Idli as a ‘Soft Power’. You can make an idli listen to you!
Defining an idli is the hardest thing to do. Idlis are soft and they have power! No two idlis have the same circumference. The steamed rice cake can either look so cake or like a fat Momo. I can feed them to the crows, my pet dogs or even into the mouth of a 6-month old baby. The idli rice greets seas away as comfort and love!
I dunk my Idlis in all possible gravies when I feel the happiest. I mash my idlis with pepper and ghee, to eat it like a toddler when I am sad. And I do not know how many idlis go in when I bring the thatch down. I can eat idlis for every meal, in so many ways! I can soak my Idli rice to make Dosa. The ‘Ganapati’ restaurant at Peckham, London serves ‘Masala Dosa’ and is reviewed Positive! I can make ‘Upma’ out of idlis. I can make idlis in an ‘Appam’ Patram (vessel) and also stuff spoonful of oats into my Idli batter.
I soothe my throat dipping idli bits in hot ghee and sugar when I don’t keep well. Idlis need not be a steamed cake of rice alone but also of Moong Dal and Spinach for diabetics and girls who have PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome). Tarladal has some amazing recipes to compete anyone who restricts the idli. ‘You can make an idli listen to you!’ Idlis can be frozen and they re-heat excellently when kept over a pan full of boiling water, a saviour for an Indian man working in Germany!
Idlis have not made me fat and idlis are easily digestible. The idli contains no fat, saturated fat or cholesterol. It is a fermented food which helps in better breakdown of vitamins and minerals in our system. It is a pack of proteins, carbohydrates and can be cooked fibrous suitably to the nutrients you require. The idlis topple Doklas and processed brown breads any day. While Doklas are also steamed, their seasoning contains some oil and sugar.
When I look for idlis near me, I feel urgent here to say that I know of only two restaurants which serve the best idlis in the Chennai city! The two joints are ‘Kozhi Idli’ and ‘Ratna Cafe’. The plant eaters needn’t feel deceived by the name ‘Kozhi Idli’, they serve you too! Kozhi Idli seeks to serve you a combination made right for your taste buds, idli, their very idea. I call their idlis ‘home’. And Ratna Cafe’ serves idlis which look like flat powder puffs along with the tastiest Sambar one can ever wish for!
The ‘idli’ can build a rapport, woo and let another from across lands dive into the South Indian culture.
