Jowar Idli / Jonna Idli / Sorghum Flour Idli

These are traditional idlis with a healthy twist and below is the recipe if looking to incorporate millets into everyday Indian diet. The addition of sorghum flour to the idli batter boosts the nutrition factor while retaining the taste and the soft consistency of the rice version idlis.

Ingredients: (Yield 30 idlis)
3/4 cup sorghum flour / jowar flour 
3/4 cup idli rice
1/2 cup black gram / urad dal
Salt to taste

Directions:
* Rinse and soak idli rice and black gram in water for about 3 hours. Let the water level be at least an inch above the level of the ingredients during the entire soaking period.
* Drain the water used to soak and grind them along with sorghum flour adding salt and water as needed to form a thick, smooth batter. The final batter should not be runny. (I used less than 1.5 cup water to grind the ingredients.)
* Pour the batter into a container big enough to hold the fermented batter and cover it. (The batter level raises during fermentation.) Allow the batter to rest in a warm place overnight. The batter may take anywhere between 8 to 16 hours to ferment depending upon the local weather. The fermented batter looks like below in the images.


* Stir the fermented batter and pour into idli plates. 

* Heat water in a steamer / idli cooker / pressure cooker on medium flame. Place the idli stand in it and cover the lid. There is no need to put the pressure valve on if using the pressure cooker to steam idlis.
* Cook on low medium flame until idlis are done, about 15 - 20 minutes. (To check whether idlis are done, touch the surface of the idlis with wet fingers. If they are not sticky then that means idlis are cooked perfectly. If they are sticky, cook for some more time.)
* Wait for about 5 minutes and carefully remove the idli stand. Run a spoon around the edges of idli and unmould them.
* Serve with a spicy chutney and / or sambhar. 

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Jowar Flour Laddu / Sorghum Flour - Nut Laddus

When I recently was discussing about travel food with my daughter, she gave me a list of foods that she would prefer to eat on a trip. It occurred to me that those are our family favorites I pack when we take long road trips and I realized with surprise that unknowingly I have created a tradition of our own. My kids one day probably would get nostalgic about our trips and reminisce about how their mom would stuff any vacant space in the car with food and other paraphernalia while dad is watching with dismay. 😇. 

Anyway while we were at it, the girl requested me to make some laddus. My daughter is not big on desserts but prefers a few selected ones like these peanut laddus for instance. I carry a load of homemade spicy snacks, energy bars and other sweets to munch on, especially if we are going to be on the road for a week or two and those laddus are a must for her. She got these energy balls to try this time which we all enjoyed. These laddus are loaded with healthy ingredients like jowar flour, raisins, a medley of nuts and jaggery which all contribute equally to make these laddus delicious and rich. The laddus do not need any ghee and the moisture from the ingredients used is enough to shape them. The laddus are firm though they look moist in the images. Try these easy and quick laddus on a festival day or as a after school treat for little ones. 

Ingredients: (Yield 12 laddus)
3/4 cup jowar ka atta / sorghum flour / jonna pindi
1/2 cup mixed nuts - I used skinned peanuts, almonds, cashews and walnuts
1/2 cup grated, dry coconut
1/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup powdered jaggery
1/8 tsp. ground cardamom

Directions:
* Roast jowar flour stirring continuously, on low flame until you notice aroma, about 7 -8 minutes.
* Toast nuts on low flame for about a minute or so. (I just toasted them in a microwave.)
* Let the flour and nuts cool down.
* Pulse the nuts finely in a food processor until they start to clump if possible and transfer to a mixing bowl. Then add jowar flour, coconut and raisins to the food processor and grind them fine. Now add back the ground nuts, jaggery and cardamon to the food processor. Pulse a few times until all the ingredients are mixed thoroughly and finely ground.
* Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and make lemon sized balls from the mixture.
* Store them in an airtight container. Freeze them if wishing to save longer and thaw them before serving.

This post is an entry for Blogging Marathon #97 and BM - 'Kids' Delight' event hosted by Renu this month with 'Travel Food' theme.



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