The Story of Idlis

Growing up every South Indian child remembers eating idli in many different ways. Idli is considered healthy, nutritious, and easy on the tummy (digestion); hence, it’s a friend to both mom and child alike. 

Plain idlis with tomato chutney

Traditionally, idli is made of soaked lentils and rice ground and fermented, and ladles of the dough steamed on Idli plates the next day. Many varieties of idlis are made with lentils and different grains in the 4 to 5 southern states of India; namely Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. It became so popular that these days you can eat them all over India as well as abroad.

One of my fondest memories of eating idlis (aka steamed spongy white dumplings by westerners) is with sugar and a ton of ghee (clarified butter) drizzled on it for extra flavor. That sounds good right about now! 

After all these years of making Idli, I was intrigued by a news article on Idli in a science magazine that India has developed a recipe for Idli to be enjoyed by their crew in Space. Idli undergoes a technological makeover as a space food; cool for a traditional mundane food!!

Reading this article made me think about how Idli came into existence? What was its history? I immediately sought help from Google. According to food historian K.T. Achaya, Idli probably arrived in India from present-day Indonesia around 800-1200 CE. The region we now call Indonesia was once ruled by Hindu kings of the Shailendra, Isyana, and Sañjaya dynasties, and cooks accompanying the royals on their visits to India probably brought the recipe along with them. Acharya points out that Indonesian cuisine has a long tradition of consuming fermented and steamed foods, and the Kedli appears to be the closest relative of the Idli. Also supporting the Indonesian origin theory is the close ties between India and Southeast Asia in ancient times, although, with time, the Kedli seems to have disappeared from Indonesian kitchens.

 

However, there’s another twist in the Idli tale. Using references at the Al-Azhar University Library in Cairo, food historian Lizzie Collingham traces the Idli to Arab traders who settled on the South Indian coast in medieval times. According to the Encyclopedia of Food History, edited by Collingham and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay (Oxford University Press), the Arab settlers insisted on consuming only halal (food and drink permissible by Islamic law) food. They found rice balls as a safe option. These rice balls were slightly flattened and eaten with bland coconut gravy.

 

However, as Acharya pointed out, the process of mixing Urad dal and Rice grains, and fermenting the mixture seemed to be a later innovation even though there weren’t any references to this process being invented at any particular time. 

Regardless of its origin, Idli has become a popular South Indian breakfast item, which is commonly eaten with sambhar and coconut chutney. We enjoy eating idlis with tomato chutney as well as chutney powder (aka gunpowder). 

We hope you enjoyed reading about the Story of Idlis. Don't forget to check back on this series about Idlis in the next couple of weeks. Our second post in the series is all about types of idlis. 

My Favorite Festival – Ganesha Chavithi

Yesterday was an auspicious day for all Hindus. It was the day we celebrate Ganesha Chavithi, a festival dedicated to Lord Ganesha. He is known to help people overcome obstacles in their lives and bestow great wisdom and wealth. It is important for this pooja and every pooja that we prepare prasad (offering to the God) and wear new clothes.

So our day started with making his favorite dishes, cleaning and decorating the place where the pooja will take place.

We also drew rangoli (colored chalk/powder drawings) in front of our house. Usually, we create more colorful drawings but we were really tired and just decided to keep it simple.


My parents told me that the story goes that Lord Ganesha's favorite dishes are steamed sweet rice dumplings, rice kheer (pudding), besan ka ladoo, and boondi ladoo.

However, we are health conscious and so we made steamed rice and lentil dumplings with ginger & coriander chutney, vermicelli & tapioca pudding, and beet root rice. Don't you just want to grab a couple of the balls off the screen.

Steamed Rice & Lentil Dumplings (Undrallu) Ingredients: 

- 2 cups of Idli rava/cream of rice/coarsely powdered rice 

- 1 cup of Moong dal

- 1½ cups of fresh grated coconut (frozen grated coconut can be used as well)

- 2 tsp of Salt or as needed

- 4 tbsp of Vegetable oil

  

Procedure:

1) In a pressure cooker or heavy bottomed sauce pan cook the moong dal with two cups of water until it is soft & firm (Hint: should be able to split it when pierced with the nail). Remove excess water and set aside.

2) Add 3 cups of water into the pan or cooker (including the water collected from the dal earlier). Add 2 tbsp of oil and salt and allow the water to come to a boil. Reduce heat and add idli ravva into it and mix.

3) If using cooker, close the lid and cook in medium to low heat under pressure for 5-6 minutes. If using pan, cook under low heat until the rice and dal is fully cooked (may require slightly more water in the pan).

4) Transfer the cooked mixture into a wider container and add remaining oil and spread the cooked rice to cool. When it is cooled down, add grated coconut and mix well.

5) Make lemon size balls with the mixture and put them into a container. Cook them under steam by adding 1-1 ½” height water and place the rice balls container in it. Close the inner container and the outer and steam cook in medium heat for 10 minutes.

