Rava idli

I ate rava idli for the first time in Bangalore. This was neither prepared at my home nor I had tasted it anywhere at my native or in Balgaum. So first time when I ate it, I became a fan of it. After that I would eat it everytime I went to any restaurant, but never tried making it at home.
This recipe is from my friend Poornima. I hesitated to post it because I could find a recipe of rava idli in almost all blogs. But finally I thought of posting it anyway, anytime I needed to make this again, I wanted a reference.
Everytime I make this dish, I remember my Pappa (father). He always says he had tasted this during his college days in the hostel canteen. He says he loved these idlis. I wish to make these idlis for him when I visit him or he visits me next time. I know, before that Aayi would make these for him, but still
.
Ingredients:
1 cup wheat sooji/rava (medium thick)
1/2 tea spn mustard seeds
1/2 tea spn grated and crushed ginger
2-3 finely chopped green chilies
1 tea spn chana daal
1/4 tea spn soda
3/4 cup grated carrot
1 tbl spn cashews(optional)
2-3 strands of coriander leaves
2 tbl spn grated coconut(fresh or frozen)
1 cup yogurt/curd
1-2 tbl spn oil
Salt
Method:
Roast sooji till a nice aroma comes out.
Heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they start popping, add ginger, green chilies, chana daal and fry for sometime. Switch off the heat and immediately add sooji, mix well.
Add salt, soda, carrot, coriander leaves, coconut, yogurt/curd and mix well. Leave it for around 30mins.
Grease an idli stand. Keep half cashew and then put the mixture on top (so that when the idlis are removed, the cashews can be seen on the top). Steam for around 12-15mins.
Serve hot.
Serves : 2
Preparation time : 30mins (excluding standing time)
Updated on Dec 07 – 2006:
PS: If you do not want to add soda, still the idlis can be made soft. I got the following tips from Poornima.
- Add more oil. When the seasoning is mixed with rava/sooji, it should be almost the consistency of rava laddoo.
- Add more curd/yogurt. The batter consistency should be like normal idlis.

I make it the same way. I call it vegetable Rave Idli,place one big Cashew on top of each idli before steaming. I know how great it tastes , even with just little plain yoghurt.
Don’t worry if most of us have the same recipe because some dishes are like that.Everybody knows the recipe but we still like to see these in other blogs and drool over them.That reminds me, I have to steam some of these now. They are mouthwatering:)
Hi Shilpa,
Thanks for the receipe. By seeing the receipe i tried many times…but i didn’t get good out come…
.It was hard.
Then i recalled, what should be wrong,after reading yours i got it..I forget to add soda i think.
I had many times in hostel, it is special in most of our tamilnadu hostels. Though it is not new receipe for me,i tried once with ready to use mix, it came well. Then wanna try myself, which resulted badly.
Let me try your version this time again….
Hi Shilpa,
is that coriander chutney from your recipe collection? it looks soooooooooooo yummy!
All the recipes that I tried from your website have turned out great.
Keep up the good work.
Thanks
Thanks Asha. After reading your comment I am feeling, I did a good thing by posting it
.
Usha, my first attempt was also a failure. Please see the tips to make the idlis soft.
Sm, yes it is the same coriander chutney. Thanks for the lovely words. I really appriaciate your time to leave a comment here.
Shilpa…What a coincidence. My mom told me yesterday how to make rawa idli, as i was worried that my son does not have his lunch in school. This idli looks attractive and i am going to try this tommorrow itself. I did not note down the ingrediants when my mom told me and thought i will note it some other time. I just remember she telling me “rulao mohnke phanna ghaleche ane dahye ghalunu ardha ghanto dhavarche” – Make somewhat like upma and soak in dahi for 30 min. I like the idea of placing a cashew before adding batter.Thanks for sharing.
Aayis recipes helps me so much. I dont have to keep calling my mom for recipes.
I have tried making rava idlis a couple of times, but always the idlis come out hard. They arnt as soft as the restaurants. Any tips there?
Thanks Aruna
.
Manjula, Please see the tips. Try it and let me know.
