{"id":20683,"date":"2018-06-21T20:01:39","date_gmt":"2018-06-21T20:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogbox.indianeagle.com\/?p=20683"},"modified":"2018-07-02T13:14:00","modified_gmt":"2018-07-02T13:14:00","slug":"chennai-eniyavan-mallipoo-idli-varieties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.indianeagle.com\/travelbeats\/chennai-eniyavan-mallipoo-idli-varieties\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Chennai’s Eniyavan, an Auto-rickshaw Driver and Class 8 Dropout, who Makes 2000 Idli Varieties"},"content":{"rendered":"
How many varieties of idli have you tasted or heard of? Five, ten, fifteen or twenty! Chennai, a haven of idli and dosa for foodies, boasts as many as 2000 varieties of idli. All thanks to M Eniyavan, a Class 8 dropout and former auto-rickshaw driver who created and recreated these many idli varieties for the city folks and tourists.<\/p>\n
Popularly known as \u2018Idli Eniyavan,\u2019 the Chennaite not only switched from driving an auto-rickshaw to running a restaurant but went on to invent more than 2000 varieties of idli. Inspired by a daily female passenger who used to carry idli in his auto, Eniyavan\u2019s journey is an inspiring story of his zeal for innovation much like the story of Pune\u2019s Navnath Yewle Chaiwala<\/span><\/a> who earns Rs 12 lakh a month.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Chennai-based Eniyavan sells and serves over 30 idli varieties at his restaurant, Mallipoo Idli which he set up in 1997. The 48-year-old immersed himself so deep in the art of creating idli varieties that the savory steamed Indian rice cake has become an elixir of his life.<\/strong> He says that he can do anything to make idli more appealing and delicious for gastronomes as it unlocked the door to a world of joy and happiness for him.<\/p>\n
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The fame, success and prosperity that he enjoys today were not handed to him on a silver plate.<\/strong> The Mallipoo Idli restaurant owner, Eniyavan worked his way up. Owing to his economically disadvantaged background, he dropped out of school after Class 8 in Coimbatore. Initially, he took up many odd jobs like waiting tables and washing tea glasses to earn his living. Then he switched to driving an auto-rickshaw in Coimbatore.<\/p>\n
It is said that there is a woman behind every successful man.<\/strong> The woman behind Eniyavan\u2019s success was his daily female passenger named Chandra, when he used to drive auto-rickshaw. Chandra was an idli seller. She would travel to sell her homemade idli in the nearby neighborhoods. One day she, carrying a huge trough of idli batter boarded Eniyavan\u2019s auto-rickshaw. She became a daily passenger and started delivery of her culinary merchandise in his auto. It piqued Eniyavan\u2019s interest in making and selling idli. He learned basics of the business during his regular conversation with her.<\/p>\n