Foxtail Millet Idli

also called Thinai Idli · Kangni / Korra Idli

The base recipe for the entire small-millet family - kodo, little, barnyard and bamboo rice all use the same ratios.

South Indian - millet revival

Image: Archana's Kitchen - Foxtail Millet Mini Idli · Blog photo · low-resolution thumbnail (CDN serves smaller images to bots)

Foxtail Millet idli is the base recipe for an entire family of idlis. The ratio (4 parts millet to 1 part urad dal) and the fermentation method are identical for kodo, little, barnyard and bamboo-rice idlis, and the same technique scales to whole-grain rices like black and brown rice. So if you can make foxtail millet idli, you can make all of them.

Foxtail itself (thinai in Tamil, kangni in Hindi, korra in Telugu) is a small, mildly sweet, light millet - the easiest entry point into the category.

The Recipe

Yield · 4–5 servings

Effort profile

Soak4–5 hours

Ferment8–12 hours (weather-dependent)

Steam15 minutes

Steps5

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

Ingredients

Batter

2 cups foxtail millet (thinai / kangni / korra)
½ cup whole urad dal
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
Salt to taste

Method

1.
Wash and soak the millet separately. Soak urad dal with fenugreek seeds together. Both for 4–5 hours.
2.
Grind urad dal-fenugreek to a light fluffy paste, adding water gradually.
3.
Grind millet to a slightly coarse batter with a little water.
4.
Combine, add salt, and ferment in a warm spot until risen.
5.
Spoon into greased moulds and steam 15 minutes until a toothpick is clean.

Serve with

sambarcoconut chutneyidli podi with sesame oil

Notes

This same recipe and ratio (4:1 millet:urad) works for **kodo, little, barnyard and bamboo-rice idlis**. Black rice and brown rice idlis use the same technique with rice in place of the millet.

Adapted from padhuskitchen.com.