Idiyappam Recipe, How to make soft Idiyappam, Nool Puttu – Kannamma Cooks (2024)

Idiyappam is an all time favorite recipe at home. Serve it with sweet coconut milk and stew and it makes for a fantastic breakfast or dinner. You can also serve with Chicken Stew. Idiyappam is also called as Nool Puttu in Karnataka and String Hoppers in Srilanka.

A Note on the rice flour used:
I use plain rice flour for this recipe. Generally, Idiyappam and kozhukattai is made with puttu flour / Idiyappam rice flour that’s available in the market. Many a time, I find the store bought puttu flour / Idiyappam rice flour to be rancid. So I adapted this method where I roast the plain rice flour and make Idiyappam or kozhukattai. Also, rice flour is easily available everywhere.

Many people use puttu flour for making Idiyappam. I prefer using just plain old regular rice flour. The trick is in the roasting of the flour. We will be making idiyappam today with just plain rice flour. The key to a good idiyappam is to roast the flour until very hot so it absorbs more water while kneading and that results in a very soft and fluffy idiyappam. Here is how to do idiyappam at home the most easy way. You will need an idiyappam press or an idiyappam maker for this recipe. You can buy it here.
Note: If you have access to good quality puttu flour / idiyappam flour, do use that. It makes the best idiyappam.

Take a pan and add in a cup of flour to the pan. Roast the flour on medium flame until the flour is very hot to the touch. It will also start to slightly change colour at the bottom. If its kind of becoming yellow here and there, the flour is roasted. Remove and set aside.

Take a pressure cooker and add in 1.5 cups of water, a teaspoon of oil and half a teaspoon of salt. Cover and cook for one whistle. Remove the pressure manually. Hot water is ready!

NOTE: I use a pressure cooker for this recipe as its fast and also retains the heat for a longer period of time. If you do not have a pressure cooker, you can try in a kettle or a pan etc…

Immediately add in the roasted rice flour and mix well to combine. Cover the cooker, put the whistle on and let it rest for 15 minutes. Remember the stove is off. We are just resting the dough covered. Rest for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, open the cooker and mix the dough. Prepare small oblong balls and load it in the idiyappam press. Press the idiyappam strings onto idli plates.

Once the dough is pressed, transfer the plates to a steamer and steam the idiyappam for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes of steaming, rest the idli plates for 5 minutes before removing the idiyappam.

Serve it with sweet coconut milk and stew and it makes for a fantastic breakfast or dinner.

Here is the video of the recipe. Hope you like it.

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