Oats idli

Updated: August 27, 2022, By Swasthi

Oats idli recipe made with oats, tempering spices, herbs and veggies. Make these quick, healthy, fluffy and delicious instant oatmeal idlis in a flash. Serve them for a breakfast, snack or a meal with a good chutney, tiffin sambar or sagu. We do love our fluffy and soft idli and is a staple breakfast on most weekdays. Rava Idli and this oats idli are a stand by when I do not have stock of idli dosa batter but prefer to eat idli.

oats idli oats recipe



These oats idli are good only if paired with a real good chutney or a tiffin sambar. You know what I mean! No compromises with the sides, so you will love these as much as the hotel style Rava idlis.

I have been making oats idli for few years now and have experimented a lot. The recipe shared here has been giving me good results consistently.

If you are a newbie and wondering what these are?

About oats idli

Oats idli are steamed cakes made with an instant batter consisting of oatmeal, spices, herbs, veggies, yogurt and a leavening agent. Traditionally idlis are made with ground and fermented lentil rice batter. These oats idlis are a shortcut way to make the steamed cakes, where we just make a batter with all the ingredients and leaven it with a leavening agent such as Eno or baking soda. This gives us the same results as the fermented batter does.

The batter is then steamed in idli molds. How easy.. isn’t it? We love these as much as these MTR style Rava idlis which I shared with you all before.

I make oats idli with both semolina and whole wheat rava or daliya or samba rava. Bombay rava or semolina is a processed food and is good to consume in moderation. If you are trying to avoid refined foods, then I suggest using whole wheat rava instead of semolina.

You can find a picture of oats idli made with whole wheat rava at the end of this post.

If you are health conscious and trying to include oats in your diet, you may like this collection of Oats recipes.
Oats dosa
Easy oats upma
Oats chilla
Masala oats
Oats uttapam
Oats omelette

Photo Guide

How to make oats idli (stepwise photos)

Preparation

1. Add 1 cup oats to a blender.

rolled oats in a blender

2. Make a coarse powder. Making a coarse powder prevents stickiness in the oats idli.

powdered oats

3. Pour 1½ tablespoon oil to a hot pan. Do not reduce oil. If using cashews, fry them until golden and set aside. Then add ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds and 1 teaspoon urad dal. Saute until the dal turns golden. Sprinkle a pinch of hing.

4. Add 1 finely chopped green chilies, 1 teaspoon chopped ginger (optional) and few curry leaves. Saute for a min.

tempering spices chili ginger for oats idli

5. Next add half cup semolina / rava or whole wheat rava /daliya.

6. Saute on a medium heat until the rava turns fragrant.

Saute rava on a low flame to make oats idli

7. Add the powdered oats. Mix and fry on a low heat without burning until the oats begin to smell good.

8. Then add salt. Mix this and set aside to cool completely. This is the instant oats idli mix. You can also bottle this and use when ever needed. Keeps good in refrigerator for 1 week to 10 days.

frying ingredients to make oats idli

Making oats idli batter

9. Once the mix is cooled completely, add 1 cup water and ¼ cup curd.

add water and curd to make oats idli

10. Mix well and Set aside for 10 mins. Drizzle a few drops of oil on each idli plate. Grease them and keep aside. Optionally place fried cashew in each mould.

consistency of oats idli batter

11. After 10 mins, the batter turns slightly thick. If it is too thick then add 1 to 2 tbsps more water to bring it to a thick consistency like that of idli batter. The batter must be thick and not of pouring consistency. Add water only as needed. You can also skip water depending on the kind of oats used.

Transfer lemon juice, finely grated carrots, peas (optional) & few coriander leaves. Do not use too much carrots it lends a sweetish flavor.

add finely grated carrots, chopped beans

12. First get the steamer ready with 1.5 to 2 cups water like you do for the regular idli. When the water is getting hot, about to come to a boil, then add ½ teaspoon baking soda or 1 teaspoon fruit salt – eno. You can also reduce 1 to 2 pinches of soda. Mix well. You will begin to see bubbles in the mixture. The mixture has to go right away for steaming otherwise the idli will turn dense.

add baking soda

How to make oats idli

13. This recipe makes around 8 to 9 idlis. Pour the batter to the greased plates. Put the idli stand inside when the water comes to a boil. Cover and steam for 11 to 12 mins on a high flame. The color of the idli depends on the kind of oats used. I had used rolled oats, hence the yellowish color.

steamind oats idli in a pot

14. Allow them to cool down a bit. Dip a spoon or knife in water and remove the oats idli.

remove the oats idli

Serve oats idli hot with chutney or sambar. These are best served hot.

oats idli

Oats idli made with whole wheat.

oats idli recipe with whole wheat

Pro tips

  • Make sure you roast the semolina very well on a low heat until crunchy. We do not want to brown the semolina as this will also alter the flavor of the oats idli.
  • Do not reduce the quantity of oil as this prevents the idlis from turning sticky.
  • Avoid using slimy or sour yogurt. Slimy yogurt makes the idlis sticky and sour yogurt imparts a sour flavor to the idlis.
  • If you reduce the amount of baking soda or eno your oats idlis will turn out to be dense. The quantities mentioned in the recipe won’t make your idlis have an aftertaste but ensure you use enough lemon juice to leaven it.

