Whose idli is it, anyway?

Hindustan Times | ByVir Sanghvi

Dec 01, 2018 11:02 PM IST

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Idli and sambhar are the most popular dishes from South India, but nobody can still say with certainty how either dish was created

They are the best known South Indian dishes in our country and perhaps, the world. But have you ever wondered where the idli and sambhar come from? Tamil Nadu? Karnataka? Andhra? Kerala?

Restaurants selling idlis, dosas, vadas sprang up in the second half of the 20th century(Shutterstock)

Sambhar is one of the most popular South Indian dishes (Shutterstock)

Sambhar, a complex dish, has been reduced to a single pan-South Indian dal in the rest of India

Food historian Shri Bala thinks the method of making idlis is more important than the dish

Legend has it that the sambhar was named in honour of Sambhaji

Amti, a popular Marathi dal made using kokum, is believed to have inspired sambhar with tamarind as the souring agent (Shutterstock)

Sambhar is made with tuvar dal, which is a classic Western Indian dal (Shutterstock)

The meal-time sambhar is thicker and has many more vegetables than the tiffin sambhar, which has only drumsticks (Sbutterstock)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vir Sanghvi

Why hide the papers? Why keep the conspiracy theories related to Netaji Subhas Bose’s death alive? And why deny India the truth about the death of one of its great freedom fighters? ...view detail

News / Lifestyle / Brunch / Whose idli is it, anyway?

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Whose idli is it, anyway?

Idli and sambhar are the most popular dishes from South India, but nobody can still say with certainty how either dish was created

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