Matta Rice Idli

also called Kerala Red Rice Idli · Palakkadan Matta Idli

A pinkish, fibre-rich Kerala idli built on unpolished red Matta rice with sprouted urad - heartier than the white-rice version.

Kerala - Palakkadan Matta heartland

Image: Chitra's Food Book · Blog photo · small "www.chitrasfoodbook.com" URL at the bottom

Made with Palakkadan Matta - the unpolished, slightly bran-coated red rice that is Kerala's signature grain. The bran gives the idli a distinctive pinkish hue, a higher fibre count, and a heartier mouthfeel than a white-rice idli.

The trick to keeping it light is sprouting the urad dal before grinding. Sprouting boosts the natural enzymes that puff the batter, which compensates for the heavier red rice. The technique is the same for any whole-grain rice idli - black rice and brown rice substitute 1:1.

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 unpolished red Matta rice
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.
Day 1 morning - soak the urad dal 10–12 hours.
2.
Day 1 night - drain the urad and cover loosely to sprout overnight; soak both rices together with the fenugreek seeds.
3.
Day 2 morning - in a wet grinder, grind the fenugreek with ½ cup water for 5 minutes; add the sprouted urad dal and grind ~30 minutes with minimal water; 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 until a knife comes out clean.

Serve with

sambarcoconut chutneyidli podi

Notes

Sprouting the urad dal is the trick to keeping the batter aerated despite the heavier red rice. Black or brown rice can substitute for the Matta in a 1:1 ratio. Batter keeps refrigerated up to 3 days.

Adapted from kannammacooks.com.

Where it's from

Palakkad, Kerala · 10.79°N, 76.65°E