Mapillai Samba Idli Rice Batter

Mapillai Samba Rice Batter

In this series on learning to cook with traditional rice varieties, this post explores Mapillai Samba rice - a nutritious native rice with a rather chauvinistic name . Mapillai Samba literally means , samba rice for the newly wed groom. Known to strengthen the nerves, it was cooked and served to soon to be married men (!!). Mapillai Samba was known to build strength and muscle mass.

It is a nutty tasty rice and scientific studies show this rice to contain a very high amount of fibre , among many other varieties of traditional rice.

Here is a close up shot of the rice. Don't worry if you cannot identify one red rice from another. Trust a vendor (local organic store of choice, verified organic vendors on Amazon. Google search vendors to research their story, intent, history and over time, you will find ones you trust. It is best to start with an imperfect choice than wait around to find the perfect one).

This is how a rice grain looks on the inside. Polished rice is devoid of the Chaff and bran. The Chaff is not edible. It is rough and the human system cannot digest it. The bran, however, is the brown exterior you see in the rice above. It contains a lot of nutritive value, but is taken off to improve shelf life. Traditional rice like mapillai samba has the bran intact - making it richer in fibre. There are enough videos on "gut health" and how fibre is important to feed the bacteria in the gut. Mapillai samba, like many traditional rice, has lower Glycemic index and trace minerals in addition to carbohydrate. Here is a study you can read if interested.

Parts of a rice grain

(Image courtesy Wikipedia)

Even if the health benefits don't excite you - these fluffy pink idlies and spicy pudina chutney should.

Mapillai Samba Rice Idli Batter:

Mapillai Samba Rice : 3 cups

Regular Idli Rice : 3 cups. (if you are doing small batches, feel free to go all Mapillai samba. Red rice batter gets sour faster , so I mix idli rice to keep them for a few days in the fridge)

Whole Urad Dal: 1.5 cups

Methi Seeds: 1 large tablespoon

Soak the Methi along with the urad dal. Wash and soak rice . Grind urad mix first until fluffy . Grind rice and mix until homogenous. Let it ferment . For a detailed idli batter making tutorial , refer this link

http://sangeetharajan.blogspot.com/2020/06/karuppu-kavuni-101.html

For best results, use a perforated idli pan and cloth to make your idlis. Serve hot with chutney of choice.

This serves great as a dosa batter , kuzhi paniyaram batter after the second day .