It’s Sunday and it’s raining! What a perfect day. I love the rain. Maybe it is because we are in Southern California and don’t get enough of it, but I still think I would like it if it rained much more often. It is just so cozy inside and so nice when you don’t have to go to work.

Anyways, I just got done making sambhar (recipe here) , and am now having my latte. We’ll eat in a bit, so I will share the recipe first. My mother in law shared a fun recipe with me to try earlier in the week: idli stuffed with vegetables. You layer a little idli batter in the idli stand, add the veggies, and then cover them with another layer of batter. After cooking, you fry in a little oil and serve with chutneys. Well, I had a craving for sambhar this morning so we’ll have it with sambhar too!

Idlis are steamed breads made of ground dal and rice that has been fermented and are usually served with various chutneys (especially coconut) and sambhar, a flavorful soup made with dal. I have tried making idli batter from scratch, but it didn’t come out well. We don’t have a grinder and I found that grinding the dal long enough to make the batter overheated the food processor and just shut it off. I have also tried pre-made batter and they came out so hard! Maybe because the batter was a little old. So last time I decided to just try a dry mix and they came out so nice and soft! So do I go back to trying to make them from scratch? Maybe someday 🙂

1 teaspoon oil
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
3-4 curry leaves (I used big ones so I could pull them out before stuffing the idli-I actually like eating the curry leaves, but no one else seems to!)
1/2 small onion chopped
1/4 cup chopped cabbage
1 small carrot chopped in fine pieces
1/4 cup frozen pe
Pinch tumeric
Pinch chili powder
Pinch coriander powder
1 box dried idli mix
1 teaspoon eno (fruit salt, makes idlis soft and fluffy)

1. Heat oil in a small saucepan or skillet and add the mustard seeds and curry leaves.
2. Add the onions and fry until soft.
3. Add cabbage and peas.
4. Cook carrots in microwave with a little water until soft and add to mixture.
5. Add the dried spices.
6. Mix the idli according to the package directions.
7. Right before preparing idli add the eno and stir until the batter is all fluffy.
8. Oil idli stand and add a little batter to each hollow.
9. Add a little stuffing on top of the batter, then top with more batter.
10. Heat water in a pressure cooker until boiling (water should not quite come up to the first level of the idli stand).
11. Add idli stand, cover (remove weight from pressure cooker), and cook on high for about 15 minutes.
12. Turn off heat and let sit for a few minutes.
13. Pan fry in a little oil and serve with chutneys. Or serve with sambhar and coconut chutney.