idly is idly what is in the name?

Idly is the favorite food of south India. Almost in all four states of south India you find idly . The exact date and origin of idly cannot be traced . Some Tamil scriptures have mentioned about the food item that is similar to the idly. The present day idly is made out of rice and dehusked lentil batter which is allowed to ferment .Then the fermented batter is filled In a mould specially made for idly-filling. In early days , kadai was used, the idly-mould used to be placed inside the kadai. Allow the "idly appartus" to be steamed for 20 minutes then allow it to cool for another 10 minutes then open the "lid " of the "apparatus" you get steamy idlies ready. Nowadays, idly cooker replaces the kadai format. Even microwave Owens accommodates idly cooking.

BEST SIDE DISHES : At home, idly is combined with milagai podi(special red chilli cum coconut powder) add a little dash of sesame oil over the idly then add chilli powder nothing can come near to it. In some cases, curd with chilli powder is added to feel like having a curd rice.
If you take idly-sambhar in restaurants, idly -sambhar is the ideal pair( GEMINI ganesan got the nickname of ''sambhaar'' because in one of his films he drank several cups of sambhaar for two idlis ). In selecting the right sambhaar I always advice murungakkai vengaya sambhaar(Drum stick cum onion sambhaar) .
HOW TO EAT: On my recent visit to Bangalore, I saw the people using forks and knives to eat idlis. Remember, idly is a south Indian food so one has to use the hand otherwise you will not get the real taste of the idly. In another instance, a north Indian takes one morsel in one hand, drinks sambhaar with other hand making the situation funny . Atleast, he can be forgiven because of his demographic limitation of food etiquette. (what is worst that the people of southern states use forks to eat dosas, pesarratu the very scene is pathetic) Hence, my advice is to enjoy idly-eating order two idlis then order four to five cups of sambhaar Mix idlis with sambhaar , in the process, the idlis ''figure'' should get disfigured .never mind ask for more sambhaar use your five fingers take one morsel after another aaha...aahaa.. beshbesh....rombo nalla irrukku....
NOTE : At the end,Don't fail to pay the hotel bill after enjoying idlis.