Quinoa Idli {Instant Pot}

Quinoa Idli is a new, fiber-rich version of the traditional Indian idli, but with added quinoa. This is something that I wanted to try for a long time, and finally, I did. Here is my instant pot fermented and steamed quinoa idli recipe.

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Course: Breakfast, Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: Easy quinoa idli, Healthy quinoa idli, Instant pot quinoa idli, Quinoa idli recipe

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 12

Soaking and Ferment: 12

Total Time: 12 22

Servings:

Calories: 108kcal

Author: Sophie

Cost: $6

Ingredients

1 and ½ cups quinoa (White variety)
½ cup idli rice (Par-boiled)
½ cup urad dal
1 teaspoon fenugreek
salt as per taste

No Rice Version

1 cup 1 cup quinoa (white variety) washed, rinsed and soaked
⅓ cup urad dal (washed and soaked)
½ cup flat rice flakes or thick poha
¾ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
salt to taste

Instructions

Wash, Soak and Make Batter

Wash and rinse all the grains two to three times till the water runs clear.
Now soak the rice and quinoa together and urad dal separately for at least 3-4 hours. For no-rice method, you can just wash poha and soak it with either urad dal or quinoa.
I prefer to soak them for 8 hours for the best results.
After the soaking, grind all the grains with soaked fenugreek until smooth. I prefer to use a high-speed blender for this process. You can always use a wet grinder as well.
I prefer to keep the rice and quinoa batter little grainy and the urad batter fully smooth. The grainy rice texture adds a nice texture to the idlies. But it's totally optional. If you want to keep the rice batter grainy, make sure there are no big pieces of grains left. The batter should feel grainy when you rub between your fingers but should look smooth. For the no-rice version, grind everything to a smooth batter.
Mix all the batters well. Add salt at this point, and mix really well.

Ferment the Quinoa Idli Batter In Instant Pot

Now transfer the batter to a stainless steel container or the inner pot, and set the instant pot to yogurt mode for the fermentation.
Use a glass lid to cover the instant pot or use a plastic wrap to seal the inner pot.
The normal yogurt mode automatically selects 8 hours for fermenting. However, you can increase it to 10-hours if the weather is cool.
After the fermentation process, the batter should look frothy yet thick. Transfer the batter to another pot and store it in a refrigerator.

Make Quinoa Idli

Grease your idli rack lightly with oil or spray cooking all on them. I am using instant pot idli racks for this. Now take a ladle full of the quinoa idli batter and pour it into the mold. DO NOT overfill because the batter rises as it steams.
Pour two cups of water inside the inner pot and let it boil in the saute mode.
Now place the idli rack inside. Now close the lid and keep the vent OPEN.Set the instant pot to steam cook for 12-mins. Once the instant pot beeps, switch the IP off.
Wait for 5 minutes and open the lid. Carefully, remove the idli plates.
Use a spoon to remove the idlis from the mold.
Serve quinoa idli hot with walnut chutney and instant pot sambar.
Enjoy!

Notes

The nutrition fact is for 4 idlis that are approximately 100 grams.
The quinoa idli is best enjoyed with walnut chutney and instant pot sambar.
Quinoa has a bitter after taste, which can be reduced by washing the quinoa well and soaking it.
I haven't tried a rice-free version yet. But if you are looking for a rice-free version, you can replace the rice with yellow moong dal and it should work perfectly.

Nutrition