Idlis

Idlis are round flying saucer–shaped breads about three inches in diameter, made from batter and steam cooked. They’re firm but not heavy. They cook in a special pan, which can be found at southern Asian grocery stores (alongside boxes of idli mix). The pan is a steamer with three metal layers, each of them with seven small hollows in it, in which the batter steams, so that you can cook twenty-one idlis at once. Cooking time is very short, about thirty minutes.