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Valentine’s Recipe: Cocktail Idli Hearts With Coconut Chutney Shots
Cocktail Idli Hearts With Coconut Chutney Shots
Idli — soft, steamed rice cakes — are a staple at our household. In most South Indian homes, idli or dosa are quintessentially breakfast items, but we enjoy these morsels any time of day. In fact, I use the same batter to make both idli and dosa. I make enough for an entire week and then make a new batch all over again for the next week. So, basically, I have this batter in my house all the time. It's perfect for a quick weeknight dinner, makes a great weekday breakfast, and is fun to eat and healthy too. For my North Indian friends, an idli or dosa dinner is a treat, and they absolutely love the varieties that are possible with this simple batter. My three-year-old son also loves the idli-chutney combo and has never left the table without cleaning up his plate.
The batter is made by fermenting rice and urad dal that's been ground to form a smooth batter with enough water. It takes about a day to ferment, and a slightly warm atmosphere helps. I usually grind up the batter at night and leave it in an oven that's been slightly warmed, leaving the oven lights on for more warmth throughout the night. If fermented well, the batter should rise and look fluffy. Use a large vessel, as sometimes the batter can rise a lot, and it may spill all over your oven floor — lucky you! 😉
Valentine's Day is one of my favourite holidays, and I have always celebrated it with my family. Although chocolates and sweet treats are my usual go-to items for pampering my family on a special day, this year, I decided to try a fun, savoury route with one of our staple breakfast dishes. How fun are mini cocktail idlis? And they're even more fun if they're all lovey-dovey heart-shaped and bright red instead of the regular white!
I used beetroots spiced with some ginger and green chillies, then made a fine paste and added that to the idli batter to make a fun yet savoury treat for Valentine's Day. And coconut chutney in shot glasses — how cool is that?
Idli batter is easily available at most Indian stores, so that's a quicker route if you don't want to prepare the batter yourself. I've always made my own, and I'm sharing the recipe for that as well.
Ingredients
For Idli Batter
4 cups idli rice
1 cup whole urad dal (without skin)
2 cups water (use more or less as needed)
salt to taste
For Beetroot Idlis
1 cup idli batter
1 teaspoon cooking oil
3 tablespoons grated beetroot
1 teaspoon grated ginger
½ teaspoon chopped green chillies
For Coconut Chutney
1½ cups fresh grated coconut
1 green chilli
½ " piece of chopped ginger
1 cup water
2 teaspoon cooking oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 dry red chillies
8–10 curry leaves
1 teaspoon moong dal
1 teaspoon moong dal
salt, as needed
Items You'll Need
large stainless steel vessel
heart-shaped silicon moulds (food-grade)
steaming vessel
shot glasses
appetizer toothpicks
Directions:
Make Idli Batter
1. Soak the idli rice and urad dal in water for 6–8 hours in separate bowls.
2. Drain away excess water and grind the urad dal with just enough water to a thick, smooth paste. Don't add too much water, or it may not grind well. Add the urad dal paste to a large vessel. (I use a stainless steel vessel.)
3. Grind the rice in two batches, again adding enough batter to grind the rice to a smooth batter. Pour this over the urad dal batter.
4. Add about 3 teaspoons of salt and, using a whisk or large ladle, mix into a smooth batter. The batter should almost resemble cake batter.
5. Warm your oven to less than 200ºF. Keep a large tray in the oven rack and place the vessel on top on the tray. The tray will catch any spills if the batter ferments too much and spills over. Leave the oven lights on and let the batter rest and ferment for 6–8 hours, until it rises up and looks airy and fluffy.
6. Deflate the fermented idli batter by whisking it or using a large spoon. Add more salt if needed. You can use the batter immediately and keep any remaining batter in the refrigerator for up to a week. (Loosen the batter slightly with water if making dosa.)
Make Coconut Chutney
1. Grind together fresh-grated coconut, green chili and ginger into a smooth paste with 1 cup of water.
2. In a pan, heat oil and splutter the mustard seeds, then add dry red chillies and curry leaves. Roast the moong dal in this oil to a light golden brown. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add coconut paste and salt, and let the chutney cook. When it starts bubbling around the edges, turn off the heat. (Add more water and cook if the chutney is too thick)
Make Red Heart-Shaped Idlis (Beetroot Idlis)
1. Add some oil to a pan and sauté the grated beetroot, ginger and green chillies until they turn soft. Once cooled, grind into a smooth paste and add to the idli batter. Mix to combine until the batter looks a bright and beautiful red.
2. Grease the heart-shaped silicon mould with some oil and spoon the beetroot-idli batter into it. Steam the idlis in a steamer vessel until fully cooked.
Serve:
Skewer the cocktail idli hearts onto appetizer toothpicks and place them on top of each shot glass filled with coconut chutney. Dip, eat and enjoy!
Note: If you don't want to spice the beetroot idlis, just grind beetroot with idli batter and use.
Happy Valentine's Day to all!
Images courtesy of Manju Nair
Manju Nair
Author
Manju Nair is a Quality Analyst by profession but a home chef and cake designer by heart. A true South-Indian, born and raised in Dubai, her interest in all kinds of cuisine developed at an early age. Her passion is baking and designing theme cakes. She shares her culinary and cake adventures in her...
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