So Valentines is approaching and we look forward to cook something special for our loved ones and think of Valentines and heart shaped, red coloured goodies start coming to your mind and most of the times, chocolates, cakes and pastries is all we can think of, but here is the twist. We bring to you a yummy Iddly recipe, yes you read it right, Iddly recipe for valentines.. so read on, enjoy and surprise your loved one this Valentines!

RED VELVET IDDLY

Recipe by Karthik Krishnamurthy

Iddly Faktory

Chef/Founder/CEO

Iddly is considered as one of the most comfort and healthy food for all Indians.

Mr. Karthik Krishnamurthy, Chef/Founder/CEO, Iddly Faktory said, “Over the years, traditions, customs, clothing, approach and eating habits have changed drastically. People are getting into healthy eating and drinking. So for valentine’s day, we at Iddly Faktory came up with the idea of making red velvet iddly without breaking the concept of healthy eating and also making our customers happy.”

INGREDIENTS

• Whole White Urad Dal – 1 Cup
• Iddly Rice – 4 Cups
• Fenugreek seeds/Methi Seeds – 1 tablespoon
• Salt – 1 tablespoon
• Beetroot – 1 small

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Wash and soak urad dal and iddly rice 3 to 4 times and soak them separately for a minimum of 3-4 hours. While soaking urad dal add fenugreek seeds to it.
2. Clean the wet grinder before every use. After 4hours drain out all the water from urad dal and add it to the wet grinder. Once you start grinding add half a cup of water. While grinding urad dal add the water slowly in regular intervals for two to three times. The urad dal will not fluff up, if you add all the water at once. The dal should fluff up and fill the grinder. It should have increased about 8-10 times of its original volume. It should come out as butter. Grind for at-least 30 minutes. Once done, transfer the mixture into a bowl and set aside.
3. Now grind the soaked and drained rice until smooth. Add just enough water while grinding. The consistency should be medium. Once ground, transfer the batter to the dal mixture bowl and mix well.
4. Add salt to the batter before fermenting in summers and add it after fermenting in winters. Usually the batter needs to ferment for 5-6 hours depending upon the weather.
5. Once the batter is nicely fermented, take a ladle and mix it well. Your batter is now ready.

Red velvet iddly mixture:

Grate half a beetroot and squeeze it well.

Add the squeezed juice to four scoops of iddly batter. Mix it well. Your mixture is ready.

For making soft red velvet iddly:

Pour some water in an iddly vessel and put it on medium flame. Oil the iddly plate and gently fill the rounds with the red velvet batter. Put it inside the iddly vessel and let it steam for 10 minutes. Do not allow it to over-cook as it might become hard and dry. Just keep an eye and remove the iddlies after 10 minutes. Do not remove the iddlies immediately as it might stick. Allow it to rest for another 4-5 minutes and then spoon it out. Once removed use heart shaped sandwich cutter/cookie cutter to get heart shape iddlies. Serve hot with your favorite chutney or sambar.

Important NOTES

• Drain the water completely from the ingredients after soaking.
• While grinding urad dal and rice ensure that you do not use a lot of water.
  You can always adjust the consistency of the batter later if it is too thick. You cannot do anything if the batter goes runny.