Kambu idli recipe, Pearl millet idli, Bajra idli

Kambu/ Pearl millet is a ancient miracle gluten free grain rich in iron, protein and other minerals. Bajra has anti diabetes properties, lowers cholesterol, prevents gallstones, aids in weight loss, prevent heart problems and breast cancer as well.

Including this miracle grain in our diet can yield so many benefits to our health as mentioned above. Everyone might not be interested in trying out new dishes, but giving regular dish a healthy twist will be something easy to do right. So I tried making Idli with kambu/ pearl millet and it turned out to be super soft and super hit at home. Grind the kambu/ pearl millet batter just like regular idli/ dosa batter then ferment it and use it to make dishes like idli, dosa, uttapam and many more items. Sounds simple right?

Yes Kambu idli is soft, spongy and lightly grey in color (color from pearl millet) that is super delish to taste and super healthy as well. Kambu idli needs a spicy side dish as it tastes little bland by itself. Do try making it and kickstart you day with healthy breakfast.

So let’s get to the making.

You can check out my other millet recipes below:

Kambu idli recipe, Pearl millet idli, Bajra idli

2019-11-26 20:32:31

Serves 4

Prep Time

8 hr

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

8 hr 15 min

Prep Time

8 hr

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

8 hr 15 min

Ingredients

1. Kambu/ Pearl millet / Bajra – 1 ½ cups
2. Idli rice – ½ cup
3. Whole urad dal (white) – ½ cup
4. Poha/ Aval – 1 tbsp
5. Water – Required amount for grinding and soaking

Note

* 1 cup = 235 ml

Instructions

In a bowl add urad dal and poha together. Wash 3 to 4 times until you see clear water. Soak it in enough water for 5 to 6 hours.
In another bowl add kambu/ pearl millet and idli rice. Wash 3 to 4 times until you see clear water. Soak it in enough water for 5 to 6 hours.
After 6 hours, in a wet grinder add little quantity of the soaked urad dal and poha.. Switch on the grinder, when it starts grinding gradually add little by little of all the soaked urad dal and poha. Grind the mixture into a thick. When the batter increases in quantity and fluffs up add soaked kambu/ pearl millet and idli rice gradually. Add water in regular intervals when needed. Also scrap the inner sides of the grinder often to get rid of coarse rice mixture using the scrapper provided along with grinder. When batter is thick and fluffy transfer the mixture to a bowl, add required amount of salt and mix well
Allow the batter to ferment for 8 hours if living in cold country and it should take very less hours if living in other places. After the batter has fermented and has increased in quantity refrigerate it.
Heat water in idli pot. Grease idli plates with few drops of oil. Pour ladle of batter in each idli mold and place the batter filled idli plates in the idli steamer and steam it for 10 to 12 minutes.
When done remove the idli plate from the steamer and keep it aside for a minute wet a spoon with little water (wetting the spoon with water helps in and scoop idli from the idli plate and serve it hot with any spicy chutney of your choice!

Notes

1. For this recipe I used idli rice, so if you are planning to use boiled rice or any other rice the urad dal ratio and rice ratio differs. So add it accordingly.
2. Soak the ingredients for 5 hours minimum for best grinding results.
3. Grind the batter thick and fluffy by adding water gradually so that you don't miss the desired consistency.
4. If living in cold country keep the batter in the oven with oven light on or alternately you can add a tbsp of the previous fermented batter to the fresh batter for easy fermentation.
5. Bajra idli batter/ Kambu idli batter ferments pretty quickly so don't let it sit outside for long time as the batter can taste very sour.
6. I refrigerated the batter for 5 days and it tasted really good.
7. Kambu idli tastes really good when served with spicy chutney.

By Sandhya Riyaz

Sandhya's recipes https://www.sandyathome.com/

How to make Kambu idli with step by step images

In a bowl add urad dal and poha together. Wash 3 to 4 times until you see clear water. Soak it in enough water for 5 to 6 hours.
In another bowl add kambu/ pearl millet and idli rice. Wash 3 to 4 times until you see clear water. Soak it in enough water for 5 to 6 hours.
After 6 hours, in a wet grinder add little quantity of the soaked urad dal and poha. Switch on the grinder, when it starts grinding gradually add little by little of all the soaked urad dal and poha. Grind the mixture into a thick. When the batter increases in quantity and fluffs up add soaked kambu/ pearl millet and idli rice gradually. Add water in regular intervals when needed. Also scrap the inner sides of the grinder often to get rid of coarse rice and kambu mixture using the scrapper provided along with grinder.
When batter is thick and fluffy transfer the mixture to a bowl, add required amount of salt and mix well. Allow the batter to ferment for 8 hours if living in cold country and it should take very less hours if living in other places. After the batter has fermented and has increased in quantity refrigerate it. (This kambu batter ferments very quickly so do not leave it outside for long time for fermentation)
Heat water in idli pot. Grease idli plates with few drops of oil. Pour ladle of batter in each idli mold and place the batter filled idli plates in the idli steamer and steam it for 10 to 12 minutes. When done remove the idli plate from the steamer and keep it aside for a minute wet a spoon with little water (wetting the spoon with water helps in and scoop idli from the idli plate and serve it hot with any spicy chutney of your choice!