Bengaluru: After plastic sheet ban, cloth back in idli making

Eateries serving idli have discarded plastic and switched to muslin cloth in their idli steamers. 

In February, the Karnataka state health department banned the use of plastic sheets in idli-making.

Dinesh Gundu Rao, health minister, announced the decision after the state Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA) found 51 of 251 samples of idli “unsafe”, as “toxic chemicals from plastic leach into food, increasing health risks for consumers.” 

Metrolife checked with eateries across the city to see if the ban had taken effect.

Most darshinis we visited — from Bharani Cafe in Gandhi Nagar to Srirangam Cafe in Indiranagar — are using ‘paani panche’, a thin muslin cloth.

“Over the years, there have been many inventions with plastic and silicone, but traditionally, this cloth has been used to make idlis. We have been using only these since day one,” says Pradeep Hegde, proprietor, Veena Stores, Malleswaram. A metre of the cloth costs about Rs 100 and it lasts up to a year.

For Mohan Kumar, who sells idlis at a makeshift stall in Basavanagudi, a major concern is food wastage when he uses cloth.

“The cloth can be finicky. With plastic sheets, it is easier to get the idlis out of the moulds and there is never any residue. With paani panche, sometimes the idli is soggy, and sometimes half the idli gets stuck to the cloth. Often food gets wasted, as I can’t sell broken idlis,” he says.

Another concern many shared was the need to wash the cloth often. “My stall is on a footpath, and I don’t have a kitchen. The cotton cloth has to be washed each time before it is reused. This isn’t possible for me. I make idlis in smaller batches now,” says Gayatri, who has stopped using plastic sheets at her roadside stall in Rajajinagar.

Banana leaves are also being used instead of plastic sheets, but they aren’t as popular as muslin.

“Comparatively, it is more cost-effective to use cloth. It lasts longer. Prices of banana leaves change through the seasons,” says Naveen Shetty, owner, Krishna Vaibhav, Vijayanagar.

Lavanya Tiffin, a recently opened roadside stall in Indiranagar, is using Teflon-coated moulds to steam idlis. Each mould makes four large idlis, and costs about Rs 250.

Plastic still in use

While plastic sheets are no longer being used to prepare idlis, other forms of plastic continue to be used at the eateries.

At smaller eateries, plastic sheets are used on the plates in an attempt to reuse them and reduce the load of dishwashing.

“Our cooks use plastic gloves while making dosas, and I am concerned the plastic could melt when exposed to extreme heat. It is more hygienic to use clean hands, but customers prefer that we use gloves,” says Santosh Shanbhag, owner, Chalukya Samrat Cafe on St Marks Road.