Rava Idli looks so good Shilpa.
Made this today. Came out soft and nice. Waiting to see whether my son has eaten it. Thanks again for posting.
Hi shilpa,
Nice post and ice pictures too!!!
I tried ur ragi idali and everybody liked it veri much.so now i will tri to make this one!!!
but is there any way to make it soft without using soda??? I can;t use it because i am allergic to it!!!
Plz suggest something!!
Rochin.
Rochin, I have updated the post with my friend’s tips. Have a look, you can completely avoid soda and still make the idlis soft.
Shilpa akka! Great looking idlis…. had once been to Surkund Mam and Mai and se had made awesome rava idlis. She had told me clearly “Rava and dahi in 1:1 proportion, not less, even a bit more dahi is fine. I never tried the idlis, but now I will
Will you please put up the recipe for Oondi? Or have you already?
Varsha, when did u start calling me Shilpa-akka?? I love to be called that
. That clear instruction is good, I will update the post. Thanks.
I haven’t put Oondi recipe yet. Will post it soon.
Hi Shilpa..
Thanks for the recipe.. Today i made Idli, chatany and sambar..
it was awesome.. We like it.. Now i can say, i can make a good Rawa idly with chatney and sambar…
All Aai’s recipe’s i like.. .. really it’s helps alot…i don’t have to keep asking and calling my mom..
thanks shilpa..
hi friends,
For making soft rava idali u can add fruit salt instead of soda, it is available in all medical stores.. if u will not get the same u can use eno.
thanks
Sonia
Hi Shilpa…
I want to prepare these idlis..
can i use rice rava for this?
Thanks a lot for ur recipes…
J, Usually, rice rava is not used for this kind of idli. But you can give it a try.
If u can add urad dal and rava plus curd it will bring u nice soft idlis even without soda
hi!It is a good recipe but can I make it in a microwave.If so ,tell me how much time I need to keep it in a microwave.Thank You.
Shilpa: I know it can be made in microwave, because one of my friend makes normal idlis in microwave with wicrowave safe idli stand. I haven’t tried it any time, you might have to do some experiment.
I want to try rava idli as per the recipe given above, But had a question, dont we put any water in the batter???
Shilpa: Kinjal, usually water is not added unless the batter becomes very thick. But if curd/yogurt is very thick, then sprinkle a little water.
I tried it today (Early at 5 am I got craving for this stuff) I tried the above recipe and I also added poha/avil/flattened rice to make more softer and it rocked!
siva
Microwaving the idly batter
For rava idly it usually takes 2 minutes for a tea spoon batter. Egg pocher (Microwavable) can be used for this purpose. good luck. Regular idly made in microwave are generally not that good and tend to be more stiff. One more trick. The batter need to be more thin. It should not be a batter consistance but more diluted like milk gheer. This makes the rava to cook properly and at the same timee the idly tend to be softer.
this is what I learnt in my experiments. good luck and choose your style
siva
Hi Shilpa,
Have tried recipes from your collection and for the new cook I am, they all turn out amazing!:-)
Tried these rava idlis today, but didnt get them good. I added the rava we use for upma, the consistency was like for normal idlis. I steamed for more than 15 minutes, but they werent cooked yet. Rather, the top half of an idli was liquid whereas the lower half was done. Does this mean the batter was too watery?
Also, when I poured the batter, the cashew moves away and doesnt come on top of the idli. Any special glue?
Please help me out.
Shilpa: I think they should have been steamed for some more time. You can try making them less watery next time.
I had some upma rava but didnt feel like having upma so tried your recipe. I got the consistency which is more like dough. I added 1/2 cup water.I have not started steaming them yet. Is it alright if I add some more water?
Shilpa: Yes, if it is too dry, add more water.
Thanks Shilpa. I added more yoghurt to get the right consistency. They turned out great. Took them over to a cousin’s and everyone loved them. Couldn’t believe I had made them – I dont enjoy a great reputation for cooking. Am going to try other recipes from your blog.
Thanks for a great site. I never could get my rava idlis to be soft till now. but ever since i got this recipe, it turns out great.
will certainly add you to my link.
