IRRESISTIBLE IDLI

Surabhi Bharathan’s South Indian breakfast dish is perfect for sharing. This soft and fluffy steamed cake is made with fermented rice and lentil batter and served with a range of chutneys.

“Idli is tasty, healthy and suitable for everyone, even babies,” says nurse Surabhi. “It was one of my daughter’s first solid foods – she’s five now and we have them with chutney for lunch, dinner, and snacks in between!

“The ingredients are in most supermarkets. You’ll need an idli plate, readily available to buy online. It’s a good investment to start your day healthily.”

Idli Ingredients

2 cups idli rice

1 cup urad dal

½ tsp fenugreek seeds

Salt Oil

Equipment

Idli plate (available online or in kitchenware seections of department stores)

Steamer or pressure cooker

Idli Method

• Rinse idli rice until water becomes clear, then wash dal

• Put rice, dal and fenugreek in three separate pans of water and leave to soak for four hours

• Drain off water from each pan. Blend the rice with salt according to taste, then add the urad dal and fenugreek to the mix to make a batter

• Let the mix ferment for around 12 hours (if the room is cold preheat and keep in the oven, or place under the hood with the lights on)

• To cook, boil water in a steamer or pressure cooker; oil idli plate and pour batter in to moulds

• Place the stand inside the steamer

• Cook for 10 minutes, allow to cool. Loosen idlis with a spoon and serve with chutney (see recipe).

Chutney Ingredients

1 cup of coconut

3 to 4 green chillies

Small piece of onion

⅓ cup coriander leaves

8 to 10 curry leaves

1 tbsp oil

½ tsp mustard

1 clove of garlic

Salt to taste

Chutney Method

• Add coconut, garlic, coriander leaves, onion and chillies and salt to a blender and mix

• Heat the oil in a pan

• Once hot add mustard seeds and curry leaves, then pour the chutney mix into the pan

• Once boiling, remove from heat and serve with the idli.

Local Hero

Your pharmacist could be your health ally this winter. Shadeia Younis –award winning Independent Pharmacist of the Year – gives her top tips for self care and winter wellness.

old weather always brings its own set of challenges and this winter your local pharmacist is on hand to help you. As most minor conditions can be treated at home, your pharmacist can provide you with the advice and support you need.

And that’s not all; we can help you if you want to lose weight or stop smoking. We can check your blood pressure and diabetes and give you the support you need to ensure that you’re taking the right medications at the right time. Of course there are things that you can do to help yourself. Here’s some of my top tips to help keep you well this winter.