Three years ago, when I had to change my diet because of some food intolerances, at first I found it difficult to replace the things I was no longer allowed to eat with something that I really liked.
Our appetite is in fact activated by biological triggers as well as by the appeal that certain foods have on us, and by the senses they stimulate. For example, the smell of a cake baking in the oven makes us want to eat a slice of that cake, even if we are not hungry. However, should that cake have a horrible aspect, our desire to eat it would immediately vanish.This is why my diet of steamed vegetables, salads, rice and soups became rapidly boring and uninviting. I lost part of my appetite (the one triggered by my senses) and soon I began to lose too much weight, a clear indicator that I needed to find new and more interesting sources of nourishment. Not an easy task, when most of your favorite foods are forbidden (gluten, milk, cheese, eggs, nuts, and soy) and you don’t like meat, like me.
A look at my grocery shopping lists (I always have two or three old ones in my purse) made me realize my tendency to buy – and eat – the same things. Don’t we all tend to do that? After all it’s easier and we don’t have to strain our brain to be more creative.
I thought to myself that many cultures have thrived for centuries on vegetarian and vegan diets and therefore my culinary boredom must be due to my cultural limitations and to mental laziness.
Despite having ruled out Indian food many years before (after burning my taste buds with the spicy food served at an Indian wedding) I turned to some dear Indian friends for advice.
They were happy to help and they introduced me to many wonderful dishes of the Indian cuisine.
This is how Idli became one of my favorite recipes. Its delicate taste and its versatility immediately captivated me. The fermentation makes it very digestible, it’s naturally gluten-free, and It is made with a winning combination of carbs (from rice) and proteins (from lentils).
Eat them with ghee (see recipe) and a chutney for a perfectly balanced light meal, or with ghee and fresh fruit for breakfast.
The overnight fermentation is time consuming but, once the the batter is made, it keeps in the refrigerator for a few days, so you don’t have to use it all at one time.
The main ingredients can be bought at any Indian food store.
Ingredients:
(serves 8) A V Gf B
- 2 cups Idli Rava (ground rice) or rice that you grind yourself
- 1 cup urad dal (split black lentils)
- 5 to 7 fenugreek seeds (methi)
- 1 pinch of baking soda
- salt to taste
- oil for greasing
Soak the Urad Dal in lukewarm water for 2 to 3 hours. Drain the water and keep it aside.
Grind the dal into a silky smooth batter. To get the right consistency, add the drained water kept aside to the batter a little at a time, as needed, while grinding.
Add the Idli Rava (or the ground rice) and stir well to avoid any lumps. Transfer the batter in a bowl, considering that it will increase in volume.
Cover and set aside to ferment overnight.
Add the ground fenugreek seeds, the salt, the baking soda and mix well.
Put the batter into greased idli molds and steam for 15 minutes. Let the idlis stand in their molds for 5 more minutes before removing them.
Idli molds can be bought at most Indian food stores. If you don’t have or cannot find idli molds, you can use metal cupcake molds, but the bigger the idlis the longer the cooking time. The idlis are ready when the batter is hard to the touch and won’t stick to your fingers.
Remove idlis from molds and serve warm.