Recipe Cooked, Photographed and Written by Praveena
PrepTime:5 mins CookTime:15 mins Cuisine:Indian
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Idli is the most common and popular breakfast foods of South India. Its made of fermenting the lentil batter and steaming the batter in a specific idli pan.
It is considered as the healthiest breakfast items of the world. This is the recipe which I have been following since many years, which never failed.
Try this homemade Rava idli recipe, to enjoy soft, fluffy and healthy steamed idli without any soaking, grinding and fermenting.

Table of Contents:
- Why I like Instant Rava idli:
- Possible Alterations for the recipe, ‘Homemade Sooji idli / Semolina Instant idli’:
- How to serve, ‘Instant Rava idli / No Ferment Sooji (Semolina) idli’:
- Other recipes from my blog:
- Step wise pics Procedure for ‘Instant Rava idli / Semolina (Sooji) idli’:
- Cooking:
- Making the Rava idli Batter:
- Arranging the idli Steamer:
- Steaming Rava idli on Stove Top Vessel:
- Steaming Rava idli in Instant Pot Cooker:
- Serving:
- Tips:
- Result:
- Ingredients, Accessories on ‘AMAZON’ to ‘SHOP’:
- Recipe Card & Print:

Why I like Instant Rava idli:
Instant rava idli / No Ferment Semolina idli, is the sure shot breakfast recipe , which I depend on when I have very little time.
The main reason behind is, this recipe requires few basic ingredients which we generally have.
And needs just 10-15 mins of time. Above all these, it doesn’t need me to stand at the kitchen counter for long, just roast, mix and steam.
Possible Alterations for the recipe, ‘Homemade Sooji idli / Semolina Instant idli’:
To replace/eliminate oil: Ghee is the right choice to replace oil. You can even eliminate oil completely, by skipping the tempering part.
Ingredients to Avoid: Urad Dal, Curry Leaves, Green Chillies, Cashew Nuts can be eliminated. These are added to give additional aroma and taste to the dish.
Make Nut Free: Just eliminate adding the cashew nuts.

How to serve, ‘Instant Rava idli / No Ferment Sooji (Semolina) idli’:
We had these idli(s) with Instant White Coconut Chutney and a pickle Dosavakaya / Yellow Cucumber Pickle
Here are few chutney and podi recipes from my blog, suitable to serve with idli.
- Peanut Chutney / Palli Pachadi
- Instant White Coconut Chutney
- Chana Dal Chutney Recipe for Dosa, idli
- Ginger Chutney / Andhra Allam Pachadi
- Avocado Chutney (South Indian style)
- Menthaku Podi / Methi Leaves Chutney Powder
- Mint Leaves Spice Powder / Pudina Karam Podi
- Moringa / Drumstick Leaves Spice Powder / Munagaku Podi

Other recipes from my blog:
Before starting to cook, don’t forget to see the Tips mentioned at the end.
Chutney recipes collection⇒ Chutney / Pachchadi / Dip
Breakfast recipes collection⇒ Breakfast / Tiffin
Kids Lunch box collection⇒ Lunch Box
Instant Pot recipes collection⇒ Electric Pressure Cooker / Instant Pot Recipes
Related Posts with ‘SEMOLINA/RAVA’:
- Instant Semiya idli / Vermicelli Instant idli
- Instant Rava Idli Mix (Storage Friendly)
- Mango and Semolina Cake (Egg free)
- Rava Upma / Semolina Savoury Porridge
- Carrot-Rava Laddoo / Carrot-Semolina Sweet Balls
- Rava Kesari / Kesari Bhath
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Ingredients:
- Rava / Semolina / Sooji – 1 cup
- Homemade Curd / Plain Yogurt / Greek Yogurt – 1 cup
- Green Chillies – 3 (finely chopped)
- Fresh Coriander / Cilantro Leaves – a handful (finely chopped)
- Curry Leaves – 5 (finely chopped)
- Salt – 1 teaspoon (or) as per taste
- Water – ¼ cup to ½ cup / as required
- Baking Soda / Eno / Fruit Salt – ½ teaspoon
Ingredients for Tempering :
- Cooking Oil – [2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon]
- Mustard Seeds – ¼ teaspoon
- Jeera / Cumin seeds – ¼ teaspoon
- Urad Dal / Black Gram – ¼ teaspoon
- Chana Dal / Bengal Gram Lentils – ¼ teaspoon
- Cashew Nuts – 10
- Turmeric Powder – a pinch (optional)
Special Ingredients:
- Baking Soda/Eno
- Curd/Yogurt

