Every year on March 30, is observed as World Idli Day. The celebration of the day started some years ago when an enthusiastic Idli lover from Chennai decided to dedicate a day to this South India’s most popular staple food. The reputation of the humble Idli is really a phenomenon in the 20th century. Steamed, puffy, and delectable, Idli doused in sambhar and chutney, easily makes one of the nation’s much sought-after nutrients for breakfast. Idli, for a long, has been making the South-Indian cuisine proud across the sub-continent.
This popular, yet simple food is not oily or greasy and is considered to be one of the most delicious and intelligent nourishments in the South. Idli is also a ‘street food’, yet it shares no infamous reputation of being unhealthy or calorie-laden. Idli may have originated elsewhere, but it was in the South that the process of making it from a painstakingly ground fermented batter of urad dal and rice was perfect.
For all South Indians, who are common eaters of Idli, this day is the opportunity to commemorate this unassuming and easy-to-digest food, as, for ages, it has been giving us all good feelings while eating it.