Steamed Couscous Sandwiches -AKA Idlis

Idlis are often referred to as steamed rice cakes - However these have assumed several variations over the  years and people (self-included) have tried my hand at making these staple south Indian delicacy with grains other than rice. Couscous is one of them.
Couscous has replaced many a rice meal in our home and I have blogged the recipe for couscous idlis before - see here - but the kids were wanting a pizza for lunch 2 sundays ago - I did not want to make or buy pizzas - FYI each slice of pizza store/restaurant bought averages 450 for minimum to a max of 750 and beyond even depending on what the toppings are. We have been on a caloric ride all summer and the start of school signifies the change of diet as well - back to healthy, yummy, low calorie meals. This was a really yummy sandwich idli - I added the toppings of a veggie pizza - onions, tomatoes, bell peppers & green chili all sauteed into a dry curry.
For this version, I dispensed with all the thadka and made it simply with 2 cups of couscous and 2.5 cups of butternilk (actually 1 cup of yogurt and 1.5 cups of buttermilk) These babies can soak up as much buttermilk as you want to put in them - so all you need to is make the batter and cook asap.

Here are some pictures: Enjoy these idlis, for lunch, brunch, tiffin, breakfast or dinner.

these are beautiful dippy plates that we use to steam the Idlis

These babies can also be served with a freshly ground Coconut chutney, another staple side from South India - recipe to follow soon
Here is a sneak peak at it :)