Thatte Idli is Karnataka special recipe with idlis steamed in plates specially from Bidadi. Bidadi is an industrial suburb just outside Bangalore enroute to Mysore . Thatte Idli is super soft fluffy larger and flatter idli made in plates instead of the regular idli mould hence being coined as plate idli too . Thatte means flat plate and as the idli batter is poured steamed in small plates it is flatter taking the shape of the plate . Thatte Idli recipe is made with par boiled rice or idli rice , urad dal , poha , sabudana and methi . Using poha is important for the texture and softness of the idlis . And sabudana  also adds to the fluffy and soft texture and white colour to the thatte Idli. Dry Fenugreek seeds help in fermenting the batter much better and are in important inclusion . All ingredients should be soaked separately . Only urad dal and methi soak together . I have used wet grinder for making thatte Idli batter and this can grind in blender or mixie . The rice and urad should be  ground seperately . This is important as the rice should be ground coarse but urad must be ground fluffy and smooth  . I have used thatte Idli stand that I have bought from Amazon . But you can simply use the small plates ( vattoli  in konkani ) or use the lid of steel box . You can make as normal idli , there will be no difference in texture and taste .

Ingredients :

1 . Idli rice ( par boiled rice ) – 1 1/2 cups .

2 . Urad Gota – 1/2 Cup .

3 . Sabudana – 2 tbsp .

4 . Poha ( rice flakes ) – 1 / 4 cup .

5 . Methi seeds ( Fenugreek seeds ) – 1 tsp .

Salt to taste .

Water – 1 1/2 cups add gradually for grinding .

Method :

1 . Wash and soak idli rice , rice flakes and sagoo separately for atleast 5 – 6 hours .

2 . Similarly wash and soak urad and methi in enough water for 5 – 6 hours .

3 . Grind the urad dal mixture in to fluffy, soft and smooth in wet grinder. Do not pour water more but sprinkle some as needed to get the smooth texture . At least grind for 20 – 25 minutes . Remove it in to mixing bowl .

4 . Now add poha and sabudana in to wet grinder and grind in to smooth paste using enough water .

5 . Add soaked and well drained in to grinder adding enough water as needed, grind in to a coarse paste. It should feel grainy to touch  . Now add urad batter and grind to few seconds . This is to done for mixing two batter properly .

6 . Do not be tempted to add more water to the batter while grinding the ingredients and also keep the batter slightly thick for fermenting. Keep separate the grinder washed water . ( If the batter is too thick you can add this water to the batter next day ) .

7 . Leave it to ferment in warm place  for 8 – 10 hours . If you are staying in cold region place the batter in preheated oven and leave it overnight for best results . The batter should double in volume and look fluffy .

8 . Next day add salt as needed . If batter is too thick add water and make to flowing consistency . Gently beat it down so that batter is well mixed using ladle . Do not over mix the fermented batter . Just beat it down gently until it mixed from top to bottom . Too much mixing will deflate the batter and changes of texture of idlis .

9 . Set the idli steamer with enough water on medium heat. Mean while brush the idli plate with drop of oil all over or place some banana leaves over the plate .

10 . Fill each plate with batter until it is half full .

11 . Place the filled idli plates carefully in to the idli stand .

12 . Set the idli stand in the steamer and close the lid . If you are using pressure cooker do not put the cooker weight on .

13 . Steam for 10 – 12 minutes on medium high flame. Check if the idlis are done by touching the top . If it is not sticky remove from heat .

14 . Let the plates cool down on the counter for 5 – 6 minutes .

15 . Run the knife through the edges and gently unmould the idlis .

16 . Serve hot with chutney and podi chutney .

Note : From this proportion we can yield 9 thatte Idlis.

Idli podi Or molaga podi ( gun powder ) recipe already in my old post .