An Idly Episode

"Idly hawker in Warangal" photo courtesy Husain Akbar all rights reserved

It happened at Allahabad, my first Army station soon after commissioning. It was a bright Sunday morning and the existing convention was that all young officers were to assemble at the officers mess for a beer session by 10 am, under the aegis of the deputy commandant or DC as he was called in short.

So the Sunday session started with a bang, with all, except me, guzzling beer like there was no tomorrow. Being a teetotaler I had to be satisfied with coffee, sans milk so that I didn’t stand out among the others. The coffee instead of lifting my spirits was making me morose by the minute. The DC, a bulky number 8 figure, by the name of Colonel Karam Singh had already downed two large mugs of frothing beer when he noticed my long face.

Immediately he jumped up and ordered me up too. By then everyone was already on their toes, after all who in the army would dare to remain seated when the senior stands! Looking straight at me he ordered me to follow him. Where, how and why are pointless questions in the army, where seniors’ orders are only meant to be obeyed. So there I was following him like a pup who knew not what lay ahead, and before soon we were zipping off on his motorbike. Many zig zags and several kilometres along the winding gullies of Allahabad the bike finally stopped in front of what looked like an udupi dhaba. DC ordered me to get in there and buy 50, 60 idlys.

“Ok Sir”, I said.

“Get chutney too. Ask for more than a litre, we have several people waiting, mind it! And don’t you pay, don‘t make that mistake; you are too junior to pay for it!” barked the Colonel.

“Ok Sir”, I repeated the only two words a 2nd Lieutenant was allowed to utter.

Soon we were back at the mess where we found the others still standing. The idly was unpacked on the center table, and DC ordered the waiter to distribute plates around. The Colonel hadn‘t finished with me yet, he ordered to the waiter, “the first plate should be given to 2nd Lieutenant Mani, he must be missing his Sunday idlys ever since he joined us here!”

After that brief moment where the Colonel showed his soft side, what ensued was utter mayhem. All the young assembled captains and the colonel guzzling and gulping with such rapidity, that while I nibbled at one, many had washed down 3 or 4. In a matter of minutes the idlys vanished, with the Colonel having eaten the most. Lesson learnt never underestimate the power or youth of the Colonel or the idly for that matter!

Now with that story in background, here’s the best recipe for idly, it tastes the best with groundnut chutney and vengaya chammanthy. A yummy treat for a Sunday breakfast for a south Indian. Others too might like it for a change!

Ingredients

3 cups par boiled rice (not cooked)

1 cup raw rice

1 cup white urad dal

1 teaspoon fenugreek

1 tablespoon salt

Method

1. Wash both the rice and soak in water for 3 to 4 hours. Simultaneously wash and soak the urad and fenugreek in another vessel.

2. Grind separately, the urad fenugreek mix should be smooth, and the rice batter could be lightly grainy like soft sand.

3. Mix the two batters together along with salt in another larger vessel, using your hands, cover and keep aside for fermenting. This will take 8 to 12 hours or overnight. Remember that the batter will get double its size so the vessel you use should have sufficient space to allow that.

4. Once the batter is risen, mix lightly once more, adding a little water. The final batter should be as thick as cake batter.

5. Pour into idly moulds and steam for 10 minutes.

Idly is a little like an army subaltern, so long as you play by the rules, there is no reason why you will not get obedient idlys.

About the author: loving grandfather and well seasoned army man Colonel KR Mani leads a rather hectic retired life in a sleepy village by the river Periyar in Kerala. A well known author of Malyalam short stories, for which he uses the pseudonym “Marshal”, he grew up in a simple farming community in Palakkad. His stories are usually centered around quirky characters from his village and often uses social satire to drive a point home. He’s a hopeless animal lover and his first pet was a cockerel named Shanku.

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