Bingo!.. i tried rava idli(which is never heard of in kerala) and it came excellent…..moreover being in US and carving for really traditional appetite, i was searching for new recipes.Since i had no soda,i had to add extra curd and oil to form a idli consistency…and believe me it came out fantastic!!!!!..thanx aayis blog….its worth going thru vast number of recipes and well written notes….keep up ur gud work!!!!
You can also add Eno salt just before pouring the batter into molds and mix well. Comes out very soft.
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Good Very Good.
The picture itself made me hungry
when i read ur receipe i feel like making idlis for my son .nice presentation.
hai
just now i tried the rava idly it is simply supererb ,i just followed ur instructions and the idly has come out well.istay in uk we have relocated newly from bangalore ,here now i dont have a mixer and we were using the ready made idly mix ,i really wanted to make something ,homemade .this week i will be getting my mixer so i can try out all ur recipes.today it gave me so much of confidece to cook again &again in absence of elders at home ,no one to correct ur mistakes .to tell u the truth i am a beginner in cooking and i think ur website is the guru
thanxs
i will try
It does look easy and yummy…used to do my mom’s recipe always…i ll try this today….
Hi,
Thanks for putting this up. I did make this earlier today and it came out well. However, it was not as fluffy as the ones I usually make from readymade Rava idli mix. Ma be I need to use more soda. I will keep experimenting….
Thanks
Hi,
I prepared these rava idlis yeaterday only and they were just yummy. thanks and looking forward to other tasty recipes also.
hello shilpa.i wanted to know which type of rava is tobe used.we r getting a fine type of rava and one more is mysore rava which is thick type.which type of rava to be used if u know any perticuler type of comapany available in USA please let me know.
thanks
Shilpa: According to me, the coarse one would be best. I don’t know the brand as I usually don’t pay much attention to it
Hi shilpa,
Can u send recipe for mango idli
Hey, great recipe. I love rava idlis but never got a good recipe. Thanks a million.
Wonderful rava idli recipe. Well explained. Tried it and it came out very well. Everyone in my family loved it.
Thanks a lot for this recipe:-)
very nice reciepe
Hi Shilpa,
Can we use very thin rava to make these idlis? I do not have medium thick rava.
Thanks,
Kanchan
Shilpa: Yes.
Hi ,
I made Rava Idlis as per your recipe and they came out wonderful! My Husband, who usually dislikes the normal (white) Idlis, was delighted with these. My 3 year old daughter relished them too with coconut chutney!
Thanks for sharing it..My Rava Idlis were never as perfect as this time!
RNaaz.
Whenever i need to prepare any new dishes for the first time i take help from your site. Thank you.
usually rava idlis become hard. what should be added to make them soft and fluffy?
Shilpa: Have you tried this recipe for rava idli?
How much Eno should be used if i am using it in place of soda? same quantity as soda?
Shilpa: I don’t know
. I would have tried with same quantity.
I am interested in trying receipes
Hi Shilpa,
I came across your blog while browsing thru some recipes. For someone like me, whose parents have migrated out of Karnataka more than 70 years ago, it’s interesting to see traditional recipes…..we’re originally from S Kanara, btw…….Here’s what I do when I make rava idlis…..i add some kasuri methi to give them a nice flavour…another thing I have observed is that the curds have to be really sour and at room temperature for the idlis to be perfect….here’s to more recipes!!!!
HI
The rava idli really came out to be good… it was so yummy. i couldnt believe that they would come out so soft and tasty. as u said in tips i added more curd.
Thanks a lot for ur recipe..
Hello Mam,
I have a doubt, whether to fry the sooji/rava before mixing it with yougurt?
Pls do reply,
Waiting to hear from u,
DhivyaVijay.
Shilpa: You can fry it. But as I mentioned in recipe, it is enough if you put it in hot seasoning and mix well.
To make a rava batter can we use water instead of yogurt … i understand it would be diifer in taste … but can we try this ?
Shilpa: I don’t think it will work. But you can try.