Some food historians believe idli was derived from some steamed rice preparations from Indonesia.
Easy to make, these can be ready in minutes.
Indians in countries like the United States, China, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Egypt, Israel and South Africa celebrated the day with hoisting of the national flag and singing of patriotic songs.
The muted CPI inflation print at 5% earlier this week, followed by a similar WPI number released Wednesday, seems to have spurred India's central bank into action, is how the economists are reading into Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan's 25 basis point cut in repo rate.
A summary of the opening day's play from the Ranji Trophy matches at various venues across the country.
About 17 lakh investors, mostly in West Bengal, who have lost crores of rupees in the Saradha chit fund scam are fast losing hope. The scandal continues to roil West Bengal political circles with several ruling Trinamool Congress leaders being implicated and some arrested. Even West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's name has been dragged into the sordid mess. Indrani Roy presents a FAQ on what the scam is about and the main players behind it.