Basic Batter:-

•Soak rice and dal separately for 4-5 hours.
•Drain and grind Urad dal with a few ice cubes and some water to make a fine paste.
•Drain and grind soaked rice with a little warm water, salt and cooked rice to form a coarse paste.
•Mix rice and dal and allow to ferment for at least 12 hours. Keep in a warm place.
•The batter should double and be fluffy when fermented. Add baking soda if required.


Steaming Idlis in microwave:-

•Grease idli stand with oil.
•Pour in the batter in the moulds up to 3/4 full
•Steam for 3 mins in microwave.
•Let stand for 2 mins then serve with chutneys and sambhar.


Basic Oat idli Batter :-
Plain idli batter - 1 cup
Rolled Oats/Instant Oats - 1/2 cup, soaked in hot water for 20 mins (use little water enough to cover oats - extra water should not be left over after the oats soak for 20 mins.)

Mix soaked oats to idli batter and let stand for 5 mins before making idlis.



Use your imagination to make different types of idlis. Here are some I tried:

Oat Masala Idlis :-

•Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onion, ginger, green chilies, curry leaves , cashews and salt.
•Fry till onion is almost done.
•Mix this in oats idli batter and steam to make masala idlis.



Oat Cinnamon Idlis :-

•Add cinnamon powder to oat idli batter.
•For making sweet idlis you may skip salt altogether in the batter or add a pinch.
•Steam to make sweet idlis and serve with honey.


Flavored Batter Idlis :-

•Mix the flavouring agent directly into the batter. I mixed green chutney in the batter to make green idlis.
•You can try with Dill and other herbs and vegetables.


Stuffed Idlis :-

•Make stuffing of your choice. It could be potato and vegetables, chicken, or plain chutneys or sweet coconut chutneys. In case of vegetables or chicken, the stuffing should be completely cooked. I used the green chutney I had.
•Grease the idli moulds and pour very little batter. Steam for a few to make a base so that the stuffing does not sink to the bottom.
•Add a layer of the stuffing and the remaining batter to cover 3/4th of the mould.
•Steam and serve.



http://cooktorelax.blogspot.com/2008/07/oat-idli-platter.html