Idlywood

The latest in a series of "eatable" photographs by my blog friend Magiceye/Deepak Amembal, is this highly mouth watering one of Idlies smothered with MolgaPudi...

Molgapudi, is a mixture made out of roasted and ground udad dal, chana dal, red chillies, mustard seeds, kadhipatta (curry leaves) , oil, hing(asoefatida), and salt.

Found in almost every home, it is often the garnish of choice when idlis are carried in school lunch boxes etc (where wet items may spill and are inconvenient).

There is nothing better than digging into idlies , smothered by a a paste of gingelly oil/ghee and MolgaPudi.....

Just brought to mind some places, where appearances are everything ......

Some arrive
like
A Suchitra Sen,
the soft curve
of her white palloo-covered head
and graceful contours,
on a bone china plate
fashionably aloof
from the
proletarian chutney,
and burning-with-ambition sambaar....

Some arrive,
like Paresh Rawal,
hefty
in a white Dhoti,
amidst masses of plates
containing brethren,
carried by fellows
with pencils stuck behind ears,
every one's orders
stuck in their minds,
and
are dug into
by a hungry audience
itching to dunk
them
into a
flustered sambaar
high on color,
but low on quantity...

But some,
dedicated to
a lunch-box life,
make the best
of the Molga Poodi,
cowering,
convincingly
in a box-corner,
and get pushed around
so much
in school bags
in short recesses
and long kicks,
that they emerge
at lunchtime,
hot, red and spicy,
in lipsmacking glory,
like perhaps
an item girl,
an un-badnam Munni,
trying to sing
a Sheila song,
"My name is Idli,

Idli ki Jawani,

yeh saare yum yum cheezomein,

Mai dekh khadi hoon Raanee...."