Protein-packed pillowy soft steamed idlis with quinoa and lentils! With a subtle nutty and sweet taste, these idlis have a light ivory color from the quinoa. Serve with coconut chutney or piping hot sambar, this healthy meal is sure to be on your repeat menu.
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Last month I shared my no ferment quinoa dosa recipe and I am thrilled to see all the positive feedback from you guys. It is gratifying to see so many of you trying out the recipe and replacing the traditional dosa recipe with my instant high protein recipe.
Many of you asked if the same batter can be used to make idli’s, and my answer was no because to make soft and airy idli’s you need to ferment the batter. So here I am with the best quinoa idli recipe!
Ingredients
I am super excited to share my tried and tested idli recipe that uses quinoa instead of rice. Here are the 4 ingredients to make a great plant-based high protein meal that is vegan and gluten-free:
- Organic white Quinoa – A great sub for rice that is high in protein and fiber
- Poha – Flattened rice that makes fluffy soft idli
- Urad Dal – Adds the traditional earthy dosa taste with creamy texture and proteins
- Fenugreek Seeds – Optional, but recommended as “methi dana” helps with the fermentation process in addition to its health benefits.
Variations
- To make vegan quinoa idli simply use neutral oil instead of ghee to grease the idli mold
- You can also use this batter to make a thick pancake-like uttapam. Simple stir in finely chopped onions, green chili, cilantro, etc to the batter and make the savory protein-packed pancakes
Tips
- Use Organic white/ivory quinoa and make sure to massage and rinse quinoa at least 2 to 3 times
- Make sure the idli batter is not too think or too thick. It’s almost like pancake batter.
- Make sure to grease the idli mold well with ghee or oil so that the idli can be removed easily
- To make fluffy and airy idli, it’s important to cook it with pressure release valve to venting.
- Have water heating in the Instant Pot when you place the idli stand and start cooking.
Process
Here is my recipe with step by step photos to show how to make quinoa idli:
Step 1 – Soaking & blending
Rinse the quinoa, poha, lentils & fenugreek seeds. Drain out the water and then soak with 3 cups of water for 6 to 8 hours. Drain out all the water, add to the blender, add salt, water and blend until smooth (photos 1 – 4).
Step 2: Fermenting
Add the batter to the Instant Pot insert. Set the Instant Pot to Yogurt(normal mode) for 8 hours. Place a non-locking lid on the Instant Pot as you do not need any pressure to be built. Depending on the temperature in your kitchen you may need to ferment it anywhere between 8 to 12 hours (photos 5-6).
Note: If you do not have an Instant Pot, simple place the batter container in a warm place or inside the oven with lights on.
Step 3: Steaming
Evenly spread 2 to 3 drops of ghee or oil to the idli mold plates and grease it well. Then pour the batter in each section, about ¼ cup to ⅓ cup depending on the size of your idli plate. Stack the plates and get the idli stand ready. Add 1 cup of water to the Instant Pot insert and heat it on sauté mode. Once the water gets hot and starts to steam, place the idli stand inside the Instant Pot. Close the lid with the pressure valve to venting. Press the steam option and set an EXTERNAL timer for 15 minutes. NOTE: The Instant Pot timer does not work with the pressure release valve to venting so make sure to set an external timer (photos 7 – 10).
Step 4: Removing
Once the timer goes off, press Cancel on the instant pot and allow a 10-minute natural pressure release. Then open the lid and carefully take out the Idli stand. Separate each plate and allow to cool down for 5 mins. Then run a butter knife carefully from under each idli and remove the idlis (photos 11 – 14).
Serving
Enjoy hot idli with coconut chutney or cilantro chutney and sambar. I have a super easy and delicious sambar recipe in The Essential Indian Instant Pot Cookbook. To make a perfect meal serve with a sweet and tangy mango lassi, cooling ginger lemonade, or refreshing watermelon juice!
Storing
- Fermented Idli batter can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days
- Leftover cooked idlis can also be refrigerated for up to 5 days. To reheat either microwave for a short amount of time covered with a wet paper towel. Or re-steam in the Instant Pot for 5 minutes in an oven-safe container
Love South Indian Food? Here are some vegetarian recipes to try:
Recipe
quinoa Idli
Ingredients
- 1 cup white organic quinoa
- ⅓ cup urad dal
- ½ cup poha falttened rice flakes
- ¾ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- ½ cup water for blending
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon ghee
Instructions
- Rinse the quinoa 2 to 3 times. Add poha & lentils and rinse again. Drain out the water and then soak with 3 cups of water for 6 to 8 hours.
- Drain out all the water and add to a blender and blend with salt & water. The idli batter consistency will be like pancake batter.
- Add the idli batter to the Instant Pot insert. Set the Instant Pot to Yogurt(normal mode) for 8 hours. Place a non-locking lid on the Instant Pot as you do not need any pressure to be built. Depending on the temperature in your kitchen you may need to ferment it anywhere between 8 to 12 hours. If you do not have an Instant Pot, simply place the batter container in a warm place or inside the oven with lights on.
- Evenly spread 2 to 3 drops of ghee or oil to the idli mold plates and grease it well. Then pour the batter in each section, about ¼ cup to ⅓ cup depending on the size of your idli plate. Stack the plates and get the idli stand ready. Add 1 cup of water to the Instant Pot insert and heat it on sauté mode. Once the water gets hot and starts to steam, place the idli stand inside the Instant Pot. Close the lid with the pressure valve to venting. Press the steam option and set an EXTERNAL timer for 15 minutes. NOTE: The Instant Pot timer does not work with the pressure release valve to venting so make sure to set an external timer.
- Once the timer goes off, press the Cancel button on the Instant Pot and allow a 10-minute natural pressure release. Then open the lid and carefully take out the Idli stand. Separate each plate and allow to cool down for 5 mins. Then run a butter knife carefully from under each idli and remove the idlis.
- Enjoy hot with some coconut chutney or cilantro chutney and sambar. I have a super easy and delicious sambar recipe in The Essential Indian Instant Pot Cookbook.
Video
Notes
- To make vegan quinoa idli simply use neutral oil instead of ghee to grease the idli mold
- Make sure to grease the idli mold well with ghee or oil so that the idli can be removed easily
- To make fluffy and airy idli, it’s important to cook it with the pressure release valve to venting
- Have water heating in the Instant Pot when you place the idli stand and start cooking
- You can also use this batter to make thick pancake-like uttapam. Simple stir in finely chopped onions, green chili, cilantro, etc to the batter and make the savory protein-packed pancakes
Nutrition
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Gowthami says
Thank you for the wonderful and healthy idli recipe! I was doubtful if it will come out good because my idlis never come well but this is magical. I followed exact recipe and it was fluffy. Little sweet but with podi it was perfect. Thanks again!
LeonaWestbrook-Chilcott says
My Indian friends taught me about Attapam and Idli because I cannot have gliadin. I’m very allergic to gliadin. Today 5/9 was my first time to prepare these foods. I really like the Attapam. I made it like a breakfast pizza. It is very filling and gives me a fermented food to bolster my immune system and get a complete protein. This will become my staple bread replacement. Thanks for the online recipe. The texture is dense, but I liked German bread already so no problem for me. My husband always says, “ If it’s good for me, I like it.” So no problem there.