Idli Upma

 Life is joyful when things are kept simple and that is exactly what this blog is all about. There are numerous breakfast dishes out there with so much glitz and glamour but here we are with a simple dish called ‘Idly Upma’ which can take you by storm.  It requires very little time for preparation and the dish has been patented by ‘Tamilnadu Thaikulam’ and endorsed by ‘Tamilzhan’.  There is a English proverb which says ‘When the going gets tough then tough gets going’ and I would like to rephrase the proverb as ‘When there are leftover Idlis we make Idly upma and just to have more Idly upma we make more Idlis”.  With the advent of Microwave it has become more convenient to sprinkle water over Idly and keep it in the oven for 10 seconds on either sides which slowly resulted ‘RIP’ for Idly Upma. But off late the trend now is all the old stuff is getting new lease of life. 

    In 1980’s and 1990’s Trichy had an advantage of having a Passport office other than the one in Chennai. So people down south rather than going all the way to Chennai come to Trichy to take care of their passport needs. So it was common to have relatives visit Trichy and the formula for food used to be “One oil item + one sweet + one dish with side” (I even remember the menu like Masala cheeyam/Vada for oil item, Kavun arisi / Kummayam for sweet item, Idly/Dosa/Idiyappam for the main dish served along with a side dish).  This was a great menu and time and tested one too which neither gave boredom nor overwhelming. It gave ample of time for people to meet and greet and exchange conversation.  Slowly definition of hospitality changed and concept of ‘Buffet’ was introduced. Once people believed ‘Ludo’ is better than ‘Thayam’ then it is difficult to change people’s perspective of seeing things. Even conservative community like mine is trapped and people started making an army of dishes. Though the intention is good but it is just overwhelming to see the number of dishes prepared by the host.

    Now let us go over Idly upma preparation which is quite simple. Make sure you pester your wife to make more idlis by that way there are leftover idlis from yesterday.  Sauté onion, Chana dal, urad dal and then add green chillies. Number of green chillies you may want to use is directly proportional to the number of co sisters your wife possess (remember green chillies add so much spice to the food item).  Add plenty of curry leaves (once again number of curry leaves may be directly proportional to the number of sister in laws your wife possess) and remember curry leaves adds so much flavor to the dish. Now cut the idlis into small chunks and mix it along with the onions and green chillies.  Making Idly takes few minutes – time it takes for Mother in law to appreciate their daughter whereas Idly upma just requires two minutes to cook – the time it takes for any Mother in law to appreciate Daughter in law for any of their work.  Now Idly upma is ready and it absolutely does not require any side dish.

   If you are running short of resources and you have to make best use of your current resources then Idly upma is a standing testimony. On top of not requiring any side dish you can either have it warm or even take it later. By this time if you are reminded of Devayani preparing Idly upma for her dad in Suryavamsam then we strike a same wavelength . 

 

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