Thinai Idli Recipe | Foxtail Millet Idli – Millet Recipes

Foxtail millet idli recipe

Last week I tried thinai idli recipe for the first time using fermentation method. Earlier I tried an Instant Foxtail millet idli which was a super flop. But this recipe worked out very well. Idli came out soft and spongy. I made idli as well as dosa with this batter. Its taste & texture was more like our usual idli, dosa. Only its color was not pure white.

We were very happy to have a healthy breakfast recipe & I was even more happy as i have got yet another interesting idli recipe to include in my idli varieties. In other languages, Thinai is called as ”Foxtail millet” in English,”Navane” in Kannada,”Kakum”in Hindi,”Korra” in Telugu,”Thina” in Malayalam,”Kaon” in Bengali,”Kang” in Marathi & Gujarati and ”Kanghu” in Oriya.
Last year few readers told me to post some quinoa recipes & I was thinking that quinoa in called as Thinai in Tamil.
But when I googled, I found quinoa & thinai (foxtail millet) are different. I will try to buy quinoa in Bangalore and try to post some healthy recipes with it. But before that, I wanted to share this easy and healthy millets recipe which is a great replacement for our rice idli. 
Please check this link to know more details about “Thinai & its health benefits” with pictures. Lets see how to make thinai arisi idli recipe . Soon I will share some more interesting recipes with other millets too. Don’t forget to check out my Mixed millet laddo recipe & other millet recipes .

Thinai

Thinai idli/Foxtail millet idli recipe

Thinai idli/Foxtail millet idli recipe Idli recipe using Foxtail millet – Healthy breakfast recipe !

Cuisine: Indian
Category: Breakfast
Serves: 30
Prep time: 4 Hours
Cook time: 15 Minutes
Total time: 4H15M Minutes

INGREDIENTS

 1 cup = 250ml
  • Foxtail millet/Thinai – 2.5 cups
  • Idli rice/Salem rice – 1/2 cup
  • Urad dal – 1/2 cup
  • Aval/Poha – 1/4 cup
  • Fenugreek seeds – 1/2 tsp
  • Salt & water – as needed
HOW TO MAKE THINAI IDLI – METHOD

  • Measure & take all the ingredients together and wash it carefully . Its better if you wash it using a strainer. Soak for 3-4 hours.
  • Grind them to a smooth paste adding required water and salt. Remove mix well and allow it to ferment overnight or minimum 8 hours.
  • The  next day, batter would have raised well (Not doubled). Now mix the batter very well and pour in a idli plate.
Thinai idli recipe
  • Boil water in a idli pan and keep the plates. Steam it for 10-15 minutes. Check with the back of a spoon for doneness. If the spoon comes out clean, idli is ready.
  • Remove  the idli plate and rest it for 2-3 minutes before removing them else it will be sticky.
  • Refrigerate the batter & make dosas the next day.

Enjoy !

Note

  • This batter becomes sour very quickly so refrigerate it after 8 hours till you use it.
  • Do not use more urad dal than the mentioned quantity because idli will become sticky.
  • Do not remove the idlis if its very hot. It may be sticky. Give a standing time of 2-3 minutes before u remove.
  • If the quality of urad dal is too bad,use little more than 1/2 cup. Similarly if the quality of dal is too good, use 1/3 cup. It varies.
  • U can also make dosas using the above batter.

Do Check out my Mixed Millet laddu recipe & other millet recipes if interested !


Thinai Dosai 
Thinai dosai

Enjoy this healthy foxtail millet/thinai idli for breakfast with your favourite chutney and sambar !

Thinai idli recipe

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27 thoughts on “Thinai Idli Recipe | Foxtail Millet Idli – Millet Recipes”

  8. esther

    When I read the heading, I thought U might hv added cooking soda but U proved it wrong. vil definitely try…..

    Reply
  13. Unknown

    Is this your daughter's hand!? Whenever I saw this post i used to think how beautiful your hands are. Cute hands and very healthy post……..

    Reply
  15. Unknown

    Today's breakfast was thinai idli.it was soft and tasty.my husband never have 3-4idlis(he don't like idly).but today he had eight idlis(big surprise for me) and told idli is soft and tasty, prepare this idli often….thanks for sharing this recipe.,….

    Reply
    1. Chitra

      Yes u can use.I think same quantity works well.But not very sure.Please leave a message if you try it.It would be helpful for all of us 🙂

      Reply
  18. Unknown

    Hi
    I prepared idli batter and dosa better with same measurements..but for idli batter I used idli rice along with fix tail millet and for dosa,i used dosa rice , foxtail millet,but omitted poha..my question is , batter has fermented well , but the smell of idlis were different when cooked..y is it..

    Reply
  19. abinaya

    Wow idly looks so tempting…I have tried already ur thinai idly and we loved it…Tomorrow i am going to try this

    Reply
  20. Unknown

    I have tried to make thinai pongal once nd even cooking after hours it didnt get cooked. My doubt is after soaking thinai will it be like soaked rice or it will b like u soaked thinai

    Reply
    1. Chitra

      Hi , I think you had used thinai with skin. Buy dehusked ones. It will cook quickly. Thinai after soaking becomes soft n easy to cook n grind like rice. Please check whether you have thinai with skin. Thanks

      Reply
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