Trichiites make it an ‘idlicious’ weekend, go traditional

For the first time in Trichy, many hotels are hosting special events to promote idlies as a part of the World Idli Day. The aim of celebrating the day is to popularise the south Indian staple dish.
Private Hotel here has come up with 12 innovative variants of the traditional dish particularly to attract the attention of foreigners, mostly from European countries, to familiarise them with idlis. Medical professionals have also welcomed the event organised as it adds value to traditional food in the decade which has seen the uprise of junk foods. They added that idlies are among the few probiotic dishes that come with nutritious value.

With March 30 being observed as World Idli Day for the past three years, Sangam hotels here for the first time has organised ‘Idlicious Weekend,’ a three-day long food festival promoting the traditional food variety. Serving a dozen of special dishes, the organisers termed idlis as the pride of South India and added that idlis should be familiarised to the world alike pizzas and burgers that have become universal dish now. Organised for three days from March 30 to April 1, the hotel has been serving chocolate idli, chaat idli, carrot idli, mint idli and beetroot idli.

“Before serving the special idlis, we have been explaining to the customers, mostly visitors from Europe and South Asia, about the ingredients involved and their preparation. Such interaction and recognition for the indigenous dish would certainly promote them across the globe,” said J Mubarak, executive chef, Sangam Hotels. For chocolate idli, chefs add chocolate chips along the batter before steaming and for chaat idli, masala powder is added to the dish while steaming.

Three pieces of special idlis priced between Rs 90 and Rs 100 a set is a hit among visitors, who click pictures of them having the dish and publish the same on social media with the hashtag #WorldIdliDay. “Chili cheese idli has earned the likes of European visitors who enquired about the ingredients such as fermented black lentils and rice,” chef Antony Samy adds.

On the other hand, doctors reckon idli as one of the healthiest and nutritious food for all age groups. Idlies perfectly adopt the benefits mentioned in the food pyramid suggested by medical professionals for a healthy diet. “The easily digestible idli is a probiotic food and suggested for consumption when a person is ill,” Dr G Sivaraman, Chennai based Siddha expert said. As people across the globe are celebrating their iconic food in their culture, medical professionals pitched for more emphasise in celebrating idlies in the coming years.

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