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Mangalore food tour part 2

Mangalore as a city and Mangalorean cuisine has grown up to accommodate various cultures and ethnicity ranging from Muslims, Mangalorean Catholics and Saraswat Brahmins to name a few. Being a coastal city, it is easy to recognize that the staple diet here happens to be fish. Moreover, almost like all coastal cuisines it is spicy and rice based.

With, Karishma we explored the Hotel Maharaja which is situated on bunts hostel road in Mangalore, Karnataka. The restaurant is well- known for its ghee roast! We tasted some flavoursome Mangalorean delicacies To begin with, we tried shell fish (marvai) sukka. Sukka means dry in their local language and it is a sea fish prepared in Mangalorean style. This was followed by Neer dosa or what is also known as water dosa along with chicken curry. Neer dosa is prepared using the same usual batter that is used to prepare the basic dosas, except that a lot of water is added to the batter. Hence, the dosas are much thinner in their texture. With different dishes being brought to us we also tried the chicken ghee roast. It is a spicy dish cooked heavily in ghee with red chilli paste. Later, we tried the kori roti. An absolute favourite of the Mangalorean’s, these are crisp dry wafers made from boiled brown rice served alongside chicken curry. Kori means chicken in tulu. Kori rotis are also, readily available at grocery stores so if you want to take them back to your home, it won’t be much of a task! One ingredient that is taken into account while preparing almost major Mangalorean dishes is curry leaves. They are heavily used in almost all preparations.

Next, we head to one of Mangalore’s the most popular go-to spots is Giri Manja’s. This little eatery is tucked away in the car street. Highly recommended by the locals, it is a must try out here! Well-known for their sea-food we try their fish thali which consists of boiled rice served with kokam saar, fish curry and veg curry. The thali is served with bonda juice also known as tender coconut juice. Along with this, we tried the prawn fry locally known as yetti fry and squid fry which is known as bondas fry. We were then served with, anjal fry. A seer fish fried in Manjas style. This, happens to be their special dish, which is certainly a must-try! The flavours are tangy and the fish is marinated for the longest time thus, bound to capture your taste pallets.

 

At hotel Karthik, we try the Mangalore snacks. Here we ordered the very-famous Kalladka tea also known as KT, a three layer tea with the bottom layer consisting of condensed milk, foam and then served with decoction. This was served with banana podi locally known as parndh podi. These are banana fritters. The bananas used to cook these are known as Etha pazham banana. Then comes the Mangalore buns, sweet, soft and fluffy puris from Udupi, a well-known region in Mangalore. Not to forget, the goli bajje, a famous evening snack. These are soft and spongy fritters made with all-purpose flour, spices and herbs.

We were later introduced to, a local mobile shop known as Halli Mane rotties situated in Gandhinagar. The food joint offers three types of rotis made up of ragi, jowar and rice. These are really good for health and gluten-free! The rotis are served with a mixed vegetable curry and punarpalli juice also called as Kokam juice. The juice is sweet and good for digestion.

Right opposite to Kaddri park, is a lane which has quaint little food joints for everyone to try. We head to Dinky dine where we tried the grape juice. It is juice joint really famous in Mangalore. The day came to an end on a sweet note as we headed towards the ice-cream parlour. Here we tried the Marzi pan ice-cream, a sweet pan-flavoured ice-cream and gudbud, a multi-layer ice-cream consisting of three flavours, butterscotch, strawberry and vanilla served with cherries and fruits.

Places visited:

Maharaja Restaurant

1st Floor, Trade Centre, Near Jyothi Circle, Bunts Hostel Road, Balmatta, Mangalore

 

Giri Manja’s

Kalikamba Temple Cross Road, Mangaluru, Karnataka 575001

 

Hotel Karthik

Kulur Ferry Rd, Urwa Store, Kottara, Mangaluru, Karnataka 575006

 

Halli Mane

Pentland Pet Rd, Gandhinagar, Mangaluru, Karnataka 575003

 

Dinky Dine

Opp. Kadri Park, Mangaluru, Karnataka 5

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Mangalore Food Tour part 1

 

Namaskara! Today along with Karishma we explore the local delicacies of Mangalore. The second major city of Karnataka, Mangalore is also known as the gateway of Karnataka. Not only that, it happens to be the largest coastal city in the Malnad regions of Karnataka besides being an educational, commercial and an industrial hub in the west coast of India. Also, an important port city it is one of the most multi-cultural and non-metro cities of our country.

Our journey on exploring the amazing delicacies begins with the famous and one of the oldest restaurants in the city, the New Tajmahal Café. Brought to us, were some classic dishes like Rice Pundi which are soft rice dumplings served with chutney and bele thove (moong dal), Kottige also known as gunda in their local language is idli batter served in steamed jackfruit leaves and biscuit roti. Biscuit roti is a famous Mangalorean snack prepared using all purpose flour, semolina, grated coconut and spices. A pocket friendly café, it is known for its Mangalorean dishes. Not to forget, the well-known sweet dish Sanjeera, looks almost like the Kachori served in North-India except that it’s sweet and stuffed with sugar and coconut. Also, when in Mangalore things always end up with the yummiest filter coffee!

Our second stop is the Ayodhya Hotel which is well known for its seasonal dishes they serve. A true highlight of our food tour, this no-frills restaurant accommodates one of the best local and authentic Mangalorean cuisines. We begin with our authentic Mangalorean breakfast with turmeric leaf gatti. These are steamed rice dumplings stuffed with coconut, jaggery and cardamom mixture.Further followed with is, Patrode, a Mangalore style spicy steamed rolls prepared with colocasia leaves and rice. We also tried the Kadpeere podi, a fried dish made up of seasonal vegetables which tastes and looks similar to bitter gourd. Thus, a bit bitter in taste. Another dish which is available only during the rainy season is the tojank biji (sena tora, thakara leaves). These are made of seasonal leafy vegetables. These are really healthy and rich in fibre! We next move on to another well-known dish which is the Moode, these are particularly cylindrical shaped idlis steamed in screw pine leaves. Not to forget, it should be accompanied by the healthy cucumber idli. Also known as, kadamb or Taushe idli they are made using cucumber. We end our meal here, with Raggi mani which happens to be a traditional dessert using finger millets, jaggery and coconut milk and Nai appa, another sweet dish made up of rice jaggery and coconut. Not to forget, try the famous Kalthappam, a pan cake using rice, jaggery, and coconut and cardamom powder. However, the true Mangalorean breakfast only gets completed when you fill yourself up with Payasam also known as rice pudding.

Well, we aren’t yet done! But, the variety of dishes that the city presents to you is incomparable and amazing. It soothes your food pallet and makes you only want more. No wonder why it’s truly a food-lover’s heaven!

 

Places visited:
 The New Tajmahal Café : Hotel Panchmahal building, KS Rao Road, Kodailbail, Mangaluru, Karnataka 575003

The Ayodhya Hotel: Kodailbail, Mangaluru, Karnataka 575003