Shepi leaves or Dill leaves are one of the healthiest leafy vegetables and a great source of iron. In Konkani cuisine, we make a type of idli with these leaves along with jaggery and coconut. Wait a min - Jaggery - yes! You read that right. The traditional way of eating these sweet idlis is with dollops of ghee, but you may choose to have a coconut chutney as an accompaniment, whatever suits your tastebuds! This is unique to Konkani cuisine and one of the specialities of my mom. As a kid, I used to relish these green colored idlis and I've recently revisited those memories when I prepared this dish at home from the great recipe that my mom gave. Here we go...
Preparation:
Ingredients:
Shepi Leaves - 2 (cut the roots)
Coconut - 1.5 cup (1 full coconut)
Cardomom Powder - 0.5 tsp
Thick Poha - 2 cups (2 handfuls)
Jaggery - 1 cube (or as per your sweet levels)
Rice - 2 cup (soak for 2 hrs)
Salt
Reicpe:
1. Grind the Shepi leaves in a mixie.
2. Next add coconut, cardaomom powder, thick poha and grind the last 2 rounds. Make a smooth paste. We use a lot of coconut in this dish to get the great flavors.
3. Add jaggery to the mixture and keep aside.
4. Next grind the soaked rice without water in the mixie.
5. Mix all - rice powder with the shepi paste and keep aside for 2 hrs.
6. Add salt to the batter and then make idlis in the idli cooker.
7. After steaming for 20 mins on low to medium flame, the idlis should be ready.
Shepi idli is ready to be served with your choice of accompaniment.
