One More Plate Idli Please

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     Idli is a traditional & one of the most popular dish from the kitchens of South India. This delicious item is an integral part of breakfast in South India along with equally popular dosa, and is many times made into a combination of Idli-Dosa for breakfast or for any-time-snacks.

     Although Idli is generally made in similar style everywhere, the side dishes with which it is devoured varies depending on which region of India you are in & it influences the taste to quite an extent. For example in the state of Tamil Nadu, Idli is preferred when dipped in a bowl of hot & spicy Sambar. In Karnataka it is mainly consumed with chutney made from coconut & chanadal. And in Andhra it is always with two chutneys, one made of ginger & other from Coconut + chanadal. Although Idli with sambar is available & liked in all regions, there are certain combinations in various regions which are mostly preferred & equally delicious.

    My favorite Idli is from a small insignificant hotel in a town called Tenali in Andhra Pradesh (my home town). This hotel is quite small, but the Idli here is the best I ever had anywhere else. I am not being biased towards my home town when I say that. My relatives & friends who visited us & been there vouch for that.
Hotel with no name
    What makes it special??? -Made extremely soft & fluffy, spread over with a special powder called Podi made of chanadal with gracious amount of ghee & served with two chutneys to mix with, makes it a deadly combination.

      As you enter the hotel the warm aroma of Idli, Dosas fill up your senses & when you take one bite of the famous Idli, it just melts in your mouth & immediately you realize, yes it’s different, it’s delicious, and it’s the best. The taste is amazing with the ginger chutney, podi adding a slight spicy edge to it along with the standard coconut chutney. Each Idli is twice the usual size you get anywhere else, but its tenderness makes you finish your first plate of two Idlies with surprising ease. And before you realize you are ordering another plate as you are hungry for more. That plate too disappears fast.

     When I visit with my cousins we take a breather only after three plates each are demolished, that is 6 Idlies. And we stop just because our stomachs are full not that our taste buds are satisfied. During my stay in Tenali breakfast is never at home.  This hotel incidentally has no name & is just referred to as the “Hotel Opposite Taluka Junior College”. Once you have this special Idli popularly called as “Idli with podi & ghee” you can never forget the taste & the mere mention of it gets your taste buds into hyperactivity, as mine are now.

 Idli being the main attraction here, which 
Idly-Dosa Combination
during the morning hours are cooked at a frenzied pace to match an equally frenzied customers eagerly waiting to devour within the hotel & an equal no of them waiting to get them packed for home. Apart from Idli, Dosa is also equally popular if not less. Again Dosa mixed with the two chutneys make it mouthwateringly delicious.

      So next time you are in & around Tenali don’t miss out to have Idly at this hotel & I bet after having one plate you can’t stop & are forced to say-     
- One more plate Idli please…

Ravindra

Delhi
27-07-2013 1717 SAT

Comments

  1. Khandrika27/7/13 19:15

    I fully agree with you Ravindra that the idli with karpupodi and ghee at this joint is unique. The coconut and chanadal chutney that this hotel serves is not found any where. The idli is so soft it just melts in the mouth. Its a must to try any one visiting Tenali.

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