-Ayshwarialakshmi (cbedit@imaws.org)
‘World Idli day’ has been a globally recognized as a day for Idli. This comes from the efforts of a single person who wanted to make Idli, a healthier option and not boring.
Mr Eniyavan, an auto driver, migrated from Coimbatore to Chennai with dreams start his own business. In Chennai, he was thrown into reality when he began a small business with two idli steamers. He had no business for a few days and then came a time where the ‘Koodai Veedu’ (bucket home) he lived in was flooded with drainage water and rainwater. He had to stay there, keep himself safe in that place for 24 hours before any help came. His Idli steamers and other instruments for his business were caught in the flood.
“I have seen all the ups and downs in my life with Idli as my sole companion. What I have now is all credited to the days of difficulty I had. I would not give up even then. I continued to make idlis. All of a sudden, I decided to do something unique with Idlis. This where my success story started,” said Eniyavan.
This World recorder achiever said most of his recipes come from the need to make his kids eat vegetables. His family has always been the first to taste and test his recipes. He entered the Guinness Book of World record by preparing idli weighing 124.8-kilograms.
Eniyavan’s favorite among his variety of Idli is Tender coconut Idli. “I remember the first time I made this. The first thought I had when I made this was why not substitute tender coconut water instead of water to make the batter. Then came my favorite version of Idle,” he added.
Today, as much as the taste is given importance, the looks and presentation of the food matter a lot. This gave the Idli King an inspiration to make Idlis in various shapes and sizes. The most famous of them is the Mickey Mouse Idle and KungFu Panda idlis. “These Idlis are not as difficult as we think. There are no added colours but just vegetable of the same colour is used. For Instance, to make an orange-colored batter carrot were used, to make a dark brown Chocolates were used and so on,” said Eniyavan.
One of his recipe’s chocolate Idli comes from an idea to make his daughter, who is studying for the doctor, eat beetroot. He mashed beetroot and added it to the batter along with Chocolate. This was instantly like by his daughter and there came kids’ favorite chocolate idli.
“In reality, I am not doing something unique or different. These recipes are those that can be tried in each of our house. I just doing something that has not been attempted by others. This is why I became who I am. My thought process behind each and every variety of Idlis is what should I do to make everyone like Idli and make it a healthier option. I had to ensure different idlies can give maximum health benefits it can give,” said Enyiavan.
Another instance he gave was when his son had asked for a Pizza. Eniyavan felt how could he make a pizza a healthier option as he has been promoting healthier Idlies. From this came the idea of Pizza Idli, where he served idli with leftover vegetables and cheese.
“I want to make the world know of idli, its benefits, and the various types. Idlies are the easiest to make and are not interesting to the kids. It is an easy digestive dish. It possible to make idlies in various flavour as per our wants,” said Eniyavan.
ADVERTISEMENT: India’s leading food product manufacturers Masala Chef. www.thillaismasala.com). wishes Mr Eniyavan for their growing area. For collaborations and samples: +91 7397731654 or https://www.facebook.com/masalachef.in