Step wise pics Procedure for ‘Instant Rava idli / Semolina (Sooji) idli’:
Cooking:




Making the Rava idli Batter:

Arranging the idli Steamer:

Steaming Rava idli on Stove Top Vessel:


Steaming Rava idli in Instant Pot Cooker:


Serving:

Tips:
- Vegans can use a plant-based yogurt for this recipe.
- Be careful while dry roasting the rava/semolina, so that you don’t burn.
- Don’t add too much water while making the batter.
- Adjust the salt & spice as per your taste.
- If you do not have the idli steamer pan you can pour the batter in a round cake tin, steam it in a wide bottomed vessel and cut them into desired pieces.
- Storage: These idli(s) can be be re-heated and served even when they are steamed a day before.
- The batter stays good up to 2 days when stored in fridge.
Result:
- These, instant rava idli / semolina idli, taste very much like the reagular idli(s).
- ⭐️Yes, this South Indian breakfast item, is always a star in my kitchen.🙂
- We had these idli(s) with Instant Coconut Chutney / Kobbari Pachchadi and a pickle Dosavakaya / Yellow Cucumber Pickle

Ingredients, Accessories on ‘AMAZON’ to ‘SHOP’:
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Recipe Card & Print:

Instant Sooji Rava Idli / Semolina idli (Instant Pot, Stove Top Methods)
Equipment
- 1 Frying pan (for stove-top method)
- 1 Idli steamer / Idli stand with moulds
- 1 Idli steamer / Wide bottomed vessel (for stove top method steaming)
- 1 Instant Pot or Electric Pressure Cooker (for IP method)
Ingredients
- 1 cup Rava / Semolina / Sooji
- 1 cup Homemade Curd / Plain Yogurt / Greek Yogurt
- 3 count Green Chillies (finely chopped)
- 1 handful Fresh Coriander / Cilantro Leaves (finely chopped)
- 5 count Curry Leaves (finely chopped)
- 1 teaspoon Salt (or as per taste)
- ¼-½ cup Water (or as required)
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda / Eno / Fruit Salt
Ingredients For Tempering:
- 2 tablespoons Cooking Oil
- ¼ teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- ¼ teaspoon Jeera / Cumin seeds
- ¼ teaspoon Urad Dal / Black Gram
- ¼ teaspoon Chana Dal / Bengal Gram Lentils
- 10 count Cashew Nuts
- a pinch Turmeric Powder (optional)
Instructions
Cooking:
- Put a frying pan on stove top under medium flame. Add all the 'ingredients for tempering'. Keep stirring until the cashew nuts turn light brown.
- Next, add all these>> chopped green chillies, chopped coriander leaves and chopped curry leaves. Give a stir.
- Add the semolina and roast till you get a pleasant aroma and the colour of semolina slightly changes. (Takes around 4 mins.)Switch the flame off and let it cool for 2-3 mins.
Making the Rava idli batter:
- Transfer the semolina into a wide mixing bowl. Add all these>> salt, baking/cooking soda, curd/yogurt, water.
- Mix everything and leave the bowl on kitchen platform to rest for 10 mins.
Arranging the idli steamer:
- After 10 mins resting time, mix the batter thoroughly. If needed, add few table spoons of water for the right consistency. Apply oil to the idli pans and pour in the batter into each mould .Stack the idli pans one above another.
Steaming Sooji Rava idli on Stove Top:
- Put a wide bottomed vessel on stove top under high flame, add 2 cups of water. Place the idli stack in the vessel.
- Close the vessel with lid. Steam cook for up to 10-12 mins. Later, switch the flame off and leave the vessel unopened for 3 more mins.
Steaming Sooji Rava idli in Instant Pot:
- Switch the IP on, pour 2 cups of water, set to SAUTE mode for 2 mins. Place the idli pan stack. Close the lid, set valve to VENTING, mode to STEAM, set external timer to 12 mins. IP timer doesn't work in venting.
- Later, switch the gadget OFF. But open the lid only after 5 mins.
Serving:
- Using a wet spoon, gently take the idli(s) out of the idli pan and serve!! Done!!
Notes
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Thankyou for the tasty recipe. My rava idlis didn’t fluff up. I added Eno and Greek yogurt. Is there anything else I can try next time?
Hi Nily, Most welcome! You might try to use plain yogurt / sour curd. Or else, after adding up everything, try to rest the batter for 10 mins before steaming. Hope this helps. 🙂