Toor dhal / thuvaram paruppu idli

I made these idlis after my mother-in-law's suggestion. She saw this recipe in a Tamil cooking show. She originally asked me to try it out with thattai paruppu (green lentils) and I had tried them with toor dhal the first time. We like these so much that I was experimenting them with moong dhal and then later with masoor dhal too.  The idlis were very soft and fluffy with all the lentils. These pair up well with coconut chutney or any tomato-based curries or chutneys or a simple idli podi.

Ingredients:
1. Toor dhal or moong dhal, or green lentils 2 cups.
2. Urad dhal, 1 cup.
3. Fenugreek seeds, 1 tablespoon.
4. Salt, a tablespoon.

Preparation:
Wash the dhals together and soak them 3-4 hours along with the fenugreek seeds.  Grind them along with some s water using a blender into a smooth paste until the batter is fluffy. Add salt to the batter and mix everything well. Let it sit overnight or 6-7 hours to allow fermentation to take place. When the batter has risen to 1/3rd of its size, they are ready to be steamed. Pour them into idli moulds and let it steam for 5-7 minutes. Once the idlis are cooked, remove them from the molds and serve with sambar or chutney.

Note: The softness of the idlis depends on the type of the urad dhal used. I have used the ratio of the flour to the dhal to 2:1 since I have used a blender to grind the batter. If using a mixer grinder, less dhal can be used. The same batter can also be used for preparing dosas.