I am an all-time Idli fan. Like everyone, I prefer the original form of idli, which is made with rice and urad daal but once in a while, I am open to trying out any variations. One such variation that I tried a couple of weeks ago is Moong Daal Idli. This is perfect if you haven’t planned anything for dinner and don’t want to cook the four-square meal.  This is an ideal way to add proteins to your family’s meal. The best part of this moong daal idli is you don’t need a lot of preparation like soaking daal and rice and then wait for the fermentation. It requires only a couple of hours of soaking. After that, you have to grind it and done. So, let’s get started.

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For moong daal idli you will need:

1. Moong daal – 1 cup

2. Curd – ¼ cup

3. Grated Carrot – ¼ cup

4. Ginger – ½ inch (grated)

5. Cilantro leaves 

6. Green chilli -1

7. Oil – 1 tablespoon

8. Mustard seeds – 1/2teaspoon

9. Curry leaves 

10. A pinch of Hing 

11. Salt 1 tsp 

12. Eno/ cooking soda – 1 teaspoon

Method:

1. Wash moong daal three times and then soak in enough water for 4-5 hours with 2 cups of water.

2. Remove water and grind it to a paste. Keep it aside. 

Prepare tadka:

3. In a small kadhai, heat some oil. Add mustard seeds, hind, and curry leaves. 

4. Add the tadka to the daal batter. Add veggies and cilantro, yogurt. Give it a mix. 

5. Add salt.

6. Grease Idli moulds

7. Right before you are ready to pour the batter into the moulds, add Eno fruit salt and mix it properly, pour a ladle full of batter, and steam the idlis for 10-15minutes.

(I used Instant Pot. Set the pot on the steam option. Close the lid. Make sure that the whistle is on the venting mode.  Steam for 10minutes)

For coconut chutney:

1. I usually cut the coconut pieces and store them in my freezer. It comes very handy for making chutney.

2. Fresh coconut pieces: ½ cup

3. Peanuts: ¼ cup

4. Yogurt + water – for chutney consistency

5. Salt: to taste

6. Grind everything to a smooth paste. 

7. Prepare tadka the same way we did for the idlis. Add urad daal and dry red chili to the tadka. Pour in the center of the chutney. 

Sambar:

1. Soak toor daal and pressure cook it with turmeric power and hing. 

2. Soak tamarind in a small bowl. If you are using the tamarind pulp, then according to your desired level of tanginess, dilute couple of spoons of the pulp with little water. I like to add a couple of spoons of the cooked daal to the diluted mixture.

3. In a wok, heat some oil. Add mustard seeds, chopped tomato, onion and any other seasonal veggies if you like.

4. Add the tamarind+daal mixture. To it, add sambar powder. Then add water and cover with a lid.

5. Let it boil. This will allow the tanginess from the tamarind and the sambar powder flavors to blend. Now add the cooked daal. Give it a mix.

6. Add salt. 

7. Add extra water if needed. Garnish it with cilantro. I like to add a spoon of ghee on the top. 

Your protein packed moong daal with sambar and chuney is ready to be served. This moong daal idli recipe is with yellow moong daal. You can prepare it with the green moong daal (chilka moong daal). Here is the recipe for green moong dal idli. If you would like to have a dessert With your meal, if you would like to have a dessert, then check out my easy recipe for Sooji Laddoo.