In my school days when I was a little girl, one of the things I used to hate was Idlis. I guess, I always felt that the Idlis by themselves have no taste whatsoever and derive the overall effect, by what goes on the side. Even today I feel its true. So whenever Amma used to pack idlis for lunch, some how she would find that the would come back completely untouched,with a nice sprinkling of sand on them!!! Whenever she would ask me, It seems I would tell her that when my friends were playing, the sand got in to the box!!! Now when I think about it, I realize how naive I must have sounded. Did I assume her also to be so naive??? This would happen ever often, that finally she stopped giving me Idlis for lunch.

Much later, when I was at the hostel for my post graduation, I realised how heavenly  Idlis can be!!! There used to be this “Mobile” Idli Shop near my college hostel. He would simply take a plastic plate, grab a piece of banana leaf and place three piping hot idlis on them and serve them with a side of sambar and coconut chutney. My joy knew no bounds and I was so tired of the hostels spicy greasy food, I welcomed simple Idlis. I knew that they could never upset my stomach. It was always a safe bet. Many days,we would pack a few extra idlis and bring them to the hostel to make Idli Upma the next day. As I was making them for breakfast this morning, I remembered lessons that life had taught me , with the humble “Idlis” over the years….

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 Leftover Idlis.

1/2 Onion Chopped fine.

Salt

1/2 spoon of Red Chilli Powder.

1 1/2 – 2 spoons of Idli Gunpowder or Idli Molagapodi.

1/4 spoon of Karuvepalai Podi or Curry Leaves Powder.

Seasoning:

A spoon of oil, mustard seeds, broken urad dhal, curry leaves, hing.

PREPARATION:

• Crumble the Idlis in to little bite sized pieces and set aside spread out on a plate. If you feel that the Idlis are a little dry and rough, sprinkle a teeny bit of water and pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes.
• When the Idlis are still hot, sprinkle a tad more of salt, red chilli powder and hing.
• In a kadai, add a spoon of oil and when its hot, add the urad dhal, mustard, hing and curry leaves.
• When the mustard splutters, immediatelyadd the chopped onions and give it a quick stir and allow to slightly become a pinkish brown.
• Add the  the crumbled and spiced  pieces of Idlis.
• Allow to stir well and let the powders mix well.
• After a few minutes, add the spoon of Idli Molagapodi as well as the Karuvepalai Podi and mix in it.
• Allow 2 minutes for them to mix well and switch iff heat.
• Serve Hot garnished with curry leaves and a dollop of ghee for the kids!!!

HINT:

Another version is to saute onions after seasonings, before adding the crumbled Idlis. Personally, I dont prefer it as I add the Molagapodi to it. But that gives a completely different tryst to the taste.

Easy N Tasty Idli Upma being sent to Divya`s Show Me Your Breakfast Event at her blog.