Kanchipuram Idli Recipe | Idli Varieties of India (2024)

FAQs

What is Kanchipuram idli made of? ›

Kanchipuram idli is a different from the idlis popularly eaten for breakfast. The batter is similar to the regular idli and dosa batter which is allowed to ferment overnight. Cumin, pepper, ginger, asafoetida and curry leaves are added to the fermented batter for a savoury flavour.

Kadubu, Moode or Gunda is a special variety of cylindrical idli popular in the Malnad and coastal regions of Karnataka. Wrapped in jackfruit or banana leaves, these idlies come with a steamy fragrance. A fluffy and spongy idli that has got its name from the Jasmine(mallige) flower.

Bengaluru's popular rava idli, the grainier Udupi idli, Tamil Nadu's podi idli topped with spicy powders, Kancheepuram idli spiced with ginger and curry leaves, the extra soft and fluffy malligai poo idli, pottikalu idli of Hyderabad that's made in leaf pockets and the cylindrical Mangalore idli named kotte kadubu are ...

The story goes that a Vijayanagar king (14th-17th century A.D.) ordered that this offering be made to the deity. The cooks faithfully follow the recipe that is centuries old, steaming a batter made of rice and lentil in fragrant mandarai (bauhinia) leaves.

Kanchipuram idli is popular in Tamil Nadu and other south Indian states.

While here, you cannot miss the popular South-Indian platter with its delicacies like Rasam, Sweet Pongal, Payassam, Sambhar, Idli, Vada, Dosa. Other than these, do try the 'fourteen Idli', a dish with 14 idlis and sambhar as well as a local favorite called Kovil Idlis with dry garnishing of pepper, ginger and cumin.

Rava Idli and Potato Saagu/ Bombay Saagu

Rava Idli or Rave Idli is a variation of Idli, made with Rava/ Sooji/semolina instead of the usual rice and Urad Daal. It is a specialty of the state of Karnataka and is usually served as a breakfast item.

Despite the fascination of Bengalureans with global cuisines and gastronomic experimentation, the comfort of familiarity can't be denied when it comes to food. Which is perhaps why Bengaluru regularly consumes the most number of idlies among all the cities in India.

Idli rice is the best to make soft idlis. However you may also use parboiled rice or basmati rice. During the lockdown I had made them with different kinds of rice. Aged short grain parboiled rice, raw rice & basmati rice (not parboiled rice) also worked well.

What is the English name for idli? ›

What is English name for idli? As others have said, it's “idli”. There is no traditional English equivalent, so we use the Tamil name. It's not well known, though, being mainly a breakfast dish, because those of us who don't have south Asian roots tend to eat south Asian food only later in the day.

But this life-affirming staple of the Indian palate may not have originated in South India, after all. While both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu claim to have invented the recipe, food historian K T Achaya believes the idli probably arrived in India from present-day Indonesia around 800-1200 CE.

Kanchipuram is a Sanskrit word formed by combining two words "Kanchi" and "-puram" meaning "Brahma worship" and "residential place" respectively and located on the banks of the Vegavathy and Palar river.

Conjeevaram is the English name of the ancient Kancheepuram. Like all ancient cities, Kancheepuram is also situated on the banks of a river, Vegavati. The city was the capital of the Early Cholas as far back as the 2nd century BC and a Pallava capital between the 6th and 8th centuries.

The sthala-virutcham or temple tree is believed to be a 3,500-year-old mango tree whose branches are said to yield four different types of mangoes from its four branches.

The main ingredients of idli are black gram, rice, salt and water.

To make Idli, four parts uncooked rice (idli rice or parboiled rice) to one part whole white lentil (black gram, Vigna mungo) are soaked separately for at least four hours to six hours or overnight. Optionally spices such as fenugreek seeds can be added at the time of soaking for additional flavour.

Idli is a traditional fermented rice and black gram based food. Idli batter is prepared by soaking polished parboiled rice and decorticated black gram for 4 h at 30 ± 1 °C in water. The soaked mass was ground using a grinder with adequate amount of water.

Idli is a soft, pillowy steamed savory cake made from fermented rice and lentil batter. The lentils used in making the idli batter are urad dal (hulled black gram). Black gram is also known as matpe beans, urad beans. To make idli the off white colored husked/hulled black gram is used – it can be split or whole.