Kanchipuram idli on wheels, now in Chennai

Craving Kanchipuram kovil idli? It is now available in Chennai, at a "shop on wheels" run by Nethaji Durai. Nethaji visits one Chennai neighbourhoods every morning to sell Kanchipuram idlis.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of a busy morning, Nethaji Durai has parked his two-wheeler outside Srinivasa Perumal Koil in Besant Nagar and is placing a giant piece of Kanchipuram idli atop a manthara elai.

He slices the cylindrically-shaped idli into two, and further cuts them into neat smaller pieces, much like a cake. All this in front of the customer who has pre-booked his order.

Nethaji Durai’s ‘shop on wheels’ sells Kanchipuram kovil idli, famously associated with the Varadaraja Perumal temple in Kanchipuram.

Made using raw rice, urad dal and par-boiled rice with fenugreek seeds, along with pepper, jeera and other ingredients, the Kanchipuram idli is different from the popular idli that is a regular on the breakfast menu in most South Indian households. “And much tastier,” smiles Nethaji, “You do not usually get this in hotels in Chennai. Even in Kanchipuram, the few hotels offering it do not prepare in the authentic way.”

Nethaji’s idlis are made in Kanchipuram by his childhood friend who has been in the business for more than a decade now but prefers anonymity. He prepares it at 5am in the morning in Kanchipuram, and sends it through a bus service to Koyambedu, from where Nethaji picks it up. Each of these idlis weighs around two to two-and-a-half kilos, and is priced at ₹240 for 500 grams. It is sometimes consumed as is, but some people prefer to dip it in a sticky mix of podi and oil before eating it.

Earlier, Nethaji was delivering these idlis to customers at their doorstep, but that became logistically difficult. So, he came up with an idea: every morning, he stations his two-wheeler at a prominent spot in a particular neighbourhood; West Mambalam on Tuesdays, Triplicane on Wednesdays, Besant Nagar on Thursdays, Mylapore on Fridays and Nanganallur on Saturdays. “We are thrilled with the response. A lot of people call us in advance to pre-book their orders, and collect it near their neighbourhoods.”

Like Dinesh Ramachandran, a procurement analyst based in Adyar, did recently. “I hail from Kanchipuram and have grown up eating this idli,” he reveals. A chance WhatsApp forward mentioning this ‘Kanchipuram idli on wheels’ got him all excited, and he called and booked his order well in advance. “I just love the taste,” he adds.