History of Idly : "Idly is not an Indian Food"

Compared to the food that are cooked using oil, steam cooked food are nutritious(64 calories/idly) . When speaking about steamed foods, only food that comes to my mind is “idly”. Idlies are circular, chubby, soft (if cooked properly, or else it can become a homemade weapon) and two to three inches in diameter. Most often eaten at breakfast or as a snack, idlis are usually served in pairs with chutney, sambar, or other accompaniments. This reminds me my childhood poem,

"இட்டுலீகு சட்டினி,,, இல்லாட்டி பட்டினி "

"Idly ku Chutney Illaati patiney"

Idlies are simple to cook, easy to eat and healthy for our body, these are the reason why it has its own place in south Indian kitchens for more than 1000 years. This recipe is made using a special vessel known as “Idly cooker” (funny).

Ok, now history time, The Idly what we are eating now is not prepared in the way it was prepared 1000 years back. Shivakotiacharya, writer of the 9th-10th century, he is considered the author of text “Vaddaradhane” (lit, "Worship of elders", c. 900). In his writings, Idlies are prepared only by fermented black lentil. Chavundaraya II, the author of the earliest available Kannada encyclopedia, Lokopakara (c. 1025), describes the preparation of idly by soaking urad dal(black gram) in butter milk, ground to a fine paste and mixed with the clear water of curd, and spices. King and scholar Someshwara III, reigning in the area now called Karnataka, included an idly recipe in his encyclopedi

a, The “Manasollasa”, written in Sanskrit ca. 1130 A.D. There is no known record of rice being added until sometime in the 17th century. It may have been found that the rice helped speed the fermentation process. Although the ingredients used in preparing idly have changed, the preparation process and the name have still remained the same

Shivakotiacharya’s contention is that this absence from the historical record could mean that idlis are an imported concept — perhaps from Indonesia which has a long tradition of fermented products, like tempeh (fermented soy cakes), kecap (from where we get ketchup) or something called kedli, which Shivakotiacharya says, is like an idli. This is plausible enough given the many links between Southeast Asia and South India, through rulers and traders. Shivakotiacharya al

so adds many legendary stories, but there is no basis for them. When we look forward to literary evidences in Indian literature, Shivakotiacharya does not give any in Indonesia.

People from India who visited Indonesia for trade, religious purpose, liked the taste of idly. And they brought the technology of steaming to India. From that time idly was in use in many parts of India.

Heuan tsang says no steaming vessels south India in seventh century. B

ut steaming vessels are not required for steaming dishes, steam can be produced using cloth over the vessel, still this method is used in south India.

Preparation Time:

Ingiderents:

-6 cup long grain rice
-2 cup uncle's bean rice
-1 cup urad daal

Direction:

1. soaked rice for 5-6 hour, for urad daal soaked for 1 hour
2.grind urad daal with wet grinder until smooth, then keep a side

3. grind rice until smooth for 15-20 min
4.mix the rice powder with other paste and add enough water to get thick batter
5.covered the batter and let it fermented overnight and you can cook it in the following day
6. take a spoon of batter and pour into idli mould, steam for 10-15 min until idli has cooked
7. served with sambhar

Even if idly is not our origin, It solved the main hunger problem of many poor friends in our country and gave us a good health. So we have to consider it as our part of life and every time when you eat idly, feel proud that you are eating a food that still exists for more than 1000 years. Again I say this thing,

If you love your food, it becomes healthier. So love your food.

In this place I would also like to add another point,

“VADA is a pure South Indian Food and it was in use more than 1500 years ago”

Actually I told all these Idly, Vada Stories to my Interviewer, I got recruited into the company. This is the reason why I wrote this blog.

With regards

Ganesha