Idiyappam
Preparation Time
17 minutes
Cooking Time
18 minutes
Difficulty Level
easy
Meal Type
Breakfast
Serves 4
Key Ingredients
- Sona masoori rice flour
About This Recipe
Idiyappam is rice flour turned into soft, springy strands without any fermenting: the flour is scalded with boiling water, kneaded warm and squeezed through a press straight onto steamer plates. What comes out is a round, stringy cake that tears apart into soft noodles.
The technique is all in the water and the press. The water must hit the flour at a full rolling boil, about three quarters of a cup of water to each cup of flour, so the starch gels and the dough turns smooth and pliable; lukewarm water gives a crumbly dough whose strands break in the press. Fill the press tightly so no air pockets snap the noodles, and squeeze in a steady, even layer; the strands then hold their shape through the steam.
The recipe uses sona masoori rice flour; the grain is a medium-grain rice. Use a fine flour, so the dough turns smooth and the strands come out even. Store-bought or mill-fresh flour both work; rice as a whole is covered in our guide to chawal (rice).
Ingredient List
Serving Size:
1x
2x
3x
Dough
- Sona masoori rice flour — 2 cups
- Groundnut oil — 1 tsp
- Salt — 1 tsp
- Water, for the dough — 1 1/2 cups
Steaming
- Water, for the steamer base — 3 cups
To serve
- Fresh coconut, grated — 1/4 cup
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Serving Suggestions
Serve warm with coconut milk lightly sweetened with sugar, with vegetable stew, or with a simple potato curry; the soft strands soak up thin gravies well. A spoon of grated coconut stirred into the warm strands makes a quick snack. Leftover idiyappam keeps up to two days in the fridge; steam it for a minute to soften it again. Puttu is another steamed rice breakfast.
Tips for Cooking Idiyappam
The water must be at a full, rolling boil when it meets the flour; anything cooler leaves raw starch and a crumbly dough. Knead while the dough is still warm and keep it under a damp cloth, because it dries out fast. Fill the press tightly so no air pockets snap the strands, and press in one steady squeeze. Steam over high heat with the plates sitting above the water, and lift the cakes off while they are still warm.
Chef’s Note
The dough should feel like soft putty before it goes into the press: smooth, warm and slightly shiny. If the strands snap as they come out, the dough is too dry; knead in a teaspoon of hot water and try again. Each plate is made from 60 g of rice flour, so a serving comes to about 225 kcal with 4.8 g of protein and 1.7 g of fibre.
Per serving (approx.): 225 kcal, protein 4.8 g, carbs 47 g, fat 1.6 g, fibre 1.7 g. Computed from IFCT 2017 / USDA values for the listed quantities. Measures: 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 tbsp = 15 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml.
Happy Cooking
!!
ByCOWBERRY
Jul 19, 2026
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