cornmeal rava idlee

I've been making minor variations of my regular recipes, nothing spectacular to post, but, I was quite surprised by this batch of experimental idlee batter that I decided to note it down here.

It is a variation of the rava idlee, with cornmeal and rice idlee rava, plus some starter for fermenting the batter. The starter is optional. I had it handy from the Lemon Fruit Cake recipe and wanted to see if it would stay active and ferment this batch of batter. And it did! In about 24 hours.

The idlees came out quite fluffy and mildly sour, just the way I like it:)

Serve warm with chutneys of your choice, or even sambar.

Ingredients
1 cup bread starter* (optional)
1 cup rosated coarse sooji rava
1 cup rice idlee rava
1 cup coarse cornmeal or cornbread mix
1 cup buttermilk
½ tsp sugar (only if using the starter)
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
plus water as needed to make a fairly thick batter

tempering: 1 tsp oil, 1 tsp urad dal, 1 tsp chana dal, 1 tsp mustard seeds

*if not using the starter, can use 1 Tbsp rapid rise yeast instead; or, simply leave out the yeast and allow for natural fermentation, which might take longer than 24 hours depending on where you live.

Preparation

1. combine the batter ingredients, (all except baking soda and salt) in a ceramic or plastic bowl, the batter can be thick at this point, stay conservative with the water till ready to cook; cover and set aside in a warm place to ferment overnight or for 24 hours
2. when ready to make the idlees, get the tempering ready: heat the oil in a pan, add the chana dal, when it turns golden brown add the urad dal and when it turns golden brown add the mustard seeds, when mustard seeds pop turn off the heat and add it to the batter, stir well
3. taste the batter and add salt as needed; stir in the baking soda and add water to desired idlee consistency
4. grease the idlee moulds, pour the batter and steam till done