Being a perfectly qualified lazy bone...7 o'clock is really an early start of the day. But I never ever set my alarm for 7 a.m., so the cause for my senses to get alarmed definitely has to be food =). Since the food alarm started ringing, there is no choice other than diving into the gorgeous food.
Kick start the day with a cup of Coffee is BIG “NO” from my mom. According to my mom never have a cup of coffee in an empty stomach as it can lead to quite a lot of health problems. Hence the breakfast arrives =D
I would definitely like to praise my Dad for keeping the dining hall very near to the kitchen…the aroma of the food kindles the hunger from nowhere.
An aroma of steamed idlis along with the crackling sound of mustard seeds followed. What a mesmerisation before gorging in!!! My sweet mom served me with 3 idlis with coconut chutney and a small bowl of Sambar. For a regular person it is just a normal breakfast but for a huge foodie like me even an Onion is the best thing to eat. So definitely, the idly and sambar is an absolute great food for the beginning of the day.
The concept of eating idly,chutney and sambar is not practised perfectly these days. I remember once on a holiday we dined in a 3 Star Hotel for Breakfast and they served us idlys and dosas with fork and spoon.I guessed immediately why the hotel lacked the other 2 stars. For idlis the fork or spoon was fine and good but for a crispy dosa a fork and knife!!! But sticking on to my father’s strict table manners I still managed to eat the idly in a typical way like an artist managed his painting.
I cut the idlies into bite size pieces with the fork and pierced the fork in the soft idly. The idly was touched with the mild coconut chutney and drowned with sambar. Despite the glare from my dad,I slided the idly along the colors of chutney and sambar. WOW!!! But still it missed something…
Getting back to my mom’s delicious platter of idly, chutney and sambar the magic is always present. Luckily I ate to my idly without a fork and table manners. I took a piece of idly and swirled it in the chutney and made my idly swim in the sambar. After popping idly into my mouth the MAGIC begins!!!
The blast of flavours I was speaking that lagged in the hotels. A mild sweet and salt taste of the idly was beautifully blended with coconut chutney with an hint of garlic and an small spice traced along with the sambar.The magic is of course my mom’s LOVE when she gave me.
Making an idly is never a difficult task but the batter has to be perfect to make a soft and fluffy idly. Idly batter proportion if not made correctly then the idlies can turn into a flat or hard idly. Not only the batter proportions but it has to be steamed correctly too. If anything is missed then idly is surely to be in a position to be sold as a paste or as a rock that can be surely thrown at someone who complaints about your idly.
IDLY BATTER PROPORTION:
4 cups Pulungal Arisi or Idly rice
1 cup Ulatham parrupu or Urad Dal
Combine and soak them overnight. Grind them. Keep the batter out for 4 hours for fermenting and then store them in fridge.
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