Instant Pot Idli - Fermented Rice Cakes

Instant Pot idli in a green plate with chutney and sambar around it in small bowls.

5 from 1 vote

Instant Pot Idli - Fermented Rice Cakes

A delicious recipe from South India, Idli is perfect to enjoy for breakfast or a meal. This Instant Pot Idli recipe guides to make the batter from scratch and steam the idlis in the instant pot.

It pairs perfectly with sambar, chutney or rasam.

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Fermenting and Soaking Time1

Total Time30

Course: Breakfast, Main Course

Cuisine: South Indian

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 77kcal

Author: Smruti

Ingredients

1 cup Urad Dal
3 cups Idli Rice
1 tablespoon Fenugreek seeds
3 tablespoon Poha
1½ tablespoon Salt
2-3 tablespoon Oil

Instructions

To make the idli batter

Add the urad dal in a large bowl. Rinse with tap water a couple of times (till the water runs clear).
1 cup Urad Dal
Soak in enough water to cover them completely and remain a couple of inches above it. Add in fenugreek seeds as well.
1 tablespoon Fenugreek seeds
Do the same with idli rice. Soak them in a separate container and set aside for 8-10 hours.
3 cups Idli Rice
If using thick poha, soak them in water 30 minutes before you are ready to grind the batter.
3 tablespoon Poha
In a high speed blender add drained urad dal and fenugreek seeds.
Add only a little of the soaking water and grind till it is smooth.
Transfer to the insert of the instant pot.
In the same blender jar (without washing) add the drained rice and poha.
Grind till smooth and transfer to the ground dal.
Add salt (if using) and mix everything well. Also add in 2-3 cubes of ice.
1½ tablespoon Salt
Place the insert in the instant pot and set the mode to yogurt and normal. Adjust the time to 10 hours and cover with a glass cover. Let this stand for 10 hours.
After the time has passed, check of the batter has fermented. If not, let it ferment for another 1 hour.
Open the lid and transfer to a bowl.

To make the idlis

Add water in the instant pot insert and set it to 'saute'. Let the water come to a boil.
Meanwhile, grease the idli stand with oil or non-stick spray.
2-3 tablespoon Oil
Spoon in some batter in each of the cavities.
Place the idli stand in the instant pot. Set the mode of the Instant Pot to Steam and vent to venting. The time required to steam the idlis is 10 minutes.
After the idlis have steamed, remove the stand and transfer the idlis to a plate.
Serve these instant pot idli with Cilantro Coconut Chutney, Red Tomato Chutney, Red Pepper Chutney, Sambar and Sukha Coconut Chutney.

Notes

Pick the right rice and dal: Traditionally idli rice is perfect for making idli and dosa. However, we can easily use any short grain rice. Sona Masoori is one such rice that works really well. When it comes to dal, urad dal is the perfect choice. Urad dal comes in various forms, whole with covering, whole without the cover and split. The covered ones tend to be black in color and make the batter gritty and dark. So use either the whole or split but dehusked dal. I generally stick to whole dal i.e. urad gota.

Adding poha: Poha is often added to the idli batter. Poha makes the idli super soft. Again, we can either use thick or thin poha. Thin poha can be added to the blender directly and thick ones need about 30 minutes of soaking time. Skip these if unavailable, but I would strongly recommend using for the recipe.

Why add methi: Methi or fenugreek seeds helps kick start the fermentation, especially in cold weather where we need something to start the process. Add whole methi or powdered methi for the recipe.

The role of salt: Salt is added for taste and flavor. Moreover, it helps fermentation. However, be careful to add non-processed salt when adding before fermenting. Regular table salt or iodized salt are not ideal to add before fermentation as it stops the process. If using these, add them after fermenting the idli batter.
Soaking rice and dal: It is best to soak the rice and dal separately. Do not soak them together, as they are best ground separate. Wash these well and soak in regular water. Do not use hot water as the grains start to cook in super hot water. Soak overnight or at least 8-10 hours.
Do not steam for a long time: Steaming the instant pot idli for a longer time than needed results in hard idlis. 10-12 minutes is the perfect sweet spot to make the idlis perfectly soft for a regular stand. Moreover, if using a mini idli stand, steam only for 8-10 minutes. The idli will be perfect.
Fermenting: The fermentation process is perfect to do in the instant pot. A timed recipe, this is sure shot to work in every weather. Always use a larger instant pot as we do not want the batter to overflow int the machine. A couple of ice cubes help maintain the temperature without cooking the batter while fermenting.
Grinding: We need to grind these separate. First grind the dal well and then the rice. We do it in this order as the dal is difficult to grind in a blender after rice. Use a high speed blender as it grinds it all well. And last, add as little water as possible to grind. We can always add more water but cannot remove it from the batter.

Instant Pot: Remember to always account for the time needed for the Instant Pot to come to pressure. The cook time listed does not account for this.

Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates using an automated calculator. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator. The values here are for each medium size idli.

Nutrition