Masala Idli or Idli stir-fry is a delicious makeover dish with leftover idli. Idli , a south-indian breakfast staple, gets an interesting makeover with this idli stir-fry.
Idli leftover | Idli upma | Idli stir-fry | How to make masala idli | Easy makeover to idli | Leftover Idli makeover | Quick idli stir-fry | Easy Idli Stir-fry with vegetables | Idly upma | Idly stir fry with vegetables | Easy Appetizer Recipe | Vegan Appetizer
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Idly | Idli : South-Indian Breakfast Staple
What is idli or idly? I think the world knows and especially if you are foodie, you will know about these soft and fluffy, steamed rice cakes. Idli or dosa batter takes a day to make. First rice and dal has to be soaked for 5-6 hours minimum, ground to batter, then fermented for 6-8 hours to get fluffy idly and crispy dosa.
Idli is a south-indian breakfast staple. We have numerous variety of idlies. Idli made with normal rice, brown rice, millets, semolina, etc. And there are Idlies which can be made instant too.
Story of Masala Idly
Like a bowl of rice in the fridge, when i make idly, i make a little extra and store it. I love idly upma, idly crumble tempered with spices. A day old idli crumbles well and makes a great upma.
Leftover idly, makes a quick and easy breakfast or dinner any day. They can be just reheated in the microwave for a minute or steamed traditionally for few minutes on the stove and you are sorted. So remember to make few extra idlies and keep it handy for a day or two.
I have a 12th grader at home, who is having study holidays and you all should know that teens are hungry always and to top that they are studying. Leftovers are sooo handy these times. This masala idly was made to ward off one such hunger pang of my teen. Check this Schezwan idly recipe, another idli makeover.
Let me tell why you should try this?
- The ingredients list might look long, but you can make it with veggies and without veggies.
- Quick and easy recipe, takes less than 30 minutes.
- Vegan, Nut free, gluten-free recipe.
- Can be easily made for a crowd, if you are ready to chop the idli. Cold idlies are a dream to cut into desired size.
- No fancy spices or masalas. I have used sambar powder, if you don't have one, check the recipe card notes, and replace it with your choice.
- Delicious leftover makeover, avoids food wastage. Elevates the simple idli to a pleasing appetizer.
Ingredients to Make this Idli Stir-fry
- Main ingredient : Leftover idly. i prefer a day old idli, as they easy to handle than fresh idlies. Fresh idlies will be soft and might not hold shape while sauteing.
- Vegetables : This idly stir-fry can be made without vegetables too, but i have used colorful bell peppers and tomatoes in the recipe.
- Spices : Apart from green chili and ginger, i have used homemade sambar powder to flavor the masala idly stir-fry.
- Flavors : i have added fresh coconut in the stir-fry, which is optional.
- Garnish : fresh coconut, fresh coriander leaves and idli podi.
How to make Masala Idli Stir-fry
Please check recipe card below for exact measurements of each ingredient used and also for the detailed instructions
- Wash and chop and vegetables. Chop the idli into bite-size pieces
- In a pan, heat oil, splutter mustard seeds, add hing and slit green chili.
- Add tomatoes, along with curry leaves and chopped ginger. Add water, cover and cook until tomatoes turn mushy.
- Next add spices and salt, mix well, cover and cook for 5-8 minutes for rawness of the spices to escape.
- Next add chopped capsicums, mix well. Cover and cook for 5-8 minutes for the flavors to mingle.
- Now add chopped idli pieces, mix well to coat the masala. Cover and cook for 5 minutes for the idli pieces to absorb the flavors.
- Finally coconut and coriander leaves. Take it off heat. Serve hot, garnished with fresh coconut and idli podi.
Masala Idli | Leftover Idli Makeover | Idli Stir-fry
Ingredients
- 2 leftover idli
- ½ yellow capsicum
- ½ red capsicum
- ½ green capsicum
- 1 green chili slit lengthwise
- 1 medium sized tomato
- 1 inch fresh ginger piece chopped fine
- 1 teaspoon sambar powder homemade or store bought, see notes
- 2 tablespoon freshly grated coconut
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt or to taste
Tempering
- 2 teaspoon cold pressed groundnut oil
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds/kadugu
- ¼ teaspoon hing/asafoetida
- 1 green chili
- few curry leaves
Garnishing
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated coconut
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves
- 1 teaspoon idli podi
Instructions
- Wash and chop all the capsicums into thin strips. Wash and chop tomatoes roughly. Chop the idli into small bite size pieces.
- Heat a pan with oil given under tempering , once hot splutter mustard seeds, add hing, and slit green chili.
- To this hot tempering, add chopped tomatoes, curry leaves and ginger. Add ¼ cup water to this. Cover and cook until tomatoes turn mushy.
- Remove cover, mix well, to the mushy tomatoes now add sambar powder, turmeric powder and salt. Mix well. cover and cook for another 5-8 minutes, for the rawness of the spices to escape.
- Now add the cut capsicums to this, mix well. Cover and cook again for another 5-8 minutes.
- Now finally add the chopped idli pieces to this. Mix well to coat all the masala into the idli pieces. Cover and cook again for 5 minutes.
- To the masala coated idlies add fresh coconut and coriander leaves. Mix well. Take it off heat.
- Serve it hot, in a bowl, with garnish of fresh coconut and idli podi.
Can we store this masala idli?
- This delish and colorful masala idli stir fry can be stored on kitchen counter for few hours and refrigerated for a day or two.
- If serving from the refrigerator, reheat it for a minutes, add garnish and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- I have used colorful peppers and tomatoes to increase the volume and the nutritional content of the idli.
- If you prefer to use onions you can make this delish masala idli with just onions, tomatoes and peas too.
Replacement for sambar powder, use any one of the below
- Add 2 more green chilies to the tempering
- add ½ teaspoon red chili powder and ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- Add 2 red chilies along with 1 green chili in the tempering.
Nutrition
Disclaimer
I m not a Doctor or a Nutritionist The Nutrition information provided above comes from the plugin and is only an estimate.
Deeksha
Looks sooooo yummy! I liked your butterfly tray 🙂
Unknown
Yum, that looks superb and great !!!
Santosh Bangar
inviting idly love to eat it
Santosh Bangar
inviting tempting idly
Prabha Mani
Wow recipe,makes me hungry!!
Unknown
Masala idlis are a fav in our home as well - this is a different recipe from mine, but looks Super tasty and yum!
Archana
I can fish them all. Absolutely delicious. You could send it to my event here
Do check out my event and send me your entries.
Priya Suresh
Masala idly makes me hungry,inviting..
divya
Rich looking delicious,super tempting..
kalyani
looks yum !
Lovely to do the Blog Hop along with you :-)Cheers
Kalyani
Current Event: Fasting Foods(Vrat ka Khaana Special)