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MY BREAKFAST WILL ALWAYS BE SOUTH INDIAN!
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MY BREAKFAST WILL ALWAYS BE SOUTH INDIAN!

Uncategorized December 5, 2025 , by

NEVER mind that I’m a Guju from north India and other places but since my schooldays in Penang I’ve been in love with all things south Indian and got introduced to south Indian fare on a banana leaf at the old “Veloo Vilas” down Penang Street, a hole in the wall in the 50s, but here on wooden long tables and benches we feasted on perfect piping hot steamed idli, dosa, medhvada…accompanied by real coconut chutney, drumstick sambar (a potato sambar I remember was superlatively memorable and I can still taste it).
Anyways, to stay with south Indian food – it more or less kept me alive in my prime years in Bombay-that-is-Mumbai, and now in my dotage in Goa for the last 25 years, I will still always pine for a good classical idli or dosa or uttappam or may be a bene dosa (soft, dulcet and laced with pure white butter) — the genuine version of which is hard to find!
Then somewhere along the way I discovered the variety of idli (call them steamed rice cakes if you wish, poor English description for the idli) – the most austere version is made with a wholesome fermented batter of 1:3 ratio of urid dal and rice. Count a hundred idli varieties if you wish but I will mention only rava, Kanchipuram, the fragrant mallige idli of Karnataka fame, the moode idli steamed in jackfruit or screwpine leafy cones…once in a Kannadiga friend’s house I fell in love with a steaming “cake” style idli called “kallappam” or “vellayappam,” and of course the millet idli I consider as new-fangled or come lately idli, most often not worth the money spent on them! A good millet idli would be a real find and something to promote.
There’re of course the cute miniature idli usually tossed in ghee and “gun powder” or real molhapudi draped over it; but lately I’ve got thatte idli on my mind which has started appearing on a couple of Udipi menus in town Panaji. Including this very new south Indian café which has opened (somewhat opposite Panjim’s famous Café Bhonsale, Goan eatery) — called “Dosa & Podi.” It’s brand new and has an amazing menu of presumably south Indian if not just Udupi standard main fare of idli-dosa-uttappam-meduvada. Say it’s more or less Udupi fare (Udupi being a famous temple town down south India in Karnataka) and also features various kinds of south Indian rice preparations.
THERE it was: Thatte Idli (Rs80) (even Café Bangalore down town Panjim has introduced thatte idli). What is this thatte idli? It’s a large extra spongy flat idli like a plate (“thatte” in Karnataka means “plate”), disc shaped, they have a silkier texture (possibly because poha – rice flakes — or sabudana — tapioca pearls, have been added into the primary batter of rice-urid dal in the grinding). Reportedly, the thatte idli is a specialaity of the Bidadi region, a town on the Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway, where it has become popular amongst locals and travelers.
A single thatte idli is served along with the usual accompaniments of chutney, sambar, dry podi powder chutney (which is not meant to be very spicy).
I don’t know! At the moment I’m in two minds about whether to like or love this thatte idli or not! Maybe they should not add poha or sabudana in the batter, it’s like economizing on urid dal which offers the real protein component in the classic traditional idli batter. I mean why should price go up if ingredient quotients are compromised for inferior food values?
Cheating to make money is the worst kind of thing to do, it’s compromising with one’s soul if you don’t mind me saying so! Idli varieties must be faithful to their original traditional formulae, and history if there is any! But this is to say one of these days I will return to “Dosa & Podi” place to see how I like their standard idli, meduvada, thatte idli served with “sagu dip” whatever that is! The menu also lists some rarities like “ghee button idli, floating button idli, benne lemon button idli” and oooh, they do neer dosa too which translates to “water dosa” – these are the finest dosa you may find in south Indian eateries. Neer dosa are light fine affairs and I can live for them, they’re served with the usual chutney-sambar and also “sagu” (savoury veggie medley).
Down south India one may find very many divine chutneys and they may take the place of oily veggies any day as far as I am concerned….although a drumstick and tomato redolent sambar made with real good tur dal is always welcome too. Nowadays at all kinds of places one may find tasteless watery sambar concoctions, best to shrug off and not touch at all, for all the indifferent laziness which has gone into its quick fix making.
OKAY, no more idli talk. My all time favorite idli memory is that of when a friend of mine made this afore mentioned savory “cake”-style idli in her pressure cooker, it came out steaming hot and had to be cut in wedges, served with three chutneys (tomato, onion and coconut) and sambar of course. One may have to remind oneself to stop eating once your tummy protests with dire threats of what may happen to embarrass you.
Mercifully, I don’t really stuff myself to extremes although tempted sometimes! There’s no self-inflicted punishment as pathetic as over-eating to point of no return if you know what I mean. Needless to rub it in but obesity is a growing phenomenon in India and it just about sets the stage for every other kind of stupid disease of mind and body, heart and soul. I always say the mind controls the heart and the heart controls the soul and all three manifest in original body beautiful. Think about it and don’t just think.

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