Rava Idli Recipe

Rava Idli is a popular breakfast originated in the Tiffin centers of Karnataka. These are steamed cakes made with semolina (known as rava), curd (Indian yogurt), herbs and some tempering spices. Making these Rava Idli at home is quick and easier than you think because the recipe does not involve any soaking, grinding and fermentation like the traditional version.

About Rava Idli

Hot Rava Idli accompanied with coriander coconut chutney, potato sagu and a small bowl of melted ghee, is a delight served in Karnataka restaurants and tiffin centers. These kind of steamed cakes are made with a instant batter, where the ingredients are simply mixed up along with a leavening agent.

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The thick batter is then poured to moulds and steamed in a steamer or a cooker. During this process the leavening agent reacts with the yogurt and cooks them up to super soft, fluffy and airy rava idlis. Here yogurt and the leavening agent help to bypass the lengthy traditional process of soaking, grinding and fermenting.

The recipe shared here will give you delicious, soft & light Rava Idlis all without the flavor of curd or soapy taste of soda in it. If you have ever wondered how the Rava Idli from MTR tastes so delicious & good with a light texture then this recipe is a must try. In this post I have also shared the recipe to make potato sagu that is usually served with the rava idli in hotels. You can find it after the step-by-step photos.

Ingredients & Substitutes

• Rava also known as semolina is the key ingredient. You will use fine semolina also known as Bombay rava or upma rava. Avoid using thick semolina like dalia or whole wheat rava.
• Curd also known as Indian yogurt is used. If you want to use Greek yogurt dilute half cup with 1/4 cup water. Also make sure your yogurt is not too sour or tart else your rava idli will have the strong smell of yogurt.
• Leavening Agent: Soda bicarbonate (baking soda) or fruit salt also known as Eno is used to make the steamed cakes airy. If you omit these your rava idlis will turn out dense but they will still be edible.
• Tempering ingredients like mustard, cumin, curry leaves, ginger and green chilies add flavor. The recipe works even without the tempering, just that your steamed cakes may lack flavor.
• Other ingredients like cashews add a nutty flavor and texture.

Photo Guide

Step-by-step Photo Instructions

Preparation

1. Heat 2 tablespoons ghee in a pan or kadai. Fry 8 split cashews until golden. Remove to a plate and set aside. To the same pan, add ½ teaspoon mustard seeds, ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds, ½ tablespoon chana dal and 1 tablespoon chopped cashews. Saute until the dal turns golden.

2. Lower the heat. Add 1 sprig chopped curry leaves, 2 chopped green chilies and ¾ teaspoon grated ginger. Saute for 30 seconds until the ginger smells good.

3. Immediately add 1 cup rava/ semolina and begin to mix well. On a low flame fry the rava until crunchy and lightly aromatic. Do not brown the rava. Cool this completely. You can also store the cooled rava idli mix in a jar for further use.

Make the Instant Batter

4. Add

• 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
• 1/3 teaspoon sea salt (or any other).
• ¾ cup fresh curd/ yogurt. I use homemade runny curd. If you are using thick store bought yogurt or Greek yogurt, mix together ½ cup yogurt with ¼ cup water and use.

5. Mix well and pour half cup water.

6. Mix well. Cover this and rest for 30 mins.

Prepare the Steamer & Idli Plates

7. After 25 minutes, add few drops of ghee or oil to each idli plate/ mould. Grease the plates lightly and arrange a cashew on each mould. Sprinkle some grated carrots. Keep these aside.

8. Pour water to a cooker or steamer or pot or instant pot as you would do for regular idli.

• To steam in Pot or cooker or steamer: I use 2 to 2.5 cups water in my pot. After 25 to 30 mins of soaking the rava, bring the water to a boil.
• To steam in Instant pot: I pour 1.5 cups water and bring to a rolling boil on a saute mode. I also cover with a external lid to quicken the process.

9. After 30 mins of soaking, semolina absorbs some moisture and turns almost dry. Pour 1 to 3 tablespoons water as needed to bring the batter to a consistency. I used about 3 tablespoons but every time it varies by 1 to 2 tablespoons depending on the thickness of yogurt and the kind of rava.

