Specialty idlis at Rama Nayak's Udipi Idli House

- By Aishwarya Pramod

I thought I knew idlis. I thought they were a tasty, healthy staple, if a little boring at times. But recently I visited Rama Nayak's Udipi Idli House, and tasted idlis in a very new way. Who knew idlis could be so exciting?!

Here are the dishes we ordered:

Masala-idli with sambar and chutney

Oondi Dalitoya

The oondi is a steamed rice dumpling (like idli). Dalitoya is a type of simple but delicious dal flavoured with lots of hing (asafoetida). I love hing, so I loved this dish.

Jackfruit idli (fanas muddo)

This was my absolute favourite. It was sweet and rich, especially with all that butter on top. A bottle of kesari juice is behind the idli.

The menu

 The menu was wide-ranging (click for larger view). Maybe I'll try pepper idli and rava idli next time

Accompaniments

The two tpes of podi with oil just make everything better.

All in all, a good meal was had by all. If you haven't been to this cafe, you're missing something!