Bhojan Daily

If you know of oats, as the undefeated champ of only a Breakfast bowl with milk and fruits (maybe), then think twice! Because here’s recipe that’s going to change that perspective of yours. This is an easy and Oats Idli recipe that results in light, fluffy and delicious idli for your comforting breakfasts or a hearty Snack on-the-go. Made with oats, curd (yogurt), semolina, herbs, spices, and a leavening agent, this recipe requires no fermentation and is quick to prepare.

Why You’ll Love These Quick Oats Idli

Oats Idli is a soft, fluffy, and wholesome South Indian-style steamed cake made with a mix of powdered oats, rava (semolina), yogurt, and a light tempering of spices. It’s quick to prepare and perfect for healthy meals when you’re short on time.

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 some 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 oatmeal 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.

Step-by-Step Guide

How to Make Oats Idli

Make Oat Flour & Prep Ingredients

1. First place 1 cup of quick cooking oats or rolled oats in a grinder or blender.

2. Then grind or blend the oats to a fine flour and set aside.

3. Next, peel and grate 1 small to medium carrot.

4. 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

Make Tempering

5. Next heat ½ to 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan and heat it on a low to medium-low heat. Then when the oil is hot, add the ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon mustard seeds, and 1 teaspoon chana dal.

Note: If you are using urad dal (½ teaspoon), then you can add with this mixture, as well.

6. Now stir and mix.

7. Continue to fry on low to medium-low heat until the mustard seeds crackle and both the chana dal and urad dal become golden.

8. Next add the the following ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon of chopped green chilies
• 1 teaspoon of chopped ginger
• 1 teaspoon of finely chopped curry leaves
• 8 to 10 cashews, chopped
• ½ teaspoon of crushed black pepper
• 1 pinch of asafoetida (hing)

9. Continue to sauté for another minute on low heat.

Roast Rava & Oats Flour

10. Now add ½ cup of rava (sooji or cream of wheat) to the sautéed mixture. Use fine textured rava or sooji.

11. Then on a low to medium-low heat stir and roast the sooji for another 2 minutes.

12. After that, add the oats flour.

13. Mix very well and combine. Continue stirring often while the oats flour is roasting on a low to medium-low heat.

14. Stirring often roast for a total of about 4 to 5 minutes on a low to medium-low heat.

15. When finished, transfer the flour mixture into a mixing bowl and let it cool completely.

Make Oatmeal Idli Batter

16. While the oatmeal mixture cools, prepare the vegetables. If you have not grated the carrots, grate it and chop the coriander leaves.

You can also steam green 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.

Note: You can skip adding any vegetables if preferred.

17. Next add ½ cup curd (yogurt).

18. Pour 1 cup of water.

19. Next stir and mix the oatmeal batter thoroughly. Ensure there are no lumps.

20. Keep in mind that the batter has a medium consistency. It should be neither too thick nor thin. So adjust the water accordingly.

When the consistency is right, cover and allow the batter to rest for 5 to 6 minutes.

Prepare Idli Moulds

21. Meanwhile, grease the idli moulds with some oil or ghee (clarified butter).

Place a small trivet/perforated plate in a 5 to 6 litre stovetop pressure cooker, large pot or pan, Instant Pot or electric rice cooker.

Add 1.5 to 2 cups water in the stovetop pressure cooker, large pot or pan, electric cooker or Instant pot and heat until the water comes to a boil.

You can also use the traditional idli steamer to steam oatmeal idli.

22. After the resting time, your oatmeal idli batter should have a medium and moist consistency. If the batter looks thick, add a few tablespoons of water and mix to combine.

Leaven Batter

23. Now add salt to taste and mix well.

24. Then add 1 teaspoon of fruit salt (eno) or ½ teaspoon of baking soda.

25. As soon as you add the fruit salt, quickly begin to stir the whole batter.

26. Be quick and stir very well so that the eno is mixed evenly in the oatmeal idli batter.

Steam Oats Idli

27. Now pour the oats idli batter into the greased idli moulds.

28. Next gently place the moulds on the trivet/perforated plate inside the large pot or pan, 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, secure the lid and keep the valve in the “venting” position. Press the Steam button and steam for 10 to 12 minutes. Since pressure won’t build in venting mode, the timer may not start; so use a separate kitchen timer to track the steaming time manually. When done, unlock the lid and carefully remove the idli stand.

Note: Your oatmeal idli are cooked well when a toothpick inserted in the center of the idli comes out clean.

29. 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 rest 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.

Serving Suggestions

Serve oats idli hot or warm with Coconut Chutney, Onion Chutney, Tomato Chutney, Idli Podi or Sambar. These oats idli also make for a good tiffin box or lunchtime snack.

Storage and Leftovers

Keep leftover oatmeal idli in a covered container in the refrigerator. Reheat in a microwave sprinkling a few drops of water on them or you can steam them for 1 to 2 minutes in a pan or pot.

You can even pan fry or shallow fry them until crispy and golden. Serve the fried oatmeal idli with any dip like a tomato ketchup or Schezwan Sauce or Coriander Chutney.

Expert Tips

1. Type of Oats: You can use rolled oats or quick-cooking oats. Both work well for soft, fluffy idlis. Rolled oats offer a slightly nutty flavor, especially if lightly roasted before grinding. Avoid instant or flavored oats, as they can affect the taste and texture.
2. Suji/rava tip: For best results, use fine textured suji or rava (cream of wheat/semolina) in this Oats Idli recipe. Coarse rava may affect the softness and texture of the idlis.
3. Soapy aroma tip: To reduce the soapy or alkaline aroma, you can use ½ teaspoon fruit salt or ¼ teaspoon baking soda instead. However, do note that the idli texture may turn out a bit less soft and fluffy with this substitution.
4. To make the idlis more nutritious: You can add vegetables like steamed green peas, French beans, or grated carrots, beets to the batter. This step is optional—these oats idlis taste great even without any veggies.
5. Batter usage tip: Try to use up the entire batter in one steaming batch. If the batter is kept aside for a second round, the idlis may not turn out as soft and fluffy.
6. Steaming options: You can steam these idlis in a stovetop pressure cooker (without the whistle), large pot, Instant Pot, electric rice cooker, or a traditional idli steamer – whichever equipment you have.
7. Prepare your idli meal: This Oats Idli recipe comes together quickly. While the idlis are steaming, you can prepare coconut chutney on the side. This way, you’ll have a wholesome and healthy breakfast ready in under 45 minutes.

FAQs

More Idli Variants To Try!

If you’ve tried this recipe, please rate it in the recipe card or leave a comment below – I’d love to hear your feedback. For more vegetarian inspiration, sign up for my email updates or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or X.

Oats Idli recipe from the blog archives was first published on May 2015.