I want to make idli and each website tells me I need a pan with a steam hole in it. I used one and several types which did and the idlis never came out!
My parents had a pan from India, it was huge and it worked really well to get the 'cake like' Idlis. Surprise: it did not have a steam hole in it. They offered to give it to me...but knowing they could no longer make for my nieces & nephews who love them -of course I could not. Impossible to find this idli pan in the states.
After some trial and error (4-6 attempts), I finally found a method which works and I will share it with you.
First one tip about idlis: make sure batter is room temperature if you refrigerate it any point.
1) The pan: Find one which is 4 or 5 quart with a metal cover
Here is another pic
Ok so now on to method. You will need the idli stand and they usually come in 3 but I am showing picture of 2 for a reason:
Here is the method which no website explained as I am about to.
2) Put about 3 inches of water in the pan and bring to a boil
3) Do not fill the batter in the indents until you are ready to place in the pan.
4) Only put your idli batter in the TOP IDLI PLATE. You will lightly oil each of the four indents prior to placing in pan.
You need the bottom one because it holds the top plate but you are not going to put batter in it.
Now add the stand inside to the pan -when the water has started to boil.
5) Cover with lid and heat for 6 min. at temp 7 (medium high). I use a timer as that is important.
6) After 6 min, take pan and move it to a stove top which is not heated. Keep there for exactly 13 min covered. Do not open the cover at any time!
After the 13 min.. you should have cake like idlis. When I tried this method using three stands and batter in the top two to make 8 idlis, it just didn't work. Not enough steam was getting to them since the pan is smaller, and that is why I stopped using bottom plate. If you have a larger pan, you can probably make 8 at a time and just use the top stand out of the 3.
The bottom one is too close to the water so I wouldn't use it.
Please comment if you have tried this and if it worked for you as well!