Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Podi Idli (spicy fried idlis) and Appe

Bangalore has restaurants serving south indian food at every nook and corner, small places serving fresh hot tasty idlis, variety of dosas and mixed rice variations.
Popularly called 'darshini', these are quick efficient places, where you may need to stand around a table and gobble down your food..The menus are written on a black board or in more fancy ones, displayed with colourful pictures alongside...
This reminds me of a place I had gone to with a friend, who was not too familiar with the local language and cuisine...On the menu, they had a line saying 'hot baths available' and she couldn't understand how a person could have a hot bath here !
It was really hilarious because the 'bath' here was actually a misspelt 'bhath', which means rice and 'hot baths' meant you would get hot tamarind rice, lemon rice, coconut rice, etc...

podi ildi

With so many little restaurants all over the place, I was pleasantly surprised to see 'South Indies', a very upmarket, fancy place open in Bangalore, serving vegetarian South Indian food...The first time I have ever eaten 'podi idlis' was at this place and they were really delicious...Simple to make with leftover idlis, and really tasty, its a standard snack at home now...

podi idli piece

I tend to get bored having the same type of breakfast everyday, so when I make the batter for idlis, its idlis on day 1, podi idlis with the remaining idlis, as an afternoon snack, appe/paniyarams on day 2, dosas on day 3 and if there is any batter remaining, it becomes rava dosa on day 4 !
Here's a look at the appe getting done on the pan...

appe kaili

I make my molaga podi from Usha's recipe. It turns out so good, that my MTR chutney podi has been neglected completely now

molaga podi

The idlis from Madhuram's recipe on Beyond Curries


Podi Idli

What you need -

4 idlis (these should ideally be leftover idlis, not hot ones)
2 tbsp molaga podi
1 tsp mustard seeds
a few curry leaves
2 tsp til / gingelly oil

What you do with it -

Cut the idlis into wedges or bite sized pieces
Heat the oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and curry leaves
Once the mustard splutters, add half the podi
Add the idli pieces and stir
Add the remaining podi and another tsp of oil
Fry on low heat till it gets a nice brown colour
Serve hot


Appe

2 cups idli batter
1 onion
handful of coriander leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp salt

Mix all the ingredients
Heat the appe kadai / paniyaram chaati / Aebleskiver pan on a low flame
Put in a dot of oil in each cavity and swirl the pan around so the oil coats the entire cavity
Spoon in the batter into the cavity, upto 3/4th level of the cavity
Cover the pan and keep on low heat
After about 3 mins, turn each appe over and keep on heat for 1 more min

Serve with chutney, sambar, molaga podi

15 comments:

SJ said...

You are best person to tell me the all the best food joints in B'lore. POdi Idli ayyo me wants. I love idlis in anyform.

sayantani said...

Hi Arch...great to know that you are in bangalore...me too. the fried idlis look great. a mouthwatering snack I guess.

sayantani said...

an out of context question...hoping you dont mind. please let me know which brand of yeast you used? I tried to bake bread a couple of times and everything went wrong cause of that thing.

Sharmila said...

I love fried idlis ... but not deep fried as they serve in restaraunts. Got to try that podi.My appe pan is still waiting for inaguration. :-)

s said...

Arch thanks for your detailed instruction but after all my efforts my dough dint rise much. after the kneading the dough was quite springy but it rose a little (about 30-50 percent). i used best brand. anyways sorry for boring you with all these...but am so sad as it refused to rise.

Yasmeen said...

Spiced idlis sound doubly delicious :D

nandini.p said...

i love podi idlis.. Perfect for an rainy evening... oooh craving for it . 'Idli on the fork' shot is beautiful!.

Usha said...

Lovely post, I had a good laugh about the bath/bhath confusion:-) Podi idlis sound fascinating and delicious !

Thanks for trying my molaga podi and I am so glad you like it....

roma said...

I really liked the idea of spicing up idlies with pudi. Sounds delicious!

A_and_N said...

I'm, coming to Bangalore and am going to eat EVERY single day :D

I can eat Idli only in the form of podi idli!

amna said...

i got this as finger food at a fancy pub here in SG. In the dark I couldn't make it out but one bit and I was like "wow"

delhibelle said...

I've tried reviving leftover idlis somewhat similarly, but mine never get so evenly fried and spiced. Yours make me want to try again.

RShan said...

Love love love podi idlis - but havent had them outside actually! Yummy!

Miri said...

Oops that was me Miri!

Dee said...

Hey Archie, I tried your Podi Idlis today. I did not have the molaga podi masala(dont think I can get one here). But I used sambar powder instead. Nevertheless, the outcome was a real hit.
I say that because ...generally, hubby does not say a word on whatever I give him for breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner. He is the 'no comment' kinda a guy when it comes to food. But this one really made him talk. He actually said 'I liked today's breakfast'.

Thanks....to you:-)!!It made my day!!

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