World Idli Day: History and Significance
New Delhi: World Idli Day is observed annually on March 30. A popular South-Indian delicacy, Idli is usually consumed as breakfast. A Chennai-based idli-maker, M. Eniyavan, owns a local Idli restaurant and makes thousand different types of idlis, and his birthday is observed as World Idli Day.
The locally famous restaurant employs 50 to 60 people and serves 2547 different varieties of Idli. He even serves idlis to poor people and those living on the footpath. Young Eniyavan’s life took a turn a woman, Chandra, gave him employment. His job required him to produce and supply idlis in various hotel chains in Chennai in 1997.
The adverse circumstances forced him to rejuvenate the concept of the popular breakfast. Soon he started experimenting with the shapes, flavours, and ingredients of Idli. The locals welcomed the idea. He started selling Rasam Idli, Cake-Shaped idli, Rag Idli, among others, and gradually reached the milestone of 2547 unique idli combinations.
Idli is a savoury rice cake that originated in the Indian Subcontinent. Popularly consumed by Southern Indians and Sri Lankans, Idli is prepared by steaming a rich batter. The batter consists of fermented rice and black lentils. The rice cakes are served with coconut chutney and sambhar.
(Avya Mathur)
