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“Mangaluru”
“You mean Bangalore?”
“No, Mangaluru. It’s another city in Karnataka.”
This is how most of my conversations start when asked about my family roots. As a child, I spent most of my summer holidays in my maternal hometown, Mangaluru. I remember the long train journeys, sometimes stretching to two days! The end, however, justified the means in this case. I was always excited to go to my grandfather’s old Mangalorean house with ten rooms, a long corridor leading to the kitchen, and the outdoor bathing room with heated copper pots called bhan. I was also introduced to the pure joy of cooking with family members on a hot summer afternoon. The men would fetch fresh fish from the jetty early in the morning. In the meantime, the ladies would roast the spices and grind it into a fine paste, ready to be applied to the fish and turned into majestic curries or fried to perfection. Such is the authenticity of food being prepared in countless homes of Mangaluru. Above all, the local delicacies which are, unfortunately, rarely ever touted in any conversation deserve their due respect. To this end, let’s look at some of the lesser-known items offered around the place, which are anything but simple in taste.
I. Sweet Buns
These are best paired with hot tea or filter coffee (Pandurang Coffee is in a league of its own). The outer cover looks plain. The inside, on the other hand, is a web of pillow-like dough wrapping within itself the correct balance of sweet and spicy, thanks to the green chillies infused in the dough.
The buns have famous patronage in the old Taj Mahal Café, located near PVS Circle.
Here you will be served fresh buns with coconut chutney. (Pro tip: 4 PM is the perfect time to visit.)
II. Goli Baje
Taj Mahal Café has a modest menu and still manages to stand out amongst its peers.
Another hit item on the menu is Goli Baje. These are deep-fried batter balls mixed with some curry leaves, probably, to provide an edge. The fried exterior glistens as Anna brings the plate to your table. The first bite should make you go ‘haa ... haa’ (the sound you make when you eat hot food and it almost burns your mouth but you can’t stop eating so you blow air out), just to check if it’s hot enough! Dip these in tea or coffee for fireworks in your mouth.
III. Charmuri Upkari
There is an old temple in Car Street which houses devotees of many kinds. I happened to go there to buy supplies for the house along with my uncle and little cousin. Suddenly, a hand cart appeared out of nowhere behind us. The man was preparing fresh charmuri upkari (local name), spicy puffed rice tossed in coconut oil. A more nuanced palette will probably experience hints of sambar powder peaking through the mixture of spices added. The fresh carrot and onion cannot be missed as they add texture to the little mound. A reliable source for Charmuri would be Kamath’s Condiments, in the same area. Experiencing the hand cart version is a rarity as most of these vendors have been driven out by temple authorities. The dish, however, cannot be missed should one wander down to the area.
IV. Festival food at Lord Venkatraman Temple
A traditional Konkani food experience on banana leaves as plates served from the rigorous temple kitchen in Car Street. The word ‘rigorous’ has been used to highlight the years of practice that has gone behind mastering these simple recipes prepared for over 10,000 devotees visiting the premises during the Teru or Car Festival. The menu consists of classic Konkani dishes like adagai- jackfruit pickle, chana ghashi – chickpea curry, goddi payasam and tomato saar- which is like rassam, but not quite. The food is served in a matter of five minutes and the expected time of gorging is an additional ten minutes. For most locals, Teru marks a celebration of their favourite Gods and the throngs of people attending from all over the world are a testament to this feeling of unity for Mangaloreans. This spread would have gotten a picture had the author not been busy building a rice well to trap the saar and then spilling it all over the floor, displaying her incompetence in the designated ten minutes.
V. Homemade Sambar Recipe- Mangaluru style
Very few things strike the perfect chord with South Indians, like the combination of hot sambar, poured over steaming rice. This is comfort food and that’s a fact. The various states of the South have their own renditions of this classic dish. Even in this category, each household in Mangaluru is known for guarding their own secret recipe, only to be passed down the generation of women and men (mostly women). It is a popular saying that I grew up with, “Only your mother can teach you how to make sambar”.
As a bonus, here is a simple secret recipe for traditional Konkani Kolambo:
Ingredients:-
· Coriander seeds- 4 tsp.
· Jeera- 2 tsp.
· Chana dal- 1 tsp.
· Toor dal- 1 tsp.
· Urad dal- 1 tsp.
· Methi Powder - 1/2 tsp.
· Hing powder (Asafoetida)
· Turmeric small piece
· Red chilies 8 to 10- Mix both Bedgi and Ramnad a variant of dried chili
· Vegetables- potato, carrots, beans, cauliflower, brinjal, drumsticks
(All vegetables to be diced and boiled)
Dry Roast the Chana Dal + Coriander, Methi, Jeera seeds + Hing.
Add the red chilli mixture to the roasting pan and wait for the aroma to hit you.
The mixture then goes into a mixer/blender to be ground finely. Add curry leaves to the mixture. A tinge of tamarind paste will balance out the spicy nature of the mix. This mixture can be stored for future use.
Some other dishes that need a special shout out are Kori Rotti and Chicken curry, Biscuit Roti (pronounced biskut rotti), Banana Halwa, and the Prawns panna upkari. All of these dishes are fragrant and bring back memories of the gaanv (village). Mangaloreans have managed to preserve their food as it is. This speaks volumes about their relationship with food. A good time to visit Mangalore is during festivals. The city is decked up with elaborate decoration and a menu that is off the charts. Incidentally, there is a Ghee Roast Festival taking place from 20 Feb 2020 – 20 March 2020. A must-visit for anyone who has heard about the infamous Shetty masala. For the regular Mangalorean though, stocking their fridge with jackfruit and wet cashews year-round is the only cure to their homesickness, and what a cure it is!
Feature Image Credit: Whatshot- Best Mangalorean food in Bangalore
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