One of World War 2’s Lesser-Known Outcome: The Rava Idly
On most Sundays, I head out for breakfast with two of my best friends who happen to live in the same locality, with same food preferences. Except, there’s always the same debate while we wait for food — Does the Idly taste better ‘dipped’ or ‘separate’?
I stay out of the argument by making a rather rebellious choice — I order a Rava Idly. I love the Rava Idly for its size, and all the veggies it packs in, and because it’s grainier, taking a bite feels better than the regular Idly. It also isn’t disputed among the gangs of dip and separate, since it comes with the Saagu, which I personally prefer over the sambar. (Yes, I know these are controversial opinions)
I was curious about the case of Rava Idly. Why would anyone need the Rava Idly? Wasn’t the regular idly enough? Or did someone crave a solidified Upma?
I put an end to such disturbing thoughts and wanted to find a real answer to my question. Thus, I started a research program on Rava Idly in my bed. Turns out, the story behind the Rava Idly surprised me more than the random cashews I find while eating it.
During the World War era, we were still facing the wrath of colonialism. One of India’s prominent roles was that our troops were deployed on the battleground to fight for the British. Fun Fact, my maternal grandmother’s cousin fought on behalf of Great Britain in Japan and even made it alive back home, to India. As a kid, I knew a few stories from his life, and was aware of India’s role in the World War. I didn’t think India possibly had any role beyond deploying troops until I started digging the internet while writing this piece. For that, I first had to understand Japan’s involvement in WW2.
To begin with, Japan was already in a war with China. The United States was not happy about this and forced Japan to sign a few agreements to end the war. The Japanese rejected the proposal and were uncomfortable with the involvement of the United States. Eventually, the United States stopped supplying oil to Japan — and imported oil amounted to nearly 80% of Japan’s reserves. No wonder Japan despised the United States for this, and thus was a driving factor for its first move in WW2 — the Pearl Harbour attack.
Japan was now a rising power in the WW2. One of the countries that fell to its mercy was Burma, now known as Myanmar. The fall of Burma was quite consequential. It was one of the highest suppliers of the staple crop in South Asia — the rice crop. Japan took control and seized all the production of rice and ensured they could export to none. The driving factors being a lack of rice production due to drought in Japan, and an increasing demand for rice among the Japanese population — or may I say, a rice in demand?
This was when our country started facing the heat. India, and in particular Bengal, could not import any more rice from Burma. Japan also had a priority claim for a substantial amount of rice surplus in Thailand, thanks to a loan agreement between the two in 1941, which may have ruled out Thailand as a viable option for India for importing rice. But Bengal was the largest producer of rice in the country, and India did have a good rice surplus. So why would it even consider importing rice from another country, you might be asking.
Japan’s meteoric rise to power meant that the British feared invasion and imported an unregulated amount of rice from Bengal to feed their troops and keep their defence going. The government did little to stop these exports, despite a seeming decline in the rice surplus in our country. Thus, India played the role of feeding the British troops too — but at a tragic cost. The additional natural factors in play and all of these wartime policies caused the much debated, and disastrous Bengal Famine in 1943.
Rice was being smuggled within India, and the prices went through the roof. There was quite a reluctance to substitute rice with wheat, and we did seem quite rigid with our food choices. But if we could narrow our focus on one part of the country — it would be the southside.
It was indeed an unhappy scene in south Indian restaurants. Items that comprised rice as a predominant ingredient were taken off the menus. There was difficulty in preparing them, and this meant that restaurants faced a struggle to make the much-loved rice cake. (Fret not, I NEVER call them that — just here, to indicate they contain rice.)
What was up with Namma Benagaluru during this time? Well, you could see Yagnanarayana Maiya scratching his head. Managing a restaurant like Mavalli Tiffin Room — popularly known as MTR, he had a looming responsibility to compensate for the crisis. Tough seas make great sailors they say, and this is one classic example. If MTR is thriving today, centuries later, it’s certainly due to all the innovative practices from all of its forefathers.
Mr. Maiya set out on an experiment. No rice, no problem — he turned to semolina, called sooji, or rava. With the addition of curd, mustard seeds, cashews, and other seasonings — the folks at MTR crafted a replacement for the traditional batter for Idly made from rice.
“The history of rava idly has been retold a number of times. It started off with grain middlings. When the grain is milled, whatever is left out is called semolina. We have wheat, maize and rice semolina. The story starts there. During World War II, there was a shortage of rice. It has not been documented, but my grand uncle — Yagnanarayana Maiya — who was a prolific cook, started experimenting with various ingredients and then zeroed in on the rava idli recipe. He created the recipe. It worked with curds and cashew and seasonings. The original ingredient is still used. Rava idli is now made pretty much the same way everywhere.”
- Vikram Maiya — Managing Partner, MTR in an interview with The Hindu in 2016
The end result was perhaps so tasty, that it found a spot of its own on the menu, and not just as a replacement for the Idly. Cut to 2023, we all live in a world where both of them coexist. Thanks to patrons like me, for showing and spreading some love to Rava Idly.
Oh, Rava Dosa was also invented in the same way, but I’ve never liked it. Neither at my home nor at any restaurant. Hence, it doesn’t get to headline this blog.
Jokes apart, the story behind the invention of Rava Idly has logical, tragic, and consequential elements rather than fantastical ones. But, to know the history behind something that I have been eating since I was a kid blew my mind and I was tempted to share the same.
I aim to cover a lot more stories that have shaped Bangalore, and everything we love about the city, so stay tuned to this space!
