Culinary Debauchery

After about 16 months away from home, I can honestly say that one of the biggest things I miss is home food! make no mistake about it, Indian food is as fantastic as it can get. Nowhere else can you find so much diversity, such an explosion of flavors and so much excitement all packed into food.

I have to owe it to my ancestors for making food and the process of cooking food such an important part of life. Unlike the west that relies heavily on precooked, microwavable, food doused in preservatives and sodium, primarily aimed at minimizing time to make more time for work, Indians actually took time to cook.

Being a hotelier's son, I have grown up shamelessly making full use of the privileges that came along with it. Starting with standing on the chairs of Nalpak demanding to see the manager (who happened to be my dad) to attacking the menu from all directions at Heritage Inn while dialing "21" for room service, I have a past that I am proud of... After a while, I was inducted as a guest of honor at my dad's hotel. This allowed me 24hr access to the kitchens. Room service was gracious enough to relieve me of the pains I was taking to pick up the phone and order food. Instead THEY would call me at appropriate intervals informing me of the day's specials and would ask me what I would like to have for breakfast/lunch/dinner. A typical day seldom went without a hot starter, a lavish spread, a drink to wash it down with and a dessert to cool it off. All while watching TV on a 52" screen in the hotel's best suite. Life was indeed tough.

I remember reading at a Hyderabadi food restaurant in Bangalore while waiting for my order that even when the Hyderabadi nawabs went into war, it did not deter womenfolk from upholding the sanctity of the fine quality of Hyderabadi cuisine. They would painstakingly make food and risk their lives to deliver it to ensure that the warriors that went into the battlefield had a rich, well deserved dosage of fat so that that can endure the hellish nightmare that lay ahead. This meant that there was a lot of ghee, oil and butter in the cooking of biryanis, goshts, kababs, haleems, firnees and so forth. Since I've always taken a fair share of blame for my high sugar intake, I have to unabashedly admit that what I liked best in the Hyderabadi Restaurant was both the Qurbani ka meetha and the Dabal Ka Meetha. The former, Qurbani, is Urdu for apricot. What you get after the apricots are prepared with vanilla essence and cream is a chilled greasy serving of heaven. For those health freaks who could do with a few pounds off their conscience, apricots are proven to fight cancer. The latter is an eggless bread pudding that is fished out of a concoction of sugar syrup and thickened milk. To top it off, it is garnished with dry fruits and nuts.

Having bored you with nawabi history, I'm tempted to make a list of the very best of the best, a list with ruthless disregard to second best. An important criteria that I have observed is the maintenance of consistency over the years. Having lived all of my formative years in Mysore and five years in Bangalore and one and a half years in Washington, DC, you could say that the scope of my experience is limited. But heck, I have eaten outside of Karnataka and my two cents is that as a true son of the soil I swear by Kannadiga food as the best there is.

Aloo Bonda - Gaadi on 14th main, Saraswathipuram, Mysore

Akki rotti - Halli Mane, Food Street - V.V. Puram

Badam Halwa - Hotel Chalukya, Bangalore

Bele - Shivanna, Mavalli

Breakfast Burritos - Penny Cluse, Vermont

Burger - Downtown, Mysore

Cake - Yes, I'm being generic - Just Bake, Vasanth Nagar, Bangalore (Try their German chocolate cake)

Capsicum Bajji - Food Street and Gaadi Near Channel 9, 7th block.

Dahi Vade - Adigas Food Line, Jayanagar, Bangalore.

Egg Chilly - Mojos, Bangalore

Empanadas - Panas - Washington, DC

Falafels - Amsterdam Falafels, Washington, DC

Gulab Jamoon - Rasika, Washington, DC (Sadly! the best Jamoon ever was in the US!)

Idli - Veena Stores, Malleshwaram and anonymous place in Jayanagar, Mysore

Jolada Rotti Oota - Kamath

Kulfi - Bowring

Makki di roti + Sarsoon da saag - Jwala K.D. Road, Mysore (Really, you can try anything Punjabi here, its quite fantastic)

Masale Dose - CTR, Udupi Krishna Bhavan, gadi opp. shree rama vidyalaya (Saagu masala dosa - Hotel Janardhan), Sadly Vidyarthi Bhavan didn't make the cut!

Masala puri - Karnataka Chat, Chamrajpete

"Meals" - MTR

Momos - Tibetan Market, Church St. Bangalore

Panchamrutha - Rayar matha

Pani Puri - Street Vendor next to Shree Raj Lassi Bar, Jayanagar, Bangalore

Pasta - Vapiano's - Chinatown, Washington, DC

Pav Bhaji - Bhavani Chat, Jayanagar 9th block, Food Street.

Pizza - Ragoos, Bangalore - Pili pili

Raagi Mudde - New Krishna Bhavan

Rajasthani Food - Rajdhani, UB City

Saar anna - Kapila Ajji

Sweet Corn - Gadi near Netkalappa Circle (Bangalore)

Thai - Red Curry, Old town Alexandria, Virginia and Tiny Thai, Vermont.

Tikki Chutney - Bhavani Chat, Jayanagar 9th Block

Unusual chaats - Loki's, 15th cross, Malleshwaram, popular stuff includes "Disco Chaat" "Ding dong" "Dahi Chips Masala"

Thanks to Nithya for helping me with ideas for this. Please feel free to agree/disagree or better yet, add to my list!