Ramasseri Idli

Last Sunday I crossed out a long-forgotten item from my travel bucket list. We were in Palakkad to visit the family deity and it was that hour between breakfast and lunch, when the stomach starts making anticipatory noises. On the road to Coimbatore we were debating where to break for lunch. Out of the blue, the magical four-letter word IDLI entered my head and I struggled to make an association. Google came to my rescue. Ramasseri Idli, it was. Having read about it in random travel blogs and articles, I had stashed it away in my memory. The retrieval was perfectly timed, for we were just minutes from turning right to Palakkad – Pollachi Road. Ramasseri Idli Kada (shop) can be spotted on Google Maps and is less than 7kms (10 min drive) from this junction.

Ten minutes fled in a blur of green paddy fields and as we slowed down in front of Shankar Vilas, out stepped, Jeevanandan, the proprietor, looking exactly like in the photo in the Hindu article. It is a nondescript place with a signboard in Malayalam that will never catch your eye. The tiny verandah of the shop doubles up as the kitchen where the Idlis are cooked over firewood. A framed yellowing copy of the Hindu article hung askew on the wall. The inner room has two long wooden tables and few wooden chairs for the diners.

You have arrived in time, said Jeevanandan. For a fresh batch of Idlis were about to be taken out. Only 5 idlis per batch, they were unlike any other Idlis I have seen; flatter and bigger. As he spread the batter for the next batch, I tried to quiz him. Nothing special about the dough, he said rather unconvincingly. The unusually soft texture belied his explanation. Obviously, he didn’t want to reveal his trade secret!

We sat down at the long table and the steaming hot idlis were served on a banana leaf and slathered with 2 kinds of chutneys – coconut and tomato. Other than size and shape, another unique thing about the Ramasseri Idli is its texture; soft like flower petals. As we tucked into them greedily, Jeevanandan said he typically makes 500 idlis in a day. Most of them are sent out to restaurants in and around Palakkad. Rarely do people come to his shop to eat. And the ones who come are those who have read about it and travelled far in its quest. That made me feel special.

There are about a dozen families in the tiny village and they all come together to make more idlis on festive occasions. Believe it or not, one Ramasseri Idli costs a mere 6 Rupees.

As we drove away, satiated, I spotted the signboard of the other Idli Kada – Sree Saraswathy Tea Stall – barely 100 m down the road. I have to sample their idlis during my next visit to Palakkad.