10. Rava idli batter consistency should be thick and smooth as you see in the picture. When you drop the batter with the spoon it must be smooth on top and not lumpy. It should not be of pouring consistency either. It must be like idli batter. Check video to know the right consistency.

Steam Rava Idli

11. Skip this step if using eno. Add 1 teaspoon lemon juice to the batter and give a good mix. This will not make the rava idli sour. But is used to activate the soda.

12. When the water in the steamer is turning hot then add 1 teaspoon eno or ¼ teaspoon soda-bi-carbonate to the batter. Mix gently a few times to incorporate the soda into the batter.

13. Quickly pour this to the moulds. Do not let the batter rest after mixing eno/ soda. This recipe will give you 8 rava idli.

14. Place the idli stand in the steamer and steam for 10 minutes on a high flame. The water must be boiling and steaming well at all times. When done, a skewer inserted comes out clean or with little crumbs.

To steam in Instant pot: Once the water comes to a rolling boil, Place the idli stand in the instant pot. Press cancel. Secure the lid and position the steam release handle to venting. Steam for 11 to 12 mins.

15. Allow to cool down for about 3 to 4 mins. With the help of a moist spoon demould the rava idli. Serve rava idli with coconut chutney or potato sagu. I have shared the recipe to make potato sagu below the recipe card.

Sagu for Rava idli

• 2 medium potatoes
• 1 medium onion sliced
• 2 green chilies
• 1 tsp besan
• ¼ cup water to mix besan
• 1 tbsp oil
• ¼ tsp mustard seeds
• ¼ to ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp split urad dal
• 1 pinch hing/ asafoetida
• 1/8 to ¼ tsp turmeric
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 tbsp coriander leaves chopped finely

Preparation

Boil potatoes in a pressure cooker. If cooking in a pressure cooker, dice them to 1 ½ cubes and cook them with ¾ cup water for 1 whistle. If cooking in an Instant pot, then place them in a bowl and pressure cook for 5 mins. When the pressure releases naturally, open the lid. Potatoes must be fully cooked. Set aside.

How to make sagu for rava idli

• Heat oil in a pan and add mustard and cumin. When they splutter, add hing, curry leaves and green chilies. Add onions and fry until transparent. Do not brown them.
• Add turmeric and salt. Pour water just to bring it to a consistency. I use the ¾ cup water in which I boiled the potatoes. Bring it to a boil.
• Meanwhile stir in besan with ¼ cup water. Break the lumps and make it a smooth mixture. When the water begins to boil, pour this gently and give a good stir. You can add more water as needed to cook this. Let the mixture cook and thicken.
• Meanwhile mash the boiled potatoes keeping small chunks here and there. Add it to the sagu and mix well. Add more water if needed. When it comes to a boil, turn off.
• The consistency should be slightly runny as it will thicken when it cools down. Rava idli sagu is not very thick. It should also have some water in it so it is suitable to serve with rava idli. Add coriander leaves and taste test it. Add more salt if needed.

Notes: This sagu should have more flavor of aloo and less of the besan. However if you prefer more, you can stir in more besan with some more water and pour it. You may add ½ tsp grated ginger to the tempering but most times you won’t find that flavor in the hotels.

More Instant breakfast recipes
Akki roti
Wheat dosa
Upma recipe
Poha recipe
Eggless pancake recipe

Expert Tips

• Roasting semolina or rava on a low to medium flame until aromatic without changing the color, is the key to prevent them from turning sticky.
• The right amount of curd and soda or eno are the key to making the best rava idli. The leavening agent makes them light & fluffy so do not omit if possible.
• I have followed the same rule of using ¼ tsp soda or eno to 1 cup of flour, in this case it is 1 cup of rava. It doesn’t leave a soapy taste as ¾ cup of curd & 1 tsp lemon juice is used to activate the soda.
• Do not reduce the amount of ghee or oil in the recipe as it is very important. With reduced amount of fats, they turn out sticky.

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Recipe Card