Ramanagara, Karnataka, India

22^nd February 2014

Idli is undoubtedly my favorite breakfast. This traditional South India cake made of rice batter is hugely popular not only in the South but many other parts of India. I was aware of many variations of the traditional circular Idli, but stopping at a restaurant on the Bangalore-Mysore highway introduced me to a completely new variant. This was the ‘Mude Idli’, a traditional Mangalorean specialty. This variant is cylindrical shaped and comes wrapped in a certain kind of leaf, which is said to add a unique aroma and flavor to the idli. Slowly peeling off the leaf to get to my idli, I went about the job of satiating my taste buds with delicious chutney and Sambar as accompaniments.