At our place, idlis are on regular rotation, and if you have seen my post on making & fermenting idli batter, you know I make batter enough for 45-50 idlis at a time. But since we are only a 3 person household, we can’t eat all those idlis at one go. And so normally, I make one round of idlis, and store the leftover idli batter for making dosas, appams or uttapams later in the week. But there are times when we have leftover idlis too, not just batter. And while those can be reheated and eaten later, we prefer to transform them to make something else, because reheated idlis are never as good as freshly steamed ones. And moreover, leftover idlis, even if you have refrigerated them, make for a great base for a wide variety of delicious dishes. This idly fry recipe being the quickest & the easiest of the lot. Because all you have to do is cut up idli & fry them. You can deep fry, air fry, or even drizzle a little oil and bake them in the oven. And needless to say the deep fried version tastes amazing. But my go-to method is air frying the idli bites. Not only because this method uses very little oil, but we all love the texture of air fried idli bites too. As they are perfectly crispy on the outside, and satisfyingly soft & chewy on the inside. So if you haven’t tried them, you totally should!
Using Leftover Idlis to Make Idli Fry
I usually only have leftover idlis, and not these smaller bullet idlis, because I usually only make small batches of bullet idlis for my son who loves them. But I had them when I was shooting photos for this post, so I used them too. Though I have to say, I prefer using regular idlis for idli fry as I like that they have more of a bite to them. If you are using regular idlis, just cut them into bite sized chunks, based on your preference. Though I would recommend not cutting them too small, because then they will not have the crispy texture on the outside and chewy on the inside, they will mostly be all crisped up.
Idli Fry in Air Fryer
You can deep fry, air fry or even oven bake these idli bites. But like I mentioned above, air frying is my go-to method for making crispy fried idlis. Because it hardly requires any oil, as I only use oil spray (but you can drizzle some oil too, based on your preference), and we all personally enjoy the texture too. I usually air fry @ 390 F for 10-15 minutes, just until the idli bites are crispy on the outside, while still being chewy on the inside. The time will vary based on the air fryer you are using, and I also recommend to adjust it to suit your preferred texture.
Serving Suggestion
Serve crispy fried idlis with ketchup, or a dip of your choice, and enjoy!
Variations
Deep Fry – Growing up, mom used to make these deep fried idli bites, and we really enjoyed them. If you are going to deep fry, ensure to only fry till they are crisp on the outside, and lightly golden brown (see image shared earlier in the post).Oven Bake – You can bake these idli bites in the oven too, but I almost never bake them in the oven, because air frying is quicker, and lesser hassle, plus better texture.
Related recipes to try..
⭐️ Perfect Well Fermented Idli Batter – Every Single Time⭐️ South Indian Style Coconut Chutney (classic white chutney)⭐️ Red Coconut Chutney (flavored with chillies & garlic) As always, I hope you found this recipe useful. If you did, please let me know your rating ⭐️ and feedback 📲 in the comments below, or simply rate the recipe right on the recipe card. I’d really appreciate it. ❤️
📖 RECIPE
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