Thiruvananthapuram’s Eateries put their spin on idlis

Growing up, Athira J was not an enormous fan of idlis. “If someone at home said we have idli for breakfast, my whole mood would be spoiled,” she says. However, now, Chaikaari, the eatery she runs together with her cousin Arun Kumar BS, sells round 2.5 lakhs idlis a day, by its 5 shops within the metropolis. The model serves varieties similar to ghee podi (a lentil-based spice seasoning) idli, kariveppila (curry leaf) podi idli, butter podi idli, ellu (sesame) podi idli, cilantro podi idli and peri peri idli.

Athira J and Arun Kumar BS, founders of Chaikaari.
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Chaikaari is among the many a number of eateries within the metropolis which have rolled out a spread of idli varieties. From Ramasseri idli, nearly the scale of a pancake with its origins in a village in Palakkad district, to several types of idlis, the steamed dish is offered in attention-grabbing variants, due to shops similar to Suda Suda Idli, Modak Food and Podi Idlyum Kattanum, amongst others within the metropolis.

Kariveppilapodi idli from Chaikaari
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The idli, as soon as labelled “the most boring thing in the world” by a British historian on X (beforehand Twitter) in 2020, despatched ripples throughout the web with Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor backing the rice and lentil-based South Indian breakfast dish. The latter retorted on the platform saying, “Civilisation is hard to acquire: the taste & refinement to appreciate idlis, enjoy cricket, or watch ottamthullal (a dance and poetic performance) is not given to every mortal. Take pity on this poor man, for he may never know what Life can be.”

For actor Venkitesh VP a.ok.a Venky, who co-owns Suda Suda Idli situated close to Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, cooking and serving idlis have a deep household connection. His grandmother, Saraswathy Ammal, used to run an idli store a long time in the past, incomes her the title Idli Amma within the West Fort space. He considers it destiny that now he’s operating an idli kiosk along with his buddies Sreeram Krishnaswami, Vignesh G, Arun Kumar B V and Vijay Kumar.

Owners of Modak: (from left) Vijay Kumar, Vignesh G, Venkitesh VP, Arun Kumar B, Sreeram Krishnaswami
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The concept of beginning the store popped up throughout a dialogue along with his buddies when he returned residence to the town following a break from a Telugu film. “Almost a month after that, we managed to bring our plan to fruition. I love idlis. It is my favourite after porotta and beef,” says Venky.

Soya idli being made at Suda Suda Idli
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NIRMAL HARINDRAN

The outlet serves 5 idli varieties, together with soya idlis (soya chunks cooked in masala folded into the idli batter), flat, thick butter thatte idlis coated with two sorts of podi and mini podi idlis, fried in ghee, and doused in sambar and chutneys.

Butter thatte Idli from Suda Suda Ildi
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NIRMAL HARINDRAN

Owner of Modak Food, a Kazhakkoottam-based cloud kitchen, Arun Anirudhan, says, “I have always liked idli and found it to be a healthy choice for breakfast.” Formerly working in Bengaluru, he was set to grow to be a foodpreneur, impressed by what he had tasted in Karnataka, finally together with podi idli, butter idli, ghee idli and so on in his menu.

Arun Anirudhan who runs Modak Food
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Podi idli from Modak Food
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Kariveppila podi idli, ellu podi idli, heart-shaped idli, ragi idli and many others are served by Modak, which started operations in May 2024. The idlis can be found all through the day on meals supply apps and are served with sambar, tomato chutney, coconut chutney and kesari at costs ranging from ₹110.

A latest addition to Suda Suda Idli’s menu is dum idli, which Venky found on the units of a Vijay Devarakonda film. “It was eaten there, especially by assistant directors and is made by mixing idli, sambar and uzhunnuvada (urad dal fritter) inside a container called a dum. You can have it with ghee and podi. We serve only around eight portions of it every day,” says Venky.

He provides, “Earlier our menu had ghee thatte idli and rasam idli, which we thought weren’t working. We also served cheratta (coconut shell) idli, but had to stop it since the cooking time was longer. They are planning to include a paneer idli for weekends and a pizza idli, with toppings like cheese, tomatoes, capsicums, corn and so on. The prices start from ₹40.

It was two years ago that Praveen Venky and wife, Rukmini started a vegetarian food stall Podi Idlyum Kattanum, opposite the Bhajanappura Palace, East Fort, after years of serving food exclusively during the Sabarimala season (November to January). “We decided to open a permanent outlet after I gave up my job as a temple priest. By then we were sure about having a regular flow of customers,” says Praveen.

Praveen Venky and Rukmini
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The outlet serves plain idli, sambar idli and Ramasseri idli with 5 choices for seasoning similar to curry leaf, mint, coriander, crimson chilli and black pepper, relying on the provision of substances. The idlis are all priced ₹50 and ₹60 and the plain idli prices ₹10 per piece, says Praveen.

“We are going to introduce muringayila (drumstick leaves) podi as a seasoning, which will be nutritious as well,” says Athira. Among the specials at Chaikaari is neer idli, which is mini idlis soaked in neer chutney (a Karnataka type chutney made with coconut and roasted gram).

Neer idli from Chaikaari
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The idlis at Chaikaari are served with coconut chutney, a inexperienced chutney made with mint, coriander and curry leaves, a coriander seed chutney, nellika (amla) rasam, sambar and kesari. The idlis are priced from ₹149 onwards.

Varieties similar to kheema idli, fried idli, chilli idli, sodhi (Tirunelveli-style vegetable stew) idli and so on are additionally out there within the metropolis at eateries similar to Namma Veedu Vasanta Bhavan, Ariya Nivas and so on.

With a plethora of those steamed goodness choices at their disposal, some clients are lastly giving idli an opportunity. Karthika JS, who works at an organization in Technopark, says, “Normally, I am not fond of things which are steamed, and I don’t like having idlis at home. But now, when we go out, we go for the idli varieties and are willing to try more.”Athira says, “We also have a lot of North Indian customers who are not used to this food enjoying idlis now.”