6) When done, eat the dumplings with ginger chutney. 

Quick Tip: To enhance the taste of the dumplings, just add a drop of ghee on it.

Vermicelli & Tapioca Kheer (payasam) Ingredients:

- 2 cups of Vermicelli (sevia)

- ½ cup of Tapioca (sabudana)

- 1 liter of Milk

- ½ can of Condensed milk

- ½ cup of Sugar

- 6 pods of Cardamom, seeded and powdered

- 15-20 Cashew nuts, halved and roasted

- 15-20 Golden raisins

Procedure:

1) Roast vermicelli & sabudana separately in a 1/2 to 1 tbsp butter and keep aside. Soak the sabudana in 1 cup of water for atleast 1-2 hours (this will reduce the cooking time immensely).

2) In a heavy saucepan or crock pot add milk, vermicelli, and sabudana. Allow them to cook on low heat (15-20 min) stirring the contents frequently to avoid caking and burning at the bottom. Cook until the sabudana turns opaque to transparent and vermicelli is soft.

3) Now add sugar, condensed milk, raisins and cardamom powder and bring it to boil on low heat stirring continuously. Taste the kheer and add more sugar as needed. Remove from heat and then add cashew nuts.

4) This kheer can be enjoyed when hot or chilled and served as pudding (thickens when chilled).

Quick Tip 1: While use of condensed milk gives a rich taste, you can replace it with extra milk or evaporated milk and sugar if preferred.
Quick Tip 2: The kheer can be made with vermicelli only if sabudana is not available; adjust the milk and sugar accordingly.

Go "Green" with Garden Poha

The teacher (pertaining to myself) becomes the student today since I have searched through the internet to look for different meanings for explaining what Poha is. Poha is another name for flattened rice. It is widely known all over South Asia (which does not only refer to South Indians); it includes Nepal and Bangladesh as well.

Did you know that when flattened rice is mixed with any liquid, it puffs up four times thicker than a normal rice grain. I don't know how true that is but according to Wiki it does. I will put this to the test and get back to you. Also, did you know unlike rice grains, poha can be consumed raw? That's right, so just go ahead and pop some into your mouth. The only thing is that it doesn't have a lot of taste until you mix something with it like milk, jaggery (sugarcane sugar) or other ingredients. In that case, let's add some taste to it.

You in the mood to do some cookin'? I can't hear ya. In light of the hot weather we have been experiencing in the East Coast lately, we are going to make more dishes that are not so heavy and chill out.

So gear up and get into the kitchen. We are cookin' up Garden Poha. Then you can enjoy your freshly made dish with a glass of Mojito or Lemonade (keeping with the green theme).

Here are the ingredients to get you started and I know what you are thinking, the list below looks lengthy but once you see the picture,  you'll see it's not that serious.

***Please note: French Cut beans missing in picture but it is included in the recipe.

• 3 cups Poha (flattened rice), thick variety
• 2/3 cups Carrots & peas (frozen)
• 1 large Onion, chopped finely
• ½ cup French Cut Green beans (frozen)
• 1 medium Potato, peeled and chopped finely (keep in water)
• 3 to 4 Green chilies, split into half
• ½ cup Peanuts
• 1 Lime or 1-2 tbsp of Lime juice  (as desired)
• ½ to ¾ tbsp Salt (as needed)
• 2-3 tbsp Vegetable Oil
• 1 heaped tsp Turmeric powder
• 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
• 1 tsp Cumin Seeds (jeera)
• Handful of Coriander / cilantro, chopped


Now, let's get down to cooking with all these ingredients:

1. Wash poha in plenty of water in a big bowl and drain the water completely using a strainer or sieve. Allow the poha to soak for atleast 10 minutes.

2. In a wide skillet, heat oil and fry peanuts on medium heat until golden brown. Then add mustard, cumin seeds, and green chilies. When they crackle add onion, potato (drain water) and frozen beans. Next, add a pinch of salt and close the lid for 3-5 min until potato and beans are soft.

3. Add the remaining salt and turmeric and mix. Next, add poha and mix well. Cook on medium to low heat with closed lid for another 5 min.

4. Remove from stove and add lemon juice, carrots & peas and mix. Keep the lid closed for 5-6 minutes for the frozen vegetables to be cooked by the warm food.

5. Garnish it with cilantro and grated coconut (optional) and serve hot. This recipe makes 3-4 servings so invite your close friends over. Kick off those heels or sneakers, whatever you have on and have some Poha.

If you don't mind, I'm going to have some right now and I'll see you next time, right here at my blog for the next summer creation. Until then, keep those mouths hungry and I'll make sure to fill you up Real Good.

***Also check out Bread Poha @ Honey, What's Cooking? adapted from KiranTarun.com Sure to please the taste buds.***