Ammamma’s Idlis for Dhruva

Dhruva is my 16month old son and he got to meet his ammamma and tata for the very first time last November. My parents were super excited to see their first grandchild. My mom said: “she wasn’t sure if he was going to crawl, walk or run to them when they first saw him”. Walk, he did, when he went to India.

I was a little nervous whether he would go to them or treat them like strangers, but I was glad that he went to them as if he knew them forever. The trip as a whole was quite emotional and coming back was almost heart-breaking (more for the adults than for the little one). I feel bad that he is not able to spend time with his grandparents and missing all the pampering he could get being with them. Well.. may be someday he’ll get that chance and I truly hope its soon.

Coming back to the task at hand, Pratibha and Jigyasa @ Pedatha are the hosts of this month’s Cooking for Kids event and they have chosen Love as the ingredient. They are hosting this event in memory of Pedatha’s spirit of love and nurture. Cooking for Kids is a monthly blog event started by Sharmi @ Naivedyam.

My entry is my Amma’s idlis that my son ate for breakfast every single day we were there. He absolutely loved the idli-coconut pachadi combo every morning. There might be millions of recipes for basic idli and chutney, but this is how my mom makes and this is what my son loved.

Ingredients:
Urad dal – 1 cup
Idli Rawa – 2 ½ cups
Salt – to taste

Method:

• Soak urad dal and idli rawa separately for at least 4 hours. Grind dal into smooth batter.
• Squeeze water from rawa. Add dal batter and about 1 tsp salt and mix well. (I use my hands to do this. Its fun.)
• Let the batter ferment overnight. Pour the batter into idli mold and steam for 12-15 minutes.
  

Enjoy them hot with a generous dab of ghee and yummy coconut chutney.

Coconut Chutney:
Coconut – 1 cup, grated
Dalia (Roasted channa dal) – ¼ cup (Putnala pappu)
Green chilies – 3 (or less for kids)
Salt – to taste

For tempering:
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
Hing – pinch
Dry red chili – 1
Curry leaves – 5-6

Method:

• Grind all the ingredients for the chutney to a smooth paste.
• Heat 1 tsp oil, add all the ingredients for tempering and once the seeds splutter, add it to the chutney. Mix well and enjoy with idlis or dosas.

These are extremely simple recipes, but when made with love, they are the most comforting and can be as heavy as a big feast.
Wish you all a very Happy Valentines Day. Hope you have a day filled with lots love and happiness.