Karnataka’s most unique dishes under one roof

‘MTR Karunadu Swada’, a culinary festival, is celebrating the food of the State this weekend.

Shubhi A. from Uttarakhand and Shruthi T. from Hyderabad were enjoying akki rotti with mushroom curry and tamarind chutney at the Kodagu counter. “A lot of rotis are being presented here which are not commonly found, and they are made from authentic ingredients as well. It was really refreshing to see such a combination, especially all these varieties of vegetarian food displayed here,” said Shubhi.

Like them, people who wanted a taste of authentic dishes from Karnataka — locals or otherwise — headed to the ‘MTR Karunadu Swada’, a culinary festival celebrating the food of the State this weekend. The two-day event (May 4 and May 5), organised at Jayamahal Palace in Bengaluru, consists of several counters that present dishes from Uttara Karnataka, Hale Mysuru, Kodagu, Dakshina Karnataka, Kalyana Karnataka, and Udupi region.

At the Kodagu counter,kadambut, steamed rice flour dumplings, and kaipuli shunti parangi malu juice made out of bitter orange, ginger, and bird’s eye chili, were popular apart from akki rotti and other curries.

On the other side, the Dakshina Kannada cuisine was also a favourite among visitors. From goli baje and banana buns to alsande beejade koddel (black eye bean curry) and Mangalore cucumber curry were in much demand. There was also the Kota style Udupi mattu brinjal huli, a sambar made out of green brinjal, served with brahmi leaf chutney, which many liked.

The event was also attended by many people from other States who wanted to relish the original flavours of Karnataka. Deviena Srivastava, a native of Lucknow, said, “This is the first time that I am coming to a food fest which specifically talks about the flavours of Karnataka. It is really interesting to discover all these different kinds of dishes. For most North Indians, when we think of South Indian food, it is restricted to either idli, sambar or dosa. But, with such events, we can dive into all the kinds of dishes that South India has to offer.” She found the banana buns with coconut chutney to be one of the best dishes presented at the event.

Belada Hannina Panaka, (Wood Apple Juice), at the Hale Mysuru counter, chikklunde, or sweet puffed rice dumplings at the Kodagu counter, Dharwad peda and Kardant at the Kalayana Karnataka counter were among the other delicacies which were savoured by many at the event.

The visitors agreed on the fact that the speciality of this event lay in the fact that it brought together dishes from parts of Karnataka which are not commercially available.