My mom’s principle about kesari-bhaath, the candy dish that defines Karnataka delicacies, is that it should have sufficient ghee to slip down your throat with nary a chew or swallow. I thought of this as I stood exterior Chandra Chat Centre in Vishveshwara Puram or V.V. Puram, a bustling neighbourhood in Basavanagudi, South Bengaluru.
I as soon as needed to reside right here as a result of Basavanagudi, together with Malleshwaram, is the portmanteau (combining two phrases to make up a brand new phrase) that gave R.Ok. Narayan’s fictional city of Malgudi.
I’m in Thindi Bheedhi (actually tiffin avenue), V.V. Puram’s “khao galli,” which is to Bengaluru, what Chandni Chowk’s meals streets are to Delhi. It’s round 6 pm, simply when the realm is opening up for the night’s enterprise. I’m right here as a result of I’m affected by post-Diwali food-withdrawal signs. I’ve determined that as an alternative of fasting or occurring diets and detoxing like my smart pals, I’ll merely eat some extra.
The place to start is the query. S. Ravindra, a good friend of mine, who lives in Basavanagudi, says that you just can’t get a nasty vada in Bengaluru. What does this imply for a customer? If somebody takes you to a darshini (just like a dhaba), go for a vada in some type, both dunked in sambar or rasam or simply by itself with chutney. You received’t go unsuitable.
In V.V. Puram, one of many vadas on provide is made with the hyacinth bean or avarekai. It’s seasonal and native, two phrases that cooks all around the world love. Avarekai, together with kadlekai (peanuts), are beloved by Bangaloreans. In actual fact, V.V. Puram hosts the annual avarekai mela in winter (December-January). Quite a lot of dishes are constructed from each peeled and unpeeled beans. By some estimates, some 1000 kgs of this bean get traded through the season.
I’m with Kunal Bysani, whose Instagram deal with, Ghatotkatcha, explains his love of meals. A fifth-generation Bangalorean, Kunal, is right here to present me a tour of the locations he likes in Thindi Bheedhi.
We start with V.B. Bakery (or Vishveshwarapuram Brahmins Bakery), identified for its khara biscuits, rusk, and dumrot– a candy made with ash gourd. It comes individually packed and resembles a pockmarked creme brulee, besides it has shredded ash gourd (petha or kumblekai) combined with dense quantities of ghee. Since I’m a savoury individual, I go for the KBC or Khara Bun Congress. Congress peanuts are what Bengaluru calls masala peanuts. Motive: these peanuts are cleaved in half, very similar to the Congress Occasion did in 1969. The KBC is a bun minimize in half, generously smeared with butter and full of Congress peanuts. Or perhaps this snack was standard in Congress get together conferences. Regardless of the cause, Congress peanuts can be found throughout Bengaluru.
A bizarre change occurred to me after I moved to Bengaluru. I’ve come to desire idlis to dosas. Bengaluru does idli effectively. There are rava idlis– invented in MTR, Bidadi thatte idli, which is concerning the dimension of a small plate, and naturally, the traditional idlis. I had each the thatte idlis and the traditional ones in Thindi Bheedi, and so they had been excellent. The place do you eat this? Sai idlis, Gurudev Consuming Home, it doesn’t matter. They’re all wonderful. Go the place the crowds are, and also you received’t go unsuitable.
If North Indian is your choice, go to Dev Sagar, which serves wonderful dabelis– though I hesitate to say this, provided that I’m not a North Indian and haven’t any notion of what constitutes a wonderful dabeli.
I suppose, you Mumbaikars or Delhiwallas have to return to attempt these out to verify.
On the finish of thindi bheedi are the distributors on push-carts. One man referred to as “Ashok Uncle” purveys corn in a wide range of methods. You will get child corn masala chat, which is sliced child corn with mango and spices. The “butta” or roasted corn is terrific right here. Kunal says that Ashok churns out “sustainable meals earlier than sustainability turned a watchword.” The newborn-corn chat, for example, is given to me within the corn peels. Leftovers are parcelled in reusable combination covers. There isn’t any trash across the store.
Subsequent door is Shivanna gulkand centre. Right here, recent gulkand turns into the bottom for ice cream and fruits that grow to be an increasing number of elaborate. Mine had chocolate-covered almonds strewn on high. What I’d do the subsequent time is simply attempt plain gulkand, which tasted recent with out being cloying.
After an evening of consuming, attempt the masala soda at Sri Ganesh fruit juice centre. The proprietor will pour you a masala soda, and the deal is that you need to constantly maintain sipping as he pours until the bottle is empty. This can be a “bottoms up” tango between pourer and drinker. In the long run, those that succeed get rewarded with a “good boy” or “good woman.”
Subsequent time, I’ll return and take a look at the dosas. There may be masala dosa, akki (rice) dosa, ragi-millet dosa and lots of extra.
(Shoba Narayan is Bengaluru-based award-winning creator. She can also be a contract contributor who writes about artwork, meals, vogue and journey for plenty of publications.)