Feast on idlis

Feast on idlis
The Hindu

Thought the idli was just white? Check out its coloured side at Om Murugan Idli Shop


One needn't look beyond steaming idlis and spicy coconut chutney for an ideal breakfast. But Om Murugan Idli Shop at Koramangala takes the humble idli a step further. Here the rice specially sourced from Salem in Tamil Nadu is made into standard idlis, mini idlis, vegetable idlis, podi idli and Kanjeevaram idli and served on a fresh green plantain leaf set in a shiny steel plate. And to go with the variety of idlis you have tricolour chutneys (coconut, mint and tomato), and steaming sambhar with small onions, white pumpkin and drumsticks.

For R. Vasudevan and Prema, who run the self-service outlet, one thing led to another and thus was born this restaurant. It was first Café@So Sweet, then The Legend and now this. Vasudevan says with this venture he hopes to project idlis as the food for health-conscious Bangaloreans.

The steaming white, soda-free idlis are scooped out of traditional aluminium containers each time an order is placed. "The chefs at the restaurant are from Madurai and Karaikudi, which are famous for idlis and the idlis from those parts have a unique flavour," says Vasudevan.

A plate of mini idlis consists of 10 lemon-sized idlis in steaming sambhar, screaming to be rescued and relished with a drop of ghee. With each bite of the Kanjeevaram idli, you encounter the flavours of ginger, coriander and onions. The vegetable idli has carrots and beans in it to improve its taste and appearance. The podi idli comes with spicy podi mellowed with some gingely oil.

The idli hours are between 7 a.m. and 10.30 a.m. and 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. But don't worry if you miss them, you can choose from pong pong bath (a tasty cousin of Bangalore's own chow chow bath containing kara pongal and sakkarai pongal), masala dosa, paper ghee roast, podi dosa, vada curry dosa and uthappams (like pizza uthappam containing tomato, curry and small onions). There is also the funky uthappam of India whose tri-colour is made from tomato, coconut and coriander. The rice items at the restaurant include lemon rice, tamarind rice, tomato rice, veg biriyani, pudina rice, malli (coriander) rice and sambhar rice.

And then if you have missed the idli hours (7 to 10.30 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m.), there are other treats such as the pong pong bath, a tasty cousin of our chow chow bath. Only the components here are kara pongal and sakkarai pongal.

And then to round off a delightful meal, there is Madurai's jigar danda made out of kadal pasi. A meal for two would cost around Rs. 40 if you stick to idlis and Rs. 50 if it is lunch. Om Murugan Idli Shop can be contacted on 55349937.