Related Recipes

Recipe card

oats idli

Oats idli

4.99 from 54 votes
Steamed cakes made with oatmeal, spices, yogurt and herbs. These make a healthy and delicious breakfast. Serve them with a chutney or sambar.
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For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Servings8 oats idli
AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )

  • 1 cup oats (prefer rolled oats)
  • ½ cup rava (whole wheat semolina or sooji)
  • ¼ cup curd (dahi or yogurt)
  • 1 cup water
  • ½ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
  • ½ tablespoon lemon juice
  • ½ teaspoon soda-bi-carbonate (or 1 teaspoon fruit salt – eno)
  • 2 tablespoon carrot grated
  • 2 to 4 tablespoon water (optional) as needed for consistency

Tempering or Tadka for oats idli

  • ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
  • 1 teaspoon urad dal (optional)
  • ½ teaspoon channa dal (optional)
  • ½ teaspoon ginger grated or fine chopped
  • 4 cashews split optional
  • tablespoon oil or ghee
  • 1 pinch hing (asafoetida)
  • 1 green chili chopped
  • 6 curry leaves finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoon coriander leaves chopped


Instructions

Preparation

  • Add oats to a blender or grinder and make a coarse powder. Set aside.
  • Heat oil or ghee in a pan. If using cashews (optional), fry them until golden. Remove and set aside. Add mustard, cumin, chana dal and urad dal.
  • Fry until the dals turn golden. Then add curry leaves, green chilies, hing and ginger. Saute for 30 seconds.
  • Pour rava and fry until aromatic. Add powdered oats.
  • Fry until the mixture turns aromatic. Add salt and mix. Cool this completely.

making batter

  • Once cool, pour water and curd to it. Mix to make a thick batter. Set this aside for 5 to 8 mins. 
  • Heat a steamer with 2 cups water or as required. Meanwhile drizzle a few drops of oil over the idli plates and grease them. Place fried cashews optionally.
  • After 10 mins, the batter turns slightly thick. At this stage add lemon juice and more water if needed to bring it to a consistency like that of idli batter.
  • The batter must be thick and not of pouring consistency. But must be smooth and not lumpy.
  • Add lemon juice, carrots, coriander leaves. Mix a good mix.
  • Make sure the water is getting hot. Then sprinkle half teaspoon soda or 1 teaspoon fruit salt – eno to the batter. Gently mix it. Do not over mix.

How to make oats idli

  • Fill the greased plates with batter. This must go right away for steaming. Delaying will make the idlis dense.
  • When the water in the steamer begins to boil rapidly, place the oats idli stand in the cooker and steam for about 11  minutes. Switch off the heat.
  • If cooked properly then a skewer inserted in comes clean or with slight crumbs.
  • Allow them to cool down a bit. Remove them with the help of a spoon.
  • Serve oats idli hot with a tomato chutney or idli-sambar.


Notes

Notes on oats idli

To make the oats idli less sticky, making a coarse powder of oats, using enough oil and right amount of moisture are the key. 

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts
Oats idli
Amount Per Serving (2 g)
Calories 313 Calories from Fat 117
% Daily Value*
Fat 13g20%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Cholesterol 2mg1%
Sodium 728mg32%
Potassium 295mg8%
Carbohydrates 37g12%
Fiber 7g29%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 12g24%
Vitamin A 1375IU28%
Vitamin C 76.7mg93%
Calcium 100mg10%
Iron 4mg22%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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About Swasthi

Iโ€™m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthiโ€™s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me

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5 stars
Super ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘

5 stars
Does wheat rava means bansi rava or is it different

5 stars
Great recipe! Thank you for sharing, I have a toddler who loves idli, But I wanted to make it more healthier for him and also wanted to avoid urad dal and Suji as these make him constipated ,so I tried your recipe with dalia and it turned out really well. Thanks again:)

5 stars
Looks nice

5 stars
How can I catagroize oats idli ingridients as a animal or plant source

Hi swasthI,
Can I use wheat puttu flour instead?

Can you use this batter to make Oats fluffy dosa?

5 stars
Hi… Great recipe! Just wondering if you can freeze this? And for how long?

I don’t know what went wrong with me,it didn’t increase in size and also after 20 to 30 minutes it felt sticky. One thing I can remember my Oates powder was fine. Only this could be the problem or any thing else you can suggest….

Today I made eggless chocolate cake with wheat flour , capsicum rice and oats idly.

All three big success
Thanks a lot.

Hi swasthi! Can I use oat flour instead of the powdered oats?

Tried oats idli recipe. Came out really soft and nice. Thank you

Wow

5 stars
Thanks for the recipe… it turned really well. I did use extra. corse Rava. It was a bit spongy. Next time Iโ€™ll try just coarse Rava.

4 stars
What is whole wheat rava?is it the same as whole wheat flour (atta)?

5 stars
Hi if we use daliya then it needs to be soaked prior or we add dry only?

Rolled oats ?any company name

I tried it today….my idly came very sticky inside…wat to do nw

Curd should be fresh or sour swathi

Thank u so much I’ll try

Whole wheat rava means broken wheat rava?

Butter milk should be sour or fresh

If bubble not came means??