Southern Delights : Idli & Tomato-Mint Chutney

K has been under the weather for the last couple of days and I wanted to do something special for him to make him feel better. "Why not make idlis", I decided - it would be a change from eating cereal and milk for breakfast. I am generally not this adventurous regarding breakfast on weekdays ... The smile that lit K's face more than made up for everything :)

1 cup urad dal, picked and washed
2 cups idli rice, picked and washed
1 tsp methi (fenugreek) seeds
Salt to taste

Soak the rice and the urad dal in warm water separately. Add 1/2 tsp of methi seeds each with the rice and dal. In a food processor, grind the rice-methi seeds to a paste - the consistency should be like Rava/Semolina.
Grind the Urad dal to a smooth paste. Mix both the batters together in a large bowl and keep overnight to ferment. You know that the batter has fermented if the next day, the volume of the batter has doubled.
(Tip : When the weather is cold I generally put the batter mix in the oven and keep the oven light on. The heat from the lamp helps in the fermentation.)
Add salt to the batter and mix well. Lightly grease the idli molds and put the batter till 3/4 of the mold is covered. In a dutch oven heat about 1 glass of water. When it begins to boil, add the idli molds, cover and steam for about 15-20 minutes. (When you insert a toothpick, it should come out clean). Remove from heat, uncover and let sit for about 5 minutes. Using a butter knife, remove the idlis from the mold and serve hot with Chutney / Sambhar. Enjoy !!

Tomato-Mint Chutney ( Recipe courtesy Mythreyee)
4 tomatoes, chopped fine
10-12 mint leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp Urad dal
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
A pinch of Hing
Salt to taste
Oil
Heat Oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds. When the mustard begins to splutter, add the cumin seeds and Urad dal. Then add the chopped tomatoes. When the tomato is half cooked add the mint leaves, turmeric powder, chilli powder, Hing and salt. Cook till the tomatoes are cooked.
Remove from heat and cool. Grind to a smooth paste without any water. Serve with Idlis. Enjoy !!