Curious Case of Viral Idli Stick: Check out who is behind this creative idea!

There is this image of Idli that has gone viral on social media platforms. A Mumbai-based home baker Minal Badheka recently shared this photo of stick Idli, and it is now everywhere. But, it was also another Mumbaikar, Chef Kashish Thakur, who came up with this innovative stick Idli in 2019 very randomly.

You may have seen the viral image of Idli on an ice cream stick. Some say, it is a restaurant in Bangalore that is serving regular Idli with this twist, but the viral image belongs to Minal Badheka, who is a home baker and runs a cloud kitchen by the name Minal's kitchen. We reached out to Minal and asked her how did she make this stick Idli, and she was sweet enough to tell us the story.

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A post shared by Minal (@minalskitchen8373)

"Well I am a home baker, but I have been always experimenting with food for my kids. I used to take classes, so I had many moulds, and I have also earlier made mickey mouse and heart-shaped Idli. So, this stick idli was just a regular thing I did for my kids, and then I shared it in our WhatsApp group 'Mumma's Creativity', and it went viral.", she says.

This WhatsApp group is made by the mothers of all the kids in school, where the ladies share tiffin ideas and unique recipes they cook. Minal too posted the image just like how everybody does, but it became famous.

After the picture getting viral without proper credits, Minal decided to share the image again with her watermark. Now, finally, Minal owns her image of stick Idli. She also thanks the members of Mumma's Creativity for urging her to take a stand for the same.

But, Minal is not the only one who came up with this idea of unique Idli!

After researching a little more, we were surprised to know that this idli was also steamed earlier by chef Kashish Thakur in 2019. Kashish is the founder of Fudkish in Mumbai and is popular in her neighborhood for making unique recipes such as Dhokla Pizza and Donut Idli. In 2019, during the celebration of Ganesh Chathurthi, she made this idli with the help of cakesickle mould, and it was a big hit.

"I had bought these cakesicle moulds and made these idlis. Since I have always been into creating unique dishes, so I made these stick idlis on that occasion. I had served it on a pizza tray along with sambhar and coconut chutney in coconut shells as Prasad to Bappa. Also, I had sautéed the idli with chili flakes, and Podi chutney( a dry chutney). I was working in an Asian restaurant at that time, and I had not established Fudkish by then.", she says.

It will be on the menu soon!

Kashish made these Idlisicles and posted the image on her Instagram, but as her ID is private, this image wasn't noticed by many. She made these Idlisicles again in 2020 and is now planning to launch a new outlet, particularly dedicated to Idlis. " I already have Fudkish and Fudkish Local that serves Asian cuisines, and Vada Pav respectively. But, I am working on my third outlet, which will have authentic and fusion Idli in the menu.", she explains.

Well, people have different opinions on this viral Idli. Some are not totally up for it, while some are in love. One user on Reddit shared that her grandpa sent the viral picture on their family group on WhatsApp and asked her mom to give it a shot. She made normal idlis, stuck them into some popsicle sticks, and cut off the excess Idli. The result looks quite similar!

Well, if you ask us, we really like this unique version, but the Twitterattis had a lot of things to say. Some comments were hilarious, while some of them implied, they would love to try these stick idlis. Scroll down to read!

Also Read: How about a big, and flaky bite of Croissant Vada Pav?

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