Manjunath’s recent mention of the ‘Origin of Idlis’ refers to an article by Vikram Doctor on the ancestors of the now-ubiquitous ‘Idli,’ one of the healthiest dishes available. He quotes K.T. Achaya, who claims that ‘idli’ is a recent addition to Indian cuisine. He does, however, quote “Iddalige,” which is mentioned in a Kannada work dated 920 AD (Kavirajamarga? ), and is possibly made of urad dal batter. According to him, the Sanskrit work ‘Manasollasa’ mentions urad dal “iddarika” (1130AD). According to Achaya, the term “itali” was first used by Tamils after the 17th century. Achay concludes that idli is an imported dish, most likely from Indonesia, where fermented dishes such as kedli (similar to our idli), tempeh, kecap, and so on are available.

One thing is certain: the modern form of idli has evolved over time. Nobody could have created it in an instant. Idli is still evolving today. In Mangalore, mass idli producers are replacing urad dal with yeast, resulting in soft, spongy rice idlis that taste different from the urad+rice combination.

The words ‘iddalige’ and ‘iddarika’ in Kannada/Sanskrit literature suggest that this dish existed in south India prior to the 10th century AD. Of course, given the human tendency to evolve better things over time, the exact combination of the idli of those times may be slightly different. And the presence of a plethora of traditional steam cooked rice items in Tulunad, employing primitive but artistic cups, folders, and tubes (‘gunda, kottige, gatti, moode’ etc) fashioned out of natural leafs for pouring in the batter, as described in my previous posting (No.11), imply that our forefathers contributed significantly to the early’research and development’ on idlis. They were also aware of the fermentation process.

The traditional “neeruppad” (=watery pickle), which is almost extinct now, was made of slices of raw or semi-ripe jack fruit fermented in saline water and stored for extended use as pickles during rainy days.

However, more information on iddalige, iddarika, Indonesian kedli, and other idli cousins is welcome!