On an idli quest

Who hasn’t indulged in the famous koil idli? AKILA KANNADASAN visits Kanchipuram to find out what makes this spongy delicacy popular

Kanchipuram idli being prepared at Sri Sarvana Lunch Home. Photo: Shaju John

“Coming,” echoes a voice from deep within the kitchen of the Varadharaja Perumal temple in Kanchipuram. Out-of-bounds to most except a select few priests, it’s a mysterious chamber of stone at the far end of the temple. It’s here that the famous idli is made every morning as an offering to the deities. P. Krishnan, who is in charge of the kitchen, steps outside to show us the bamboo kudalai , cylinders into which the batter is poured. Thousands of people have eaten the idlis steamed in these containers. It is believed that the idlis are a favourite of the gods. But what makes this dish so special?

Seated in a stone-pillared porch at the temple, G. Bashyam and his colleagues at the prasadam stall, chat over steel containers of golden-brown puliotharai and murukku to be sold to visitors. A cylindrical structure wrapped in dried leaves rests beside a tub of gooey sweet pongal. This is the star attraction — the idli. This dish has diehard fans who place orders over telephone. “It’s like a cake that can be cut into thin slices,” explains Bashyam.

It’s not known when the idli was first made at Kanchipuram’s temple kitchen. “We’ve been making these as long as I can remember,” says Krishnan. “They say that idlis were offered at the temple from the days of the Pallavas.” Traditionally steamed over a wood fire, Kanchipuram idlis are cylindrical in shape. Those made at the temple are around a foot long.

“I make the batter at 4 p.m. and let it ferment until 5 a.m. the next day,” explains Krishnan. “To steam it, I line the

kudalai with mantharai leaves, pour in the batter and place the arrangement in a trough of boiling water.” He adds that every day, two idlis are offered to the deities, of which one is distributed to visitors from 7.15 a.m. onwards. “It disappears in less than 15 minutes,” he smiles. The lucky few who manage to get a pinch of the idli cannot stop talking about how delicious it is. Over the years, word spread of its taste, and restaurants in the city tried to replicate it.

Except at a handful of restaurants, the dish — that’s locally called ‘koil idli’ — makes an appearance only once a week at most others. Kanaga Vilas makes it on Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays, according to the proprietor S. Saravanan.

Sri Saravana Lunch Home on Gandhi Road serves it every day. Here, the idlis are steamed inside steel tumblers, their trademark. “The best way to eat them is with idli

podi or coarsely ground

pudina chutney,” explains T.M. Ravi, who owns the place. “I remember a scene in K. Balachandar’s movie

Poova Thalaiya (1969), in which a restaurant flaunts a board outside that says ‘Indraya Special: Kanchipuram Idli’,” says Ravi. “The dish was famous even during those times. Perhaps the director was a fan.”

Ravi says that the idlis are an important part of the ‘kattu saadham’ (packed food) of travellers. “They will not spoil for up to two days,” he adds. Perhaps, the shape can be attributed to this fact — think picnics and large families. “All they have to do is pack some podi to go with it,” says Ravi. “Besides, it’s easy to make and very less oil is used.”

At their large kitchen, M. Thaniga shows us how the idli is made — the batter, made of raw rice, par-boiled rice, urad dal, and curd, is scooped into tumblers coated with ghee. They are then arranged inside a steamer. An hour later, he opens the lid — puffs of steam billow out to reveal off-white half-moon idlis that smile from the tumblers. With a spoon, Thaniga nudges them into a casserole. He places two idlis on a plate and serves them with podi and oil in small cups. We break off a piece of the spongy idly, dunk it in a sticky mix of podi and oil, and pop it in to our mouths. It’s lip-smacking.

Sri Krishna Vilas, near Anna Bus Stand, makes these idlis the traditional way. The batter is poured into cylindrical steel containers, which are then placed inside steamers. Walk in at around 1.45 p.m. and you can have them hot — that’s when idli ‘master’ R. Murugan slices the cakes into semi-circles.

K. Srinivasan, the cashier, who’s been with the restaurant for over 30 years, recalls how as a child, his father brought him small pieces of the idli from the temple. “It was an elusive delicacy. We got to taste just a suggestion of it,” he laughs. Today, one can have a slice for less than Rs. 20. At the temple’s prasadam counter though, an entire idli costs Rs. 300.

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Make your own

Batter: Soak equal quantities of raw rice, urad dal, and par-boiled rice with a spoonful of fenugreek seeds (50 gm for half kg of rice) for an hour, and grind to a coarse consistency.

For seasoning: Pepper, jeera, asafoetida powder, dry ginger powder, cashew nuts, curd, ghee, gingelly oil, curry leaves, salt and cooking soda.

Mix the above ingredients with the batter and let the mixture ferment for three hours. Steam it in steel tumblers coated with ghee or in a cylindrical container. Serve with pudina chutney and idli podi.