolina cakes.

They are perfect for breakfast, brunch, and or a light lunch. Aadi just comfirmed that his new thing is the Rawa Idli. The added bonus of these idlies is that they are a portable snack. A few in a ziplock bag, and you are in business.

They do not require any fermenting so they work well on short notice. As always, the best part of everything is that they are fun to make. A brainchild of a crazy busy weeknight. Actually right along with a dump sambhar that I promise to post soon.

 

My Rawa Idli Story

This week was a busy and somewhat crazy kind of week. The kind that is typical in the Spice Chronicles household. Like it or not, it is what fuels this blog and our table. It has been a while, since I have done the kind of slow, nursing the stove for hours kind of cooking. I have to confess; it is really not my thing. Maybe life just is too fast paced for that kind of a luxury… But then again, you hardly visit my site for that kind of thing, do you? Most of my cooking is desi mommy warrior kind of cooking. Make that mommy warrior under attack kind of cooking!

Rawa Idli

This week however, in between my many rounds of dropping kids, picking up fruit, and work I am ready to accept the latest sort of reckoning.

I want to make time for two things – one to pick up some library books to read. (High on my list is this one followed by this one. ) Also, want to get to one of Deepta’s robotics events. God knows, I am racking up enough miles taking her too and from practice.

My hard-working daughter, keeps the mommy taxi busy. Also, keeps the snack collection on this site growing!

Rawa Idli

I might not be looking forward to getting back to commuting, but, there is a certain forced amount of me time built into that commute, especially if I do not fill it with pricey bad Grand Central sangria.

Here are a handful of tested and tried tips.

  • Steam these with the venting off, or in case of the Ultra with no pressure.
  • Add in the water and turn on the sauté mode, to allow the water to begin boiling before adding in the insert.
  • Add in the Eno or baking soda once the water has started simmering.
  • Work quickly once you have added in the Eno.
  • If you do not have Eno, add 2 tablespoons of lime juice to the batter followed by 1/4 teaspoon baking soda to get almost similar results.

Some more ideas for Semolina and Idli

There are plenty of recipes around these lines, such as Semolina Dhokla, Millet Idli and a classic Rice and Lentil Idli.

If you like this recipe and want more ideas, do join my Indian Instant Pot Facebook group and Legume Love Group. Of course Instant Indian is ready for order, joining its siblings The Bengali Five Spice Chronicles and Spices and Seasons.

Do not forget to get social with me, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and even Youtube.

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Rawa Idli (Vegetable Semolina Cakes) – Instant Pot

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Rawa Idli (Vegetable Semolina Cakes) – Instant Pot

A recipe for semolina or instant idli done in the instant pot.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of coarse semolina
  • 3/4 cup of natural yogurt
  • 1 cup of water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon oil plus extra for greasing the idli moulds
  • 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
  • 1 tablespoon black split urad dal
  • 1 tablespoon yellow split channa dal
  • 6 to 10 curry leaves torn
  • 2 tablespoon broken cashew nuts (optional)
  • 1 small carrot diced
  • 1/4 cup frozen peas
  • 1 teaspoon Eno Fruit Salt or 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • Water for steaming

Instructions

  1. Mix the semolina, yogurt and water and set aside.
  2. Grease the idli moulds and set aside.
  3. Place water in the instant pot, I add in about 1 and 3/4 cup of water, since some of this will evaportate while the prepping process.
  4. Heat the oil and add in the black mustard seeds and wait until the seeds crackle.
  5. Add in the black and yellow lentils and toast for about a minute or two.
  6. Add in the curry leaves and cashew nuts if using. Turn off the heat.
  7. Stir in the carrot and green peas.
  8. Pour this into the semolina mixture.
  9. Gently stir in the Eno Fruit salt or the baking soda with lime juice, the mixture should become frothy.
  10. Working quickly add in about 2 tablespoons of the batter into each pan.
  11. Stack the pans and place in the instant pot or other steaming pot and steam for about 19 minutes. Let it rest for another 5 minutes.
  12. Carefully remove and serve with chutney.
https://spicechronicles.com/rawa-idly-vegetable-semolina-cakes/

 

2 Comments

  • Fred Rickson

    My first visit to India, Bangalore, as a biologist, was in the late ‘70s. Had a thali plate each morning which was a true eating discovery, and I appreciated the idea because I already knew how to cook well. So, from some little street stall, I bought a three tiered idli cooker for a couple of bucks, and paid Pan Am (long gone) about $100. to air freight it back to Oregon. Still have and use it. Also, now available in my Asian market for $10….but, doesn’t include the memory.
    ,

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