Tawa Masala Idli - Idli Masala

If you are a die-hard fan of the soft and spongy idli, then this recipe is for you. If you have leftover idli, then you can prepare this idli masala recipe quickly and have it as a delicious snack or breakfast. It is effortless to cook, and you can add Indian spices, available vegetables, and butter or ghee to it to enhance its taste. You can also add various capsicums and your favourite vegetables to it. If you want to have a chaat-like taste, then you can add pav bhaji masala to it. The best advantage of this recipe is that you can experiment in many ways with the idlis and get the perfect street-style masala idli. You can easily cook this street-style Tawa idli and have it as a quick breakfast or snack. It can be made with fresh or leftover idli. All you have to do is cut them into pieces of desired shapes and sizes and toss in sauteed vegetable mixture. The best thing about it is that it takes only a few minutes to prepare this meal, and it is a great option for kids' lunch.

Tawa Masala Idli Info:

Prep Time

15 Mins

Cook Time

10 Mins

Total Time

25 Mins

Cuisine

Indian

Category

Main course or Snack

Tawa Masala Ingredients:

  • 8-10 idli
  • 2 tablespoon oil
  • 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
  • 1 tablespoon jeera
  • A pinch of hing
  • 1/2 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
  • 2-3 green chillies
  • 2 medium-sized onions
  • 1 medium tomato
  • Curry leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • Salt to taste
  • Pav bhaji or idli masala
  • Lime juice
  • Coriander leaves

Step-by-Step Instructions:

Cooking Preparations:

  • Chop up the onions and tomatoes.
  • Slit the green chillies.
  • Cut the coriander leaves.
  • Cut the idlis into small cubes, try to cut them into smaller cubes because they easily
    absorb the flavours.

To Prepare Tawa Masala Idli:

  • Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, saute it, and then add jeera.
  • Once jeera and the mustard seeds pop, add hing, green chillies, and the ginger-garlic
  • paste to it. Fry it for two minutes and add chopped onions to it. Once the onions turn
    transparent or pink and give off a fragrant smell, you can add chopped tomatoes to it.
  • Fry the vegetables for a few minutes until they turn mushy. While frying them, keep the
    idli masala handy.
  • Once the vegetables are soft, add the masala and salt to it. Mix all the ingredients well
    and cook it for two minutes. Now you can add the idli cubes to the pan and toss them
    well to coat them evenly.
  • Add half a tablespoon of lime juice to the dish and garnish it with coriander leaves.
  • You can serve the freshly prepared Tawa idli masala with coconut chutney or regular
    sauce.
  • You can serve the Tawa idli masala with coconut chutney and have it for breakfast with
    tea or coffee.

Additional tips and variations:

If you do not want smaller cubes, then you can also toss the whole idlis in the pan. You can toss
the ingredients along with peanut chutney powder if you like its taste.
You can replace oil or butter with ghee for this recipe because masala idli tastes delicious with
ghee. If you want a North Indian variation of the recipe then you can try adding pav bhaji
masala to it.

  • If you use frozen idli, then they will be easier to cut and toss in the pan because freshly
    prepared idli might get crumbled while chopping or tossing.
  • You can replace the chilli sauce with one chopped green chilli.

Even if you are not a huge fan of traditional-style idli, you can give this recipe a try. You will love
the taste of Tawa masala idli.

Before You Go…