Google Doodle celebrates - 'Idly' !!

Did you notice today - Google has a special Doodle  - it is ‘Idlies’ -  the iconic South Indian dish – celebrating its rich cultural and culinary legacy across India.  The doodle transforms the Google logo into idlies, batter bowls and chutneys on a traditional banana leaf. It brings global attention to the breakfast that is enjoyed by millions.

 

Google wrote, "Today's Doodle celebrates idli, a savoury, steamed South Indian cake made from a fermented batter of rice and urad dal." The Doodle, published on Google’s official Doodles portal, marks a cultural tribute rather than an anniversary-linked observance. 

While March 30 is officially marked as World Idli Day!!, there is no particular festival or anniversary associated with October 11. Instead, Google often launches Doodles to celebrate the culinary and cultural significance of dishes that unite people of all backgrounds. The 2025 Doodle is intended as an independent tribute to idli’s status as a nutritious, vegan, and gluten-free superfood  

 

Everyone knows that ‘Idly’ is very popular across South India – the  savory rice cake made from a fermented batter of de-husked black lentils and rice, steamed into soft, fluffy cakes.   

South Indians are known connoisseurs of food, fond of rice dishes.  The rice cake is most closer to their hearts.  These 2 to 3 dia rice cakes made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented dehusked  lentils and rice, more famously known as “Idli” is devoured by all.  Hotels and eateries, big or small – sell them in large numbers irrespective of the time of a day as children and elderly people, alike eat this as this is not only feasty but also most healthy food easily digestible.  It goes well with coconut chutney, green chutney made of puthina or with onion chutney  or with sambar made with small onions.  The fermentation process breaks down the starches so that they are more readily metabolized by the body. 

Idlies served hot with side dish are devoured by people.  In most hotels, people often start their orders with 2 idlies or with idly/vada.  There are hundreds of hotel in every part of Chennai and can you believe that this hotel in Triplicane  attracts hundreds only for its ‘sambar idli’.  At a time when pastas / burgers and pizzas sell, people throng this hotel for ordering idly.  Steaming hot idlies are served almost everywhere.

 

Rathna Café, Triplicane,  is situated at the junction of Bharathi Salai (Pycrofts road) and Triplicane High road.  It reportedly was opened immediately after Independence in 1948 and has maintained its quality through passing years.  It did not reduce the size or quality even during the emergency period clips regular eaters.  One will be surprised to know that when prices of all commodities are spiralling up and when everyone is cutting corners either in size or in serving the accompaniments, this hotel is different.  There might be eateries which would serve chutney in limited manner.  At Ratna café, the most ordered food is ‘sambar idly’ – steaming hot rice cakes soaked in onion sambar dwarfing the idlies themselves.  Before you would finish half, the friendly server would pour more sambar.  Even when you pack something for home, you get a big packet of sambar proving to be a big hit in the locality and outside.     

According to culinary experts, idly is made of four parts of uncooked boiled rice to one part of full black gram (urad dal) soaked in water and then grinded to a specific consistency in a heavy wet grinder.  This batter would be left to ferment overnight until it expands almost to about  2½ times its original volume. The next morning,  the idli batter could be put into moulded plates specially made (depending on the size of the cooker, the container can hold 6,8,10,24 or..)  In households, they often use a rice cooker without the weight [closing the nozzle] allowing steam to come out.  There will not be  whistling sound allowing the people at home to concentrate on morning news and on reading newspaper.  In hotels and other eateries, there would be a perforated tray mould placed above the boiling water in a metal pot.  Some might put a cloth before placing the batter on the holes in the trays.  Then they are let out for a few minutes around 20 minutes depending on the size and now you have steaming white attractive balls of edible cake called idly. 

 

Mouthwatering – is it not ?    In days when the moulded cooking plates were not popular, the thick batter used to be poured on clothes tightly held on concave cooking pan or tavas filled to the half with water.    Whilst this is the traditional one, ‘kushbu idly’ hit the headlines.  It was fluffy soft version with some special ingredients. There is other one – thought not available in most parts of Tamilnadu, known as Ramasseri idly.  Ramasseri, an offbeat village is known for the idlis it makes—the delicious Ramasseri Idli.   

                ‘Google doodles’ –  are the Google logo on search page which many a times are animated expressions.  Google puts special doodles marking special occasions and days.  Google doodles on homepage of the search engine has made it more fun and enjoyable for the users and nobody ever anticipated that it would become so popular.    

The very first Doodle launched as an “out of office” message of sorts when company founders Larry and Sergey went on vacation,  but in the past 25 years Doodles have grown into a global phenomenon celebrating heroes, events, culture, places and so much more.

 
Interesting !
 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
11.10.2025