Idli rice

For soft, spongy idlis, use idli rice—इडली चावल (Idli chawal). These are short- to medium-grain parboiled kernels of Oryza sativa, processed specifically to yield soft, spongy steamed rice cakes. The grain is distributed and used as whole parboiled milled rice.

Regional names you’ll hear: Tamil idli arisi, Telugu idli biyyam, Kannada idli akki, and Malayalam idli ari.

Soak idli rice and grind it directly with soaked skinless black gram (urad dal) to make a batter, then ferment and cook. That batter gives you steamed idlis and pan-fried dosas, and also forms the base for uttapam and paniyaram.

At home, a common volumetric ratio is 3 to 4 parts idli rice to 1 part urad dal. If you’re out of it, Ponni parboiled rice can be used in equal volume for the same style of fermented batter.

Rice domestication has deep roots across the Indian subcontinent. Hydrothermal parboiling techniques were historically developed to improve dehusking efficiency.

Parboiling drives water‑soluble B vitamins from the outer layers into the endosperm, so idli rice retains more micronutrients than raw polished white rice.