From Kancheepuram to Chennai: The journey of Kovil idlis on wheels

CHENNAI: On a serene morning in Anna Nagar, the roads are filled with fog, and a middle-aged person arrives in his blue TVS 50, with a transparent square-shaped box with two racks to it. The moment he put his two-wheeler on the centre stand, a group of people mobbed him to buy his steaming hot idlis.

Nethaji moved to Chennai three decades ago. “Kanchipuram is famous for the ancient temples and authentic Kanchi silks. When it comes to food, the kovil idli, originally called the kudalai idli, is unparalleled,” says Nethaji Durai, who also runs a wholesale jaggery business. As curiosity builds up, we couldn’t resist but ask him, “But why is it called kovil idly? “Those who know Kanchipuram well, call it kovil idli because it is kept in front of the deities at the Varadharaja Perumal Temple and given as prasadam to the devotees,” he adds.

Kanchipuram idlis stay unique in the way of preparation and the ingredients added. “An ordinary idli will be prepared using rice, fenugreek and urad dal. But for our idlis, idli rice will not be used. Instead of that, raw rice will be used along with urad dal, fenugreek, pepper, cumin, dry ginger powder, asafoetida powder, gingelly oil and curry leaves,” Nethaji explains. The batter should be kept aside for at least eight hours. Then it will be steamed inside a pipe-shaped bamboo basket that has a banana and mandara leaves base. It takes two hours to cook and one idli would weigh two and a half kg.

Interestingly, to offer the authentic taste of the Kanchipuram idlis, Nethaji has come up with an idea. “It always was a dream for me to introduce the signature dish of my native to people here in Chennai. So, I started selling Kanchipuram idlis in 2014. Initially, it started as a thrice a week affair. But after some point, I stopped the door delivery. However, a few of my customers requested me to resume my business. This way they would come and buy the piping hot idlis,” he shares, adding that’s how the idlis on wheels concept popped up.

The Kanchipuram idlis’ day starts at four in the morning, where it is prepared and packed in Kanchipuram by Nethaji’s friend and his family, who have been in this business for generations. His other friend will pick up the packages and board them on a bus to Chennai. It will reach Koyambedu by 6.30 am where I will collect the idlis to distribute to the customers. “I have around 2,000 customers here in the city. The idlis are a bit sour in taste and are healthy as well,” he states. Each day, Nethaji would cover different neighbourhoods like Anna Nagar, West Mambalam, Mylapore and Tiruvanmiyur, to name a few.

Talking about the best accompaniment for Kanchipuram idlis, Nethaji suggests, “For ordinary idlis, we need accompaniments to add flavours. But kovil idlis are by itself flavourful with spices and it can be relished without any accompaniments. The texture is also quite hard. Idli podi soaked in gingelly oil is the best pair for Kanchipuram idlis. It goes well with pudina chutney and tomato chutney as well. However, according to me, sambar and coconut chutney don’t complement these Kudalai idlis.”

—To relish these hot Kanchipuram Idlis in Chennai, contact Nethaji Durai at 8667871438.