Noura Restaurant | Indian Multi-Cuisine Restaurant in Evergreen, San Jose
⸻ EVERGREEN · SAN JOSE · CALIFORNIA ⸻
Best Idly & Idiyappam
in San Jose
Noura Indian Multi-Cuisine Restaurant in Evergreen, San Jose serves authentic steamed idly and delicate idiyappam string hoppers paired with house-made sambar, fresh coconut chutney, rich curries, and coconut milk. South India's most wholesome comfort food, delivered fresh daily.
Authentic Steamed Idly & Idiyappam in Evergreen, San Jose
There is a reason idly has been the breakfast of South India for over a thousand years. It is light. It is nourishing. It requires nothing heavy just the slow patience of fermentation, the gentle heat of steam, and the clarity of a good sambar beside it.
At Noura Indian Multi-Cuisine Restaurant in Evergreen, San Jose, we take our steamed
dishes as seriously as everything else on the menu. Our idly is made from freshly
fermented batter, steamed to a perfectly soft, airy consistency not rubbery, not dense, not reheated. Served with house-made vegetable sambar and freshly ground coconut chutney, or paired with bold South Indian curries for a fuller meal.
If you are searching for idly in San Jose, idli near me in Evergreen, or authentic South
Indian breakfast near me in the Bay Area Noura is where your search ends.
The classic
Idly (Idli)
Idly is South India's most essential breakfast food — soft, round, steamed cakes made from a fermented batter of rice and urad dal. The fermentation process gives idly its signature slight sourness and airy, spongy texture. At Noura in San Jose, our idly is made from freshly fermented batter and steamed to a perfectly soft, cloud-like consistency — served with house-made sambar and chutneys, or paired with chicken, mutton, or fish curry.
- ✦Fermented rice & urad dal batter, steamed fresh
- ✦Soft, spongy, cloud-like texture
- ✦Naturally gluten-free & very low in fat
- ✦Served with sambar & coconut chutney
- ✦Also available with chicken, mutton & fish curry
The string hopper
Idiyappam (String Hoppers)
Idiyappam — known as string hoppers across Sri Lanka and coastal South India — are delicate lacy nests of steamed rice noodles pressed through a mould directly onto steamer plates. Unlike idly, idiyappam has no leavening or fermentation — just pressed rice flour and water. The result is feather-light, neutral in flavour, and extraordinarily good at soaking up whatever it is paired with — coconut milk, vegetable kurma, or a rich spiced curry.
- ✦Rice flour pressed into delicate noodle nests
- ✦Feather-light, neutral, absorbs flavours beautifully
- ✦Naturally gluten-free, vegan & very light
- ✦Sri Lankan & coastal South Indian speciality
- ✦Pairs with chicken curry, mutton, fish, veg kurma & coconut milk
Steamed, not fried. Fermented, not rushed. Idly is South Indian patience turned into nourishment.
— Noura Kitchen Team
Why Noura for Idly & Idiyappam in San Jose
Most Indian restaurants in San Jose serve idly from a packet batter convenient,
consistent, but lacking the slight sourness and airy texture that only proper fermentation
produces. Noura ferments our idly batter fresh daily. Most Indian restaurants in San Jose
do not serve idiyappam at all. Noura serves it in six pairings. This is the difference
between a restaurant that treats South Indian food as a cuisine and one that treats
it as a menu category.
Fresh
Fermented daily
Our idly batter is fermented in-house every day — never from a packet. Freshly steamed to order for a light, airy, consistently perfect result.
10
Steamed varieties
Four idly combinations and six idiyappam pairings — sambar, chicken curry, mutton curry, fish curry, veg kurma, and coconut milk.
4.6★
Top rated San Jose
Noura is the highest-rated Indian restaurant in Evergreen, San Jose — our steamed section is a favourite for health-conscious diners and South Indian food lovers.
Full Steamed Menu — Idly & Idiyappam at Noura San Jose
Idly — 4 varieties · steamed rice & lentil cakes
Most ordered
Idly with Sambhar
Fluffy steamed rice & lentil cakes served with hot house-made sambar and freshly ground coconut chutney. South India's most iconic, wholesome breakfast — light, nourishing, and deeply comforting.
$10.49
Idly · Chicken
Idly with Chicken Curry
Soft steamed idly served with a bold, spiced halal chicken curry, hot sambar, and fresh chutneys. A heartier version of the classic — protein-rich and deeply satisfying.
$13.49
Idly · Mutton
Idly with Mutton Curry
Fluffy steamed idly with rich slow-cooked halal mutton curry, sambar, and chutneys. The most indulgent idly combination — bold South Indian flavours with the lightness of steamed bread.
