Idli

Idli /ɪdliː/) is a traditional breakfast in South Indian households. Idli is a savoury cake that is popular throughout India and neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka. The cakes are usually four to five inches in diameter and are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented black lentils (de-husked) and rice. The fermentation process breaks down the starches so that they are more readily metabolized by the body.

A variant of Idli known as sanna is very popular amongst the Goans and other Konkani people. Another variant known as Enduri Pitha is very popular in Odisha.

History

A precursor of the modern idli is mentioned in several ancient Indian works. A 920 CE Kannada language work by Shivakotiacharya mentions "iddalige", prepared only from an urad dal (black lentil) batter. Chavundaraya II, the author of the earliest available Kannada encyclopaedia, Lokopakara (c. 1025 CE), describes the preparation of this food by soaking urad dal (black gram) in buttermilk, ground to a fine paste, and mixed with the clear water of curd and spices. The Western Chalukya king and scholar Someshwara III, reigning in the area now called Karnataka, included an idli recipe in his encyclopedia, Manasollasa (1130 CE). This Sanskrit-language work describes the food as iddarika. The food prepared using this recipe is now called uddina idli in Karnataka.