This is a traditional Tanjore preparation which I learnt from my mother.
What you need
Raw rice (mavu arisi) - 2 cups
Coconut, grated - 2 cups
Green chillies, medium sized - 3-4
Asafoetida powder - 2 tsp
Salt – to taste
Coconut oil - 4 tsp
Cooking instructions
Clean and soak the rice for two to three hours. Grind the raw rice, coconut, green chillies, asafoetida and salt in a blender with sufficient water to get an idli batter consistency.
Heat two cups of water in a thick bottomed vessel. When the water boils, add the coconut oil and the ground batter. Stir well and cook until the batter hardens. Allow the batter to cool keeping it covered.
Roll the batter into marble-sized balls.
Heat six cups of water in a vessel. Remove two cups from this and keep aside. Add two pinches of salt to the remaining water. Add the balls and stir well. When bubbles appear, add the two cups of warm water kept aside, stir well and allow to simmer for five minutes.
(Meena N. Swamy retired as Head, Department of Mathematics, Stella Maris College. She loves cooking. )
