Rava Idli or Suji Idli is a South Indian breakfast dish made using semolina. Learn to make soft, hotel-style idli at home using my recipe. Here is how to make it.
You can also try other Idli recipes and make it for your everyday breakfast – Egg Idli, Ragi Idli, and Healthy Instant Beetroot Oats Idli.
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About This Recipe
Rava Idli or Suji Idli is a popular South Indian steamed breakfast dish that is made with the combination of rava (semolina) and yogurt.
Rava Idli is an instant idli recipe, which needs no fermentation and no grinding, thus it is simple to make whenever you crave those soft idlis.
Suji Idli or Rava Idli is low on calories and fat, making it healthy for everyday breakfast. It is also a good source of protein and carbs. Therefore, it is a great option to include breakfast for your weight loss diet.
You can make it even more healthy by adding vegetables into the batter. Add grated carrots, as it adds a great texture to the Sooji idlis. You can even substitute carrots with any vegetables of your choice such as corn, peas, beetroot, etc.
This Rava Idli also has a South Indian tempering which is mixed with the Semolina, which makes it more flavourful and also gives this soft idli a bite.
Don’t forget to add ENO fruit salt in the batter just before you put the batter in the molds, as it will give you fluffy and soft idlis.
This Rava Idli is,
- Instant
- Soft and Fluffy
- Super Easy
- Yummy
- Healthy
- Perfect for weekday breakfast
Ingredients
Rava – Rava, semolina, or Suji makes Instant idlis, which means no fermentation. Just roast the rava, mix it with other ingredients and steam it. Yes, that’s it!
Always use the fine Rava, not the coarser or bigger one. You can opt for Bombay Rava or Chiroti Rava.
To make it, even more, healthier, you can use whole wheat rava or red rava to make these Idlis, but the taste and texture might differ a bit.
Yogurt – We will also add a little yogurt, which will make your Idlis super soft and fluffy.
Eno Fruit Salt – Add this one right before adding the batter to the Idli molds. It helps your Idlis to rise and also adds to the texture of the same.
Others – The rava is lightly roasted along with mustard seeds, chana dal, cumin seeds, hing, curry leaves, ginger, green chilies, dry red chilies, and cashew nuts. These ingredients along with flavor give a nice texture in the idlis too.
These ingredients adds a South Indian flavour along with a nice bite and crunch from the cashew nuts.
Green Chillies adds a nice hint of spiciness in these Idlis. If you are making it for your kids, you can skip adding green chillies from this Idli recipe.
Step By Step Recipe
Heat vegetable oil in a pan. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and chana dal and fry for a few seconds.
Add hing, curry leaves, ginger, green chilli, dry red chilli and cashew nuts and fry until cashew nuts turns slightly brown.
Add rava and roast it on low flame until slightly browned. Remove the rava on a plate and let it cool completely. Always roast the rava on low heat until it is aromatic. Don’t make it brown! Also never roast it on high heat, because the Rava might get burnt.
Now add yogurt and a little water in the cooled rava and mix well.
Add some water to make idli like batter. Cover the batter and keep aside for 15 minutes. Check the consistency of the batter once again. Add more water if required, Eno fruit salt and mix well again.
Grease a idli pan and add water in it. Let the water come to a boil. In the meanwhile, pour the battering the greased moulds.
Steam the idli for 10 minutes. Remove the idli from moulds and serve hot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Eno Fruit Salt and Yogurt are two main ingredients in this recipe, that makes sure that the Idlis are soft and fluffy.
If you skip any of these or use them in less quantity, it will give your hard Idlis.
Yes, you can make Rava Idli with buttermilk. But make sure that the quantity is enough and the batter has the right consistency and not too watery.
If the rava is not roasted well or if the batter is too thin, it might lead to sticky Idlis. So make sure you get the roasting and the consistency right.
You do not need an Idli Steamer to make these Rava Idlis. Just grease your steel cups or plates with ghee or oil and pour the batter in it, and then steam it in a big pot. Just the shape of the Idlis will be different, the taste and texture will remain the same.
I always roast it to make these Idlis, but there are so many recipes where Rava is not roasted and they do turn out good. If using Chiroti Rava, which is finer than the usual Rava, you can skip roasting it.
Roasting the Rava gives your Idlis a light texture, without making them sticky. SO just to be safe, roast it before making these Idlis.
Eno Fruit Salt is now easily available in most Indian grocery stores but if you don’t have it, replace it with a mixture of baking soda and citric acid. 1 tsp ENO = ½ tsp baking soda + ½ tsp citric acid
Storage Suggestions
Leftover idli can be stored in an airtight container for upto 3 days in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, sprinkle some water over them and heat in a microwave covered.
You can keep the batter overnight in the refrigerator, but add Enos Fruit Salt only when ready to make the Idlis.
Serving Suggestions
Rava Idli can be served with Sambar such as Radish Sambar, Mixed Vegetable Sambar or Kerala Style Sambar.
I also keep making different chutneys on the sides such as – South Indian Coconut Chutney, Tomato Chutney, Green Coconut Chutney, Red Coconut Chutney, South Indian Onion Tomato Chutney, and Peanut Coriander Chutney.
You can even serve it along with Podi recipes such as – Idli Podi, Karivepaku Podi and Andhra Style Peanut Chutney Powder.
Pro Tips By Neha
Make sure that your Idli batter has the right consistency. Its neither too thick nor too thin to get perfect Idlis.
Do not use baking soda instead of Eno, as baking soda tends to react with spices and gives your Idlis a weird color.
Keep an eye on the Idlis. Do not over cook, otherwise they will become hard and chewy.
Roasting the semolina is very important. Roast the semolina until aromatic to get perfect Rava Idlis.
Use the right amount of Curd and Eno, to get soft and fluffy idlis. Do not increase or decrease the quantity of the same.
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Recipe Card
Rava Idli Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
- ½ teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- ½ teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 1 teaspoon Chana Dal
- ¼ teaspoon Hing
- 10-12 Curry Leaves
- 1 teaspoon Ginger (finely chopped)
- 1 teaspoon Green Chillies (finely chopped)
- 1 Dry Red Chilli (broken)
- 4-5 Cashew Nuts (crushed)
- 1 cup Rava
- ½ cup Yogurt
- 2 tablespoon Carrot (shredded)
- Salt (to taste)
- 1 teaspoon Eno Fruit Salt
Instructions
- Heat vegetable oil in a pan.
- Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and chana dal and fry for a few seconds.
- Add hing, curry leaves, ginger, green chilli, dry red chilli and cashew nuts and fry until cashew nuts turns slightly brown.
- Add rava and roast it on low flame until slightly browned.
- Remove the rava on a plate and let it cool completely.
- Add curd and carrot in the cooled rava and mix well.
- Add some water to make idli like batter.
- Cover the batter and keep aside for 15 minutes.
- Check the consistency of the batter once again.
- Add more water if required.
- Grease a idli pan and add water in it.
- Let the water come to a boil.
- In the meanwhile, add Eno fruit salt in the batter, mix well and then pour the batter in the greased molds.
- Steam the idli for 10 minutes. Remove the idli from moulds and serve hot.
Priya
Thanks Neha for this recipe.I have question,instead of Eno what I can add?
Neha Mathur
You can use baking soda. Mix it with some lemon juice.
Snigdha
Do you have substitute for eno fruit salt as I don’t have that..?
Neha Mathur
You can use baking soda.