Idli Obsession: Part II

Alright...so last Sunday I decided to try my hand at making south indian breakfast.  The key element to a south indian breakfast is the Idli.  These are fluffy little cakes made from a fermented rice and lentil batter.  The batter must be left in a warm place for at least 8 hours to ferment.  Once the batter has fermented it is steamed in an Idli mould (see below).  Sounds a bit disgusting I know but they are SO delicious. Check out this great recipe and try for yourself at home...you can generally find Idli moulds at your local indian grocery or, of course, online :-)

Wada is another common south indian breakfast dish.  Wada, below, are fried snacks made from a batter of lentils that are soaked then mixed with various spices in a food processor.  They are usually shaped like little doughnuts...but my batter was a bit soupy so they just ended up as fried globs...

No south indian breakfast, or meal for that matter, would be complete without Sambar (see below). This is essentially a very watery, very fiery lentil and vegetable soup.  Idli and wada are dipped and/or doused in this lovely condiment!

Rasam and Chutney, below, are two more common condiments that are eaten with wada, idli, and dosa (I did NOT attempt dosa...)  Rasam is a spicy sauce best made with buttermilk while chutney is more of a sweet condiment generally made with fresh coconut...yes I had to find, open, and grate fresh coconut for this.  Coconut kholo bhajiwalla!!...my local vegetable man helped me select and open a nice coconut! 

The results?!  Well my food didn't taste anywhere near as good as Cafe Madras :-(  But, I suppose they do have about 70 years more experience than me!  I am not going to give up though...I have convinced a south indian friend to give me a cooking lesson!  I am going to find out all the tips and tricks and will keep everyone posted on my progress...