Idly, Sambaar and Intelligence.

The most popular attribute of the Tamils which the north Indians make fun of is their addiction to idly, sambaar though they themselves relish this food more than the south Indians. Whenever they raise this subject, I rise in defense of this heavenly food which is my all time favorite at home or star hotel.

There is no historical evidence to show in which period this food came into existence, but I believe if it was in vogue during the period of Avvaiyar, she would have added idly to the gamut of items she would offer to Ganapathy for the favour of bestowing her mastery of Tamil. Whoever had invented this food, it should have been a very ingenious brain with a mix of art and science as it should be the first food to be prepared out of steam in a novel equipment which demands a very inquisitive brain to design.

Idly is the standard breakfast in most Tamil families. It is also the cheapest item in the menu of any standard hotel, big or small. In villages it is still available at Rs.one per piece. In Grand Marathaa Hotel, a five star hotel in Mumbai near the airport, I took 5 tiny idlies for Rs.165 ten years back, which was still the cheapest item then. Even in Saravana Bhavan, the Mecca of South Indian dishes, it costs around Rs.10.00 per pair which is not much when compared to all other dishes. It caters to the interests of the calorie conscious and the taste conscious, the traditional as well as the modern, the youth or the old. If a Tamil had a chance to board a spacecraft, sure the idly would sail together as both of them are inseparable.

Like the different dialects or slangs of Tamil, Idly changes in shape and taste according to the region. Madurai is the capital of idly where it is so soft and spongy like the jasmine flower. If you have to get the real taste of Madurai idlies, you have to visit the platform kiosks popularly known as "kaiendi bhavan" where bunny aunties rule the crowd with their magic wand almost till one o' clock in the night. Apart from the steaming idlies, they pamper you with a variety of chutnies of different flavors and colours. No wonder even the rich and the learned make repeated visits to these small wonders. You can also get Kushboo idlies here, appropriately named after the chubby cheeks and a larger than life figure of the charming actress. I like them both.

In Coimbatore the Sambaar idly of Hotel Gowrishankar is quite famous. The tamarind rich sambaar gives a special taste to the idlies and the flavor and the plates remain unchanged over a long period of time. But you should be a diehard fan of idlies if you want to taste a plate of them. Even when you are lucky to get a seat within fifteen minutes, you have to wait for your turn patiently since the bearer takes his own time to serve your order as the kitchen is flooded with more orders for idlies than it can cope with. When the bearer finally arrives in with your plate, you can hardly notice the idlies as they are fully sunk in the pool of sambaar which is very liberally served for a pair of idlies. Anyway the customers throng the hotel for the flavor of the sambaar and they never mind the size or even the presence of the idlies in the plates.

Tiruchi is the Vatican city of the Brahmins and the Uchipillayar temple and the Main guard gate were haunted by all the poet laureates of Tamilnadu including the author of this blog. Though the rich odour of coffee at Padma Hotel beckons the epicureans of the city, the suave and the niche visit the Mayavaram hotel which is a sort of museum for
the original flavor of all ancient dishes of Tamilnadu. You will be served idlies with the .999 authentic stamp as relished by our great grand parents.

Saravana Bhavan does not require any introduction to the veg. savvy as all the items served there are fairly good though it leaves the purses of their customers very slim
It was the one which introduced Lilliput idlies with ghee sambaar which is lapped up by the tourists for its novelty. It strives to be patriotic by serving Congress chutnies for the regular idlies, white, red and green, though the quantity served is very little and the smartly dressed bearers never heed to your requests for second servings. In the midst of all sorts of gods, the dining hall looks like a little heaven and you feel blessed both by the food and the gods.

I am afraid I have to call it a day as the steaming aroma of idlies is wafting across from the kitchen. So that’s all my folks. Don’t forget me when you have your next session of idles.

You: Finished? Idly, sambaar o.k. But what about the intelligence you mentioned in the title?

Me: Oh! That is an adjunct to add pep to the title. Neither idlies nor Tamils have anything to do with intelligence. They are as stupid as the Americans.
08/07/2009