Moode

Step 1: Rinse 10 ½ oz idli rice (parboiled rice) three times and soak in plenty of water. In a separate bowl rinse 3 ½ oz whole skinned urad dal with ½ tsp fenugreek seeds and soak them too. Leave both for 5 hours.

Step 2: Drain the urad and fenugreek and grind with a little of the ½ cup cold water to a light, fluffy, very smooth batter. A spoonful dropped into a cup of water should float.

Step 3: Drain the rice and grind it with the rest of the 1 cup cold water to a fine semolina-like texture, slightly coarser than the urad. Mix both batters in a large bowl with your hand for a minute; the warmth of your hand helps the ferment start.

Step 4: Cover loosely and leave to ferment for 8-10 hours at 26-86°F, or up to 14 hours in a cold kitchen (an oven with only the light on works). It is ready when it has risen by about half, looks bubbly and smells pleasantly sour, not sharp or alcoholic. Stir in 1 ½ tsp salt.

Step 5: Rinse the 6 woven screwpine (kedige) leaf cylinders and stand them upright in the steamer basket, wedging them close together so they don't tip over. Bring the 4 ¼ cups water to a boil in the steamer base.

Step 6: Ladle the batter into each mould until two-thirds full. Don't fill higher: the batter rises as it cooks.

Step 7: Cover and steam over medium-high heat for 25-30 minutes. A skewer pushed through the leaf into the centre should come out clean, and the top should feel springy.

Step 8: Rest for 5 minutes, then peel away the leaf and cut the moode into thick rounds. Serve warm.