Brown Rice Idli

A wholegrain idli with the bran left on - same recipe as Matta, slightly nuttier finish.

Pan-South Indian - wholegrain alternative

Image: Chitra's Food Book - Brown Rice Idli · Blog photo · small "chitrasfoodbook.com" URL

Brown rice idli is built on the same recipe as the Matta and black rice versions - the only swap is the rice. Leaving the bran on the grain adds fibre and a slightly nutty flavour, and sprouting the urad dal compensates for the heavier whole-grain texture so the batter still puffs.

A reliable, fibre-rich daily-driver if you've been wanting to move away from polished white rice without giving up the soft idli.

The Recipe

Yield · ~40 idlis

Effort profile

Soak~24 hours total (with sprouting step)

Ferment6–8 hours

Steam6–7 minutes

Steps6

Each axis is scaled against the longest example in the archive.

Ingredients

Batter

2 cups brown rice (unpolished)
2 cups regular white idli rice
1 cup whole black urad dal
2 tsp fenugreek seeds
3 tbsp sabudana, powdered
2 tbsp salt

Method

1.
Soak the urad dal 10–12 hours.
2.
Drain the urad and cover loosely to sprout overnight; soak both rices with the fenugreek.
3.
Grind the fenugreek with ½ cup water for 5 minutes; add the sprouted urad dal and grind ~30 minutes; transfer.
4.
Grind the rice with 1 cup water for ~30 minutes, adding the powdered sabudana midway.
5.
Combine batters, add salt, mix thoroughly. Ferment 6–8 hours until bubbly.
6.
Pour into greased moulds; steam 6–7 minutes.

Serve with

sambarcoconut chutneyidli podi

Notes

Brown rice swaps in 1:1 for red Matta. The bran adds fibre and a faintly nutty taste; sprouting the urad keeps the batter light.

Adapted from chitrasfoodbook.com.