I recently made two kinds of murukku – smooth and mullu murukku – with the same dough. To my surprise, the two shapes tasted very different though the dough was exactly the same!! Intrigued, I went into this fascinating rabbit hole of how the shape of food affects our perception of its taste…
Exactly how long should you cook idlis? This is an important question because undercooking leaves the insides sticky. And overcooking makes the idlis dry and less fluffy. Let’s see if we can find out the optimal time for cooking idlis, for whichever mould you use…
Urad dal (Black gram) is typically available in grocery stores in four forms – split deskinned, whole deskinned, split with skin and whole with skin. Now, which of these works best for making idlis and why? Let’s find out!
A saying in Tamil goes, “Uppillaa pandam kuppaiyile”. Which means unsalted food belongs in the dustbin! Usually mild-mannered, this culture has used such strong language to indicate the importance of adding salt to food. And for good reasons..
Have you ever wondered about this… No other species cooks, except us humans! We use dozens of techniques to make our food softer, finer, crunchier, aerated, juicier. We break ingredients down with heat, with force, with acids. We manipulate them to ‘improve’ taste, texture, aroma, flavour, visual appeal, mouthfeel… Is all this necessary? Is there an evolutionary reason for why we cook?
Have you ever tried making idlis with other pulses than urad dal? I just did! Researchers have tried to find substitutes for urad dal and its unique properties, but haven’t found a simple alternative yet. Meanwhile, I just wanted to check how other common pulses fare…
The main factor is the specific gravity of the batter. Why does it matter and how to check the specific gravity of your batter? Find out…
Some cooks drop a blob of urad dal batter in water to check its consistency. This is called the ‘Batter Float Test’. What does this measure? And what should you observe?
Fenugreek seeds don’t always grind smoothly despite hours of soaking. Here are 4 different ways to add them to idli batter. One method works superbly each time!
How do you mix rice and urad dal batters together to get the spongiest idlis? With a ladle? With a whisk? With your hand? In the wet grinder itself? Does the mixing method actually make any difference?