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Saturday, July 18, 2009

Ramaserry Idlis




















































Driving in the rains in Kerala is a delight
of course this statement should be taken with a ton of salt as potholes ,narrow roads with steep edges and murderous drivers demonise the delight !
But then if one just looked around the landscape was a feast ,
soothing green ,foggy clouds ,thunderous rains ,windswept umbrellas ,wet children with schoolbags ,overfilled buses ,drenched cyclists ,here lay the real chicken soup to the soul !
We were on our way from visiting a family deity in Nallepully Kavu a hamlet in Palghat district ,after our divine responsibilities we were looking forwards to our gastronomic one ,
It was breakfast time and we were heading towards the well known Ramaserry Idlis !
This is available in only one place in the world and this was where we were headed to ,
Near Elapully we turned towards the village Ramaserry







the country road wound its way and we reached a small vilage with a few shops and a temple ( Mannath Bhagavathi temple )
On enquiry from a group of youngsters I came to know that there are four families in the idli making art and it was a tradition handed over to them by thier ancestors .
Chittoori ammal was said to be the prima donna who bequeathed the secret recipe to her offsprings .
Way back some families from the weaving community in Kancheepuram ( Mudaliar families ) in Tamilnadu migrated to Kerala and settled down in Palghat ,they left due to lack of work and as all they knew was weaving and making these delicious idlis ,somehow they gained fame in the latter which they used to make and sell in Palghat town .
thier idlis were different from the conventional ones as these were flat more like appams soft and succulent and taken with chammandi ,podi ,or if you want chicken or whatever
( in the shops only vegetarian fare was available ) .
The special taste came from the ingredients and the making .
specific varieties of rice were used and the ratio of urad dal to rice, its fermentation were all specific and exacting ,the idlis were steamed in special clay pots only in firewood ( attempts to do the same in gas stoves in ambient five star kitchens were failures )
This was true gourmet food handed down the generations and just could not be commercialised ,maybe if it was it would reach the fame of Italian Pizzas or rather it should
We enjoyed the idlis ,and also bought some for taking home ( they last for more than 3 days )
a couple of links below on the same topic
so make a trip to Kerala preferably in the monsoon and while the rains make a pattern watch it tucking into these heavenly idlis .( food for the Gods indeed ) .
Note : if you are the type to look into ambience of eating places you better parcel them if not njoy !









































9 comments:

Maddy said...

have eaten it before, was great & as you explain it..maybe we will this time too..apparently plenty of roads are underwater in kerala

umeshkumar said...

Mouth watering inspite of heavy rains in Kerala. Hari you should visit my brother shop when you are in India next time.

നിരക്ഷരൻ said...

ഹ ഹ...കൊള്ളാം.
എന്റെ പോസ്റ്റിന്റെ ലിങ്കും കൊടുത്തോ...
താങ്ക്സ് ഡോക്‍ടര്‍ .... :) :)

Sadasiv Swain said...

Hope to make it sometime next monsoon to your place and probably to these idlis too.
I'm happy you are moving around Kerala and enjoying the landscape.

Unknown said...

A good post, Hari. Lovely photographs too. Whenever I am in Palghat I try to get some Ramasserry idlis. They are nice of course. But I didn't know the story behind it till I read your post.

Kannan said...

Dear Doctor Hari, Read about those yummy yummy Ramassery Iddalies. എന്തിനാ ഞങ്ങളെ വെറുതെ ഇങ്ങനെ കൊതിപ്പിക്കുന്നത്?!!

Ram

radha said...

If you ever are in Chennai - do stop over at Murugan Idlis. They are delicious.

devi said...

ramasseri iddali!..eppol arinju
kollam..good post

Unknown said...

amoos idlis not bad either!!

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