My idly

In 1960-something, in Kharkari, Haryana, there was no Food food tv channel.  There was no Khana Khjana. There was no Kitchen galleries. There was no Amazon.com to help you out in the absence of these places.  So, what on earth did a person do when they needed a round idly moulds with pores and there were none to be found?

Most people (and I include myself in this group) would pick another recipe.  If they didn’t have all the ingredients and tools already tucked in their kitchen they could find it a few blocks away or with the click of a button.  Now, I’m a big fan of easy cooking and shortcuts.  I’m in love with my electric hand mixer and my non-stick bake ware.  Many would argue that all the technologies and tools have encouraged a new surge of creativity and possibilities. Sometimes, I believe that’s true. But, what about the old creativity?  What about that real innovation? The kind that got lost somewhere between Kitchen Aid and Cuisine art.  The kind that involves cooking with the ingredients that are seasonal and available, and making substitutions if you can’t find idly mix ready to make  flour or amul butter or if they forgot to fly the Cherries  in from Chile. I like the creativity that involves looking at finding ways around limitations, and inspires you to CREATE.

I’ll tell you what my Moma did when she couldn’t get a idly molds to make idlies in Kharkari, Haryana. She used a pressure cooker pan.  That’s right.  A good old-fashioned aluminum cooker pan.  The kind you probably can’t find anymore. Unfortunately, the one I did find, at Kitchen gallery, so I had to pull the idly  out in pieces. It still tasted amazing.

I will post the recipe for the idly of that day later on!

Today i stumbled upon  THIS  inspirational blog.

Have a read!