“Between Asia and India
Amongst coconut grove bends,
There sat a priest
Who worked on fusion trends.
He combined this & that
And tasted with a knowing look,
To make sure the new staple
Was worthy of a book.
He owned many a field
And all the rice he grew
Went either to his tummy
Or into an experiment new!
Thus emerged some gems
Born out of grating, grilling & chops,
And while Thailand mastered the curry
He was converting Idlis into pops.”
What do you eat with red curry? Well, rice of course. And what is Idli made of? Rice! That's the simple inspiration behind this dish.
Ingredients
(Makes around 16 mini muffin sized Idlis)
1 cup white rice, soaked overnight
1/3 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons greek yogurt
2 tablespoons greek yogurt
6 tablespoons cup fine semolina
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon split chickpea or yellow lentils
½ teaspoon garlic ginger paste
2 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
½ cup prawns, shelled & deveined
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh coriander, chopped
A pinch of asafoetida
Salt & pepper
Method
Blend the soaked rice to a fine paste with 1/3 cup water, and mix with the coconut milk. Keep aside for 20 minutes.
Roast the semolina in a non-stick pan till it begins to turn brown. Keep aside to cool.
Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard and cumin seeds and cook for a few minutes. Once they begin to splutter, add the garlic ginger paste, red curry paste, all the dry spices and the prawns, along with 1/3 cup of water. Cover and cook till the prawns are cooked. Remove the prawns from the curry and keep aside. Continue to cook the curry till any excess water has been absorbed. Remove from heat and cool.
In a bowl, mix the rice paste, semolina, yogurt and red curry paste. Pour into mini idli pan and steam for 20 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Top with the cooked prawns and serve. A Thai-South Indian fusion!
Feeling lazy? Just substitue the rice, coconut milk, yogurt & semolina with a cup of instant idli mix. Would work just the same.
Don’t worry if you do not own an Idli maker – I don’t either! That’s the beauty of DIY remedies! You have the following options:
1. Bake them at 300 F for 10-15 minutes.
2. Microwave them at high for 7-10 minutes. (not a big fan of this as it makes the idlis slightly harder than steaming or baking)
3. Make your own steamer- this is what I did. Take any deep large pan and fill a little water in it. Put a smaller cake pan (or any pan that has a flat bottom) upside down inside this to make a little stand on the water. Bring the water to boiling point. Now put the idli batter in mini muffin/cupcake pans and put that on top of the ‘stand’. Cover and steam for 15-20 minutes. (refer to pics in the end)
(Setting up the DIY steamer)