$15.49
Idly · Fish
Idly with Fish Curry
Soft steamed idly paired with bold, tangy South Indian fish curry, sambar, and chutneys. A coastal combination — light steamed cakes with the vibrant heat of tamarind fish curry.
$15.49Idiyappam (string hoppers) — 6 varieties · steamed rice noodle nests
Idiyappam · Veg
Idiappam with Veg Kurma
Delicate rice noodle nests steamed and served with mild, aromatic vegetable kurma. A vegetarian Sri Lankan-South Indian coastal classic — light yet deeply flavourful.
$15.49
Idiyappam · Coconut
Idiappam with Coconut Milk
Feather-light rice noodle nests served with sweet, creamy fresh coconut milk. The most traditional idiyappam serving — pure, clean, and beautifully simple. Naturally vegan.
$14.49
Most ordered
Idiappam with Chicken Curry
Delicate steamed rice noodle nests with bold spiced halal chicken curry. The string hopper absorbs every drop of the curry — a complete, satisfying coastal South Indian meal.
$15.49
Idiyappam · Mutton
Idiappam with Mutton Curry
Lacy rice noodle nests paired with rich, slow-cooked halal mutton curry. The most hearty idiyappam combination — bold, spiced, and deeply satisfying.
$16.49
Idiyappam · Fish
Idiappam with Fish Curry
Delicate rice noodle nests with bold, tangy South Indian fish curry. A coastal speciality — the lightness of idiyappam perfectly balanced against the vibrant tang of tamarind fish curry.
$16.49
Plain · Build your own
Idiappam — 3 pieces
Three pieces of delicate lacy rice noodle nests, steamed fresh to order. Order as a side to pair with any curry on our menu — Chettinad chicken, butter chicken masala, fish curry, or vegetable kurma. The most versatile steamed item on the Noura menu.
$5.49
3 pieces
Also try — spiced idly speciality
Spiced · Veg
Molgapodi Idli
Steamed rice & lentil cakes tossed in spicy homemade chili podi — a bold, aromatic South Indian speciality. A departure from the classic sambar pairing — intense flavour, deep spice, and the same soft steamed idly at its centre. Unique to Noura's kitchen in San Jose.
$9.99
Veg · Spicy
What Makes Good Idly? Noura's Approach Explained
The quality of idly is determined entirely by the batter. For idly batter to develop the right flavour and texture, it needs time rice and urad dal soaked separately, ground to a smooth batter, and left to ferment overnight at a controlled temperature. The fermentation produces lactic acid, which gives idly its characteristic gentle sourness, and carbon dioxide bubbles, which make the steamed cakes light and airy rather than dense and gummy. At Noura in Evergreen, San Jose, we follow this process daily no shortcuts, no packet batter, no compromise on fermentation time. The idly that arrives at your table or your door has been properly developed from scratch. If you have tried idly at other Indian restaurants in San Jose and found it gummy, flat, or flavourless, Noura’s version is a different experience entirely. This is what idly in San Jose should taste like.
Idiyappam (String Hoppers) San Jose — What You Need to Know
Idiyappam is one of South India and Sri Lanka’s most delicate and distinctively textured steamed foods. Unlike idly which puffs up and rises during steaming idiyappam stays exactly as it is pressed: thin, lacy, light, almost translucent noodle nests that are as much about texture as flavour. The rice flour is pressed through a mould plate with small holes directly onto individual steamer plates, and steamed immediately. The result is a springy, silky noodle nest that absorbs whatever sauce or curry it is paired with while retaining its own gentle chew. At Noura in San Jose, our six idiyappam pairings are designed to showcase this absorption quality the idiyappam with coconut milk ($14.49) lets the clean, sweet creaminess speak for itself; the idiyappam with chicken curry ($15.49) soaks up the bold spiced halal curry through every noodle strand. For anyone searching for string hoppers in San Jose or idiyappam near me in the Bay Area, Noura’s idiyappam is the closest you will find to a Sri Lankan or Kerala coastal kitchen in the South Bay.
Gluten-Free South Indian Food San Jose — Idly & Idiyappam
Both idly and idiyappam are naturally gluten-free South Indian foods — made entirely from rice and lentils with no wheat flour involved in their preparation. This makes them a genuinely safe choice for gluten-sensitive diners and coeliac customers, unlike many Indian restaurant dishes that may use wheat-based thickeners or bread accompaniments. Idly and idiyappam are also naturally low in fat, low in calories, and easily digestible — making them a popular choice for health-conscious diners searching for gluten-free Indian food in San Jose or light South Indian food near me in Evergreen. Please note that while the steamed dishes themselves are gluten-free, our kitchen handles wheat products for other menu items — cross-contamination cannot be fully guaranteed for severe allergies. Call us at (669) 275-2916 to discuss your dietary requirements before ordering.