These easy oats idli are light, fluffy, cakes perfect for a quick Breakfast or healthy on-the-go Snack. Made with oats, curd (yogurt), semolina, herbs and spices, this oats idli recipe requires no fermentation and is quick to prepare.
About Oats Idli
This oatmeal idli recipe, made with your choice of oats, is another favorite oats recipe of mine. Similar to my Rava Idli Recipe, this oats idli recipe includes rava (sooji, semolina or cream of wheat) in the batter, as well as oats of course.
Perfect for when you’re in a time crunch, oats idli is an instant version unlike the traditional South Indian Idli Recipe that is made with time-intensive method of soaking rice & lentils, grinding them and fermenting.
This oats idli recipe, however, does require very less time than traditional idli recipe because it requires no fermentation process.
The recipe is very simple and also customizable. Because you can choose how many or how few veggies to add to your batter, this recipe is also easy to customize to suit many different diets and tastes.
Personally, I do enjoy adding a few veggies to the batter most of the time, but then there are certainly other times when I decide to make the idli without any vegetables at all.
If you like these quick oats idli, then you will love some of my other Oats Recipes, like Oats Dosa and Oats Upma.
How to Make Oats Idli
Make Oat Flour
First place 1 cup of quick cooking oats or rolled oats in a grinder or blender.
Then grind or blend the oats to a fine flour and set aside.
Grate Carrot
Next, peel and grate 1 small to medium carrot.
Get Your Herbs And Spices Ready
Now, set aside all the herbs and spices you will needing. Make sure you add these ingredients (pictured below in clockwise order):
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon chana dal (husked and split bengal gram)
- ½ teaspoon crushed black pepper
- 1 tablespoon of chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped curry leaves
- 1 teaspoon of finely chopped ginger
- 1 teaspoon chopped green chilies
- 8 to 10 cashews that have been chopped
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Make Tempering
- Next heat ½ to 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan on a low heat. Then when the oil is hot, add the ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon mustard seeds, and 1 teaspoon chana dal.
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Sauté Spices, Nuts and Herbs
. Now add the 1 teaspoon of chopped green chilies, 1 teaspoon of chopped ginger, 1 teaspoon of finely chopped curry leaves, 8 to 10 chopped cashews, ½ teaspoon of crushed black pepper and just a pinch of asafoetida (hing).
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Add Rava
. Now add ½ cup of rava (sooji or cream of wheat) to the sautéed mixture. Use fine textured rava or sooji.
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Add Ingredients to Oatmeal Idli Mixture
. While the oatmeal idli mixture cools, prepare the vegetables. First, grate the carrots and then chop the coriander leaves.
You can also steam peas or french beans to add to the batter. Then, when your mixture has cooled, add these ingredients and mix into the oatmeal idli mixture.
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Steam Oats Idli
. Now pour the oats idli batter into the greased idli moulds.
- Next gently place the moulds on the trivet/perforated plate inside the large pot, electric rice cooker, Instant Pot or pressure cooker. Then cover and steam the oats idli until they are done, for about 10 to 12 minutes.
If using a pressure cooker, remove the vent weight (whistle) from the lid before sealing the cooker tightly with the lid.
For Instant pot, keep the valve at the “venting position”. Press the steam button and steam on high pressure for 10 to 12 minutes. Keep a track of the time with a timer.
NOTE: Your oatmeal idli are cooked well when a toothpick inserted in the center of the idli comes out clean.
- Remove the idli stand from the pot, cooker or Instant pot carefully using a kitchen towel or oven mitts.
Now allow the steamed idli to stand in the moulds for a few minutes. Then remove them with a spoon dipped in hot water.
Serve oats idli. So that they remain soft and moist, place the oatmeal idli in a covered container or inside a roti box.
