Applauding myself for coming up with the idea for making South Indian breakfast speciality Idiyappam in less than 15 minutes without any hand work…
I have already blogged about making Idiyappam in the traditional way using an Idiyappam maker. I love this dish, it’s soft, easy to digest and makes a good breakfast or dinner. But I never ever liked the fact that making idiyappam from scratch called for a lot of hand work. This is the sole reason why I shy away from making this in my kitchen. If I get the craving for having this I used to depend on frozen idiyappam that is sold in Indian stores, of course the easiest way.
Recently, as part of my husband’s Gluten free diet I had to stack up Rice Vermicelli in my pantry, just in case if I get lazy I can make a quick fix noodles at least. Yesterday, while making Chicken Noodle Salad with spicy Asian dressing the idea of making idiyappam using rice vermicelli triggered my mind. I patted myself for this idea, yet I was a bit concerned whether it would have the look of idiyappam. Nevertheless, I did reserve some cooked rice vermicelli in the refrigerator for transforming it into idiyappam the next day.
For tonight’s dinner, I tried making idiyappam using the already cooked rice vermicelli and I was astonished to see it come out perfectly soft just like idiyappam. I can explain how exactly I executed this task: I first cooked the rice vermicelli but not too tender or mushy. Allowed it to cool down. Placed the cleaned and dried Idiyappam plates on the counter top. Took a handful of cooked vermicelli and placed it on each depression on the plate. Steam cooked the vermicelli for about 5 minutes and served it along with Poached egg curry.
So, don’t be disappointed if you don’t have the Idiyappam maker or just like me if you have it and yet too lazy to make it from scratch. Gone are those days! Try this and you will be overjoyed to see how fast and easy you can make Idiyappam hereafter. Well, make sure not to reveal this secret to your guests, let them be under the impression that you worked really hard to treat them 😉
Had I not revealed the secret while wrapping up the dinner I could have tricked my husband often with this instant homemade idiyappam which looked and tasted just like those made from scratch.
Instant Homemade Idiyappam
Ingredients:
- Rice vermicelli- 1 packet
- Water- enough to cook vermicelli
- Salt
- Coconut grated (optional)
Instruction
- Cook the rice vermicelli in boiled water ( add a dash of salt to the water while boiling) till it’s cooked but not too tender, about 5 minutes.
- Drain the water and let the cooked vermicelli cool down.
- Have the Idiyappam plates dried and ready on the counter top.
- You could grease the small depressions on the plate with little oil.
- Sprinkle a handful of grated coconut on each depression.
- Place handful of cooked vermicelli over the grated coconut.
- Stack the plates and place it in the steamer and steam cook it for 5 minutes.
- After it cools down, take the plates out of the steamer and gently slide the Idiyappam onto a platter.
- Serve with your favorite curry.
- I served with Poached Egg curry, recipe on its way.
Tips:
- If you don’t have the Idiyappam plates, you could just spread the vermicelli on small steel flat plates and steam cook it.
- If you don’t care about getting the Idiyappam shape, then you could have the cooked vermicelli along with your favorite curry.
- Rice vermicelli- 1 packet
- Water- enough to cook vermicelli
- Salt
- Coconut grated (optional)
- Cook the rice vermicelli in boiled water ( add a dash of salt to the water while boiling) till it's cooked but not too tender, about 5 minutes.
- Drain the water and let the cooked vermicelli cool down.
- Have the Idiyappam plates dried and ready on the counter top.
- You could grease the small depressions on the plate with little oil.
- Sprinkle a handful of grated coconut on each depression.
- Place handful of cooked vermicelli over the grated coconut.
- Stack the plates and place it in the steamer and steam cook it for 5 minutes.
- After it cools down, take the plates out of the steamer and gently slide the Idiyappam onto a platter.
- Serve with your favorite curry.
- I served with Poached Egg curry, recipe on its way.
If you don't care about getting the Idiyappam shape, then you could have the cooked vermicelli along with your favorite curry.
