Spot idli is a crispy and unique idli recipe where the idli batter is poured over spicy onion tomato masala on a tawa or skillet and cooked.
For the spot idli recipe, you can use fresh idli batter, leftover batter, or store-bought idli batter. This dish is a popular Hyderabadi street food, and if you are in Hyderabad, you can see roadside vendors or food stalls serving this delicious dish.
About the recipe
Idli is a popular comfort food for all South Indians. This recipe needs just 15 minutes of your time, simple ingredients from your kitchen if you have idli batter ready. You can even use the dosa batter too.
No idli mold is needed. This recipe comes out perfectly on both cast-iron tawa and nonstick pans. I love eating it as it is, but you can serve it with any chutney.
I like to serve this for morning breakfast and as an evening after-school (or office) snack. In this way, you are feeding your kids yummy food and undoubtedly healthier than the roadside version.
Ingredients
A very flexible recipe. Adjust all the ingredients to taste
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 1 Onion, finely chopped
- ⅛ teaspoon Salt
- 1 Tomato, finely chopped
- 1 tsp Sambar powder, adjust to taste (you can also use podi masala or garam masala powder)
- 1 tablespoon Coriander leaves
- 1 cup Idli batter
Other ingredients (optional)
- 2 Green chilies
- 5 Curry leaves
How to make Street-style Spot Idli?
Heat a large skillet or tawa and drizzle 2 teaspoon oil.
Add onion and salt and mix until the onion becomes light. Add tomatoes, green chilies(optional), curry leaves(optional), and sambar powder, and saute until the tomatoes become soft.
To this, add coriander leaves and mix. Taste-check the masala now and adjust the salt or spices if needed. My sambar powder is spicy, so I skip adding green chilies when serving it to my kids, and idli batter has salt, so do not add too much salt.
Divide the masala into four parts. You can check the image or video.
Now pour ¼ cup of idli batter on top of each portion of the masala, and drizzle oil. Cover and cook on medium flame until the batter looks lightly set on top. Now flip and cook uncovered on another side until it becomes crispy. It should take between 2 to 3 minutes to crisp up.
Transfer it to a serving plate. Serve hot with filter coffee or masala chai, and enjoy.
Pro Tips
- This is a very flexible recipe where you can use store-bought idli batter, homemade fresh idli batter or leftover batter.
- The recipe here is just a guide to show how spot idlis are prepared on the street side food carts. Depending on how spicy your powders are, adjust them in the recipe.
- I don't add green chilies if I serve these idlis to my kids.
- You don't have to wait for idli batter. If you have dosa batter in your refrigerator, you can make this right away today.
Variations
You can prepare several variations of spot idlis. The steps for preparing these idlis remain the same. You will have to substitute sambar powder with the spice powders of your choice.
Add Andhra-style peanut podi, karivepaku podi, Andhra's famous gun powder spice mix, or any of your favorite podi recipes to make Andhra-style spot idlis.
Love Chinese flavors? Skip the sambar powder and drizzle some chile sauce or schezwan sauce and follow the recipe to make Chinese spot idli.
Want garlic in everything? Then finely chop the garlic cloves and add them along with the onions to prepare garlicky spot idli. It will give you a nice aroma. Else substitute sambar powder with chili-garlic sauce.
Peri peri spot idli - Add the peri peri powder instead of sambar powder. This is one of my favorite ways to prepare spot idlis.
Pizza fan? Skip sambar powder and add marinara sauce along with some Italian/pizza seasoning to prepare Italian spot idlis.
Video
Check out my 1-minute video on making of spot idli (tawa idli).
Some more snacks recipes
Recipe card
Spot Idli | Tawa Idly | Recipe with Leftover Idli Batter
Equipment
- 1 Tawa or Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 1 Onion, finely chopped
- ⅛ teaspoon Salt
- 1 Tomato, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Sambar powder, adjust to taste (you can also use podi masala or garam masala powder)
- 1 tablespoon Coriander leaves
- 1 cup Idli batter
Other ingredients (optional)
- 2 Green chilies
- 5 Curry leaves
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet or tawa and drizzle 2 teaspoon oil.1 tablespoon Oil
- Add onion and salt and mix until the onion becomes translucent. Add tomatoes, green chilies, curry leaves, and sambar powder, and saute until the tomatoes become soft.1 Onion, finely chopped, ⅛ teaspoon Salt, 1 Tomato, finely chopped, 2 Green chilies, 5 Curry leaves
- To this, add coriander leaves and mix. Taste-check the masala now and adjust the salt or spices if needed. My sambar powder is spicy, so I skip adding green chilies when serving it to my kids, and idli batter has salt, so do not add too much salt.1 teaspoon Sambar powder, adjust to taste, 1 tablespoon Coriander leaves
- Divide the masala into four parts. You can check the image or video.
- Now pour ¼ cup of idli batter on top of each portion of the masala, and drizzle oil. Cover and cook on medium flame until the batter looks lightly set on top. Now flip and cook uncovered on another side until it becomes crispy. It should take between 2 to 3 minutes to crisp up.1 cup Idli batter
- Transfer it to a serving plate. Serve hot with filter coffee or masala chai, and enjoy.
Notes
- This is a very flexible recipe where you can use store-bought idli batter, homemade fresh idli batter or leftover batter.
- The recipe here is just a guide to show how spot idlis are prepared on the street side food carts. Depending on how spicy your powders are, adjust them in the recipe.
- I don't add green chilies if I serve these idlis to my kids.
- You don't have to wait for idli batter. If you have dosa batter in your refrigerator, you can make this right away today.
Nutrition
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Dannii
These look incredible, and such a great way to use leftovers.
Jacqueline
These would be great to serve at Hogmanay as a snack
Tara
Oh yum! I love how you can make this without a mold. The flavors sound absolutely amazing with the spicy onion tomato masala.
Rachna
I love idlis. This is a nice recipe with leftover idli batter.
Ieva
Never had spot idli before, but this recipe definitely piqued my interest. Cannot wait to try it!