"Chat Ki Baat"- Feature Article

After a really long break from blogging due to tests, we're back! Chat has always been an Indian favourite, but today in this post, its not just chat any more, but the BEST chat ever in Bangalore!

  Located in a humble and small premises in Malleshwaram, "Sri Sairam's Juice and Chats" quite easy to miss, but any foodie passing by would definitely stop with a whiff of its gently boiling masala.

A First-time visitor may end up clueless about what to choose with very intriguing items on the menu that you may not understand. For regulars like us, we know most of the items by-heart so do take our word for the must-try items here!

It's almost a tradition that your first Sai Ram Chat should by default be Chips Masala. Its one of the more well-known items on their menu and rightly so. The amazing combination of flavour and texture is simply amazing and quite unique.

Apart from that, you could try out Bowl Masala, Crazy Chat, Hongkong Chat, Kiss Masala, Disco Chat, Puff Masala, Nippat Masala, Bun Nippat and so on. My personal favourite is the Sev DB Puri which tastes absolutely smashing! And yes, all of these are at very affordable prices (nothing exceeding 25 rupees).

Just because it is a chat-dominated place, you cannot count out the Juices which are very refreshing. Cold Coffee is a crowd favourite and the Masala Coke is worth a shot.
After you're done with your food and drink, don't forget to get your free pani to wash down the spices with a nice flavour to keep in you're mouth till you reach home. It actually is the younger brother of pani puri itself and will leave you with fond memories of the place whenever you think about it!

Do pay a visit!

40/3, 15th Cross, MES College Road, Malleshwaram ,Bangalore.
Timings: 10AM to 10PM
Contact:  +919449880933

Your Personal Recipe Book: Recipe 8: Vegetable Hakka Noodles

Since we showed you how to make the Gobi Manchurian Gravy in our previous post, we thought why not tell you how to make the main dish too so that you could prepare a sumptuous meal on a special occasion for yourself and your family!
   The chinese actually eat a much more bland version of chinese food in one region and a more spicy variant in the other, but from what I've heard, non taste better than the chinese we eat right here! Just some food for thought!
  Oh yeah! Noodles! Here's how to make some!

Ingredients Required: (serves 4 people)
Ginger- 1.5 inch piece
Garlic- 7-8 cloves
Oil- 1/4 cup
Noodles- 200 grams
Soy(a) Sauce- 3 tbsps
Vinegar- 2 tbsps
Green chillies- 2
Onions- 2 medium
Carrots- 2 medium
Capsicum- 1 large
Cabbage- 1/3rd of medium sized
Spring Onion- 7-8 sprigs
Salt- to taste
Pepper- to taste
Water- Loads
Beans, Zucchini, Bean sprouts(optional)

Method:

1. Boil up water in a large vessel and add the noodles to it when it begins to boil. Cook the noodles to desired softness. (It would be best if just cooked through)
2. Strain out the noodles and coat it with some oil and soy sauce and leave aside.
3. Heat up the remaining oil in a wok. Add to it chopped up/blitzed ginger, garlic and green chilly (chopped together will do fine)
4. Immediately add to it sliced onions and saute for a minute before adding salt and some pepper.
5. Proceed to add the carrots which are cut into julienne( narrow vertical strips of 2 inch length). Add salt and pepper and saute for 2 minutes more.
6. Next add the capsicum cut similar to the carrots. The aroma is mouth-watering by now! Keep tossing the veggies, add salt and pepper for the capsicum now.
7. Add the cabbage which is chopped along one direction only. Toss the veggies continuously and add salt again. Quickly add the chopped springs of the spring onion and the noodles to the wok now.
8. Keeping the flame high all along, now would be a good time to slow it down a bit and toss everything in the wok gently. Add the vinegar and keep tossing.
9. Serve hot with a pair of chopsticks (coz eating with a fork is way too mainstream)

So hope you enjoyed our chinese specials! Loads more coming up for you so do stay tuned!

Your Personal Recipe Book: Recipe 6: Eggless Moist Chocolate Cake

Hey guys! Today we'll give you a recipe to make a simple but absolutely delicious moist chocolate cake that you can eat at any time of the day without any regrets. It is immensely light, yet moist and melts in your mouth perfectly with the perfect texture that a plain cake can have.

Let's get baking!

What you need:

• All-purpose flour- 1 and a half cups
• Cocoa Powder- 3 tbsps
• Sugar- 1 cup
• Baking Soda- 1 tsp
• Vegetable Oil- 1/4th cup
• Vinegar/Lemon juice- 1 tsp
• Salt- 1/4 tsp
• Vanilla essence- 1/2 tbsp
• Water- 1 cup

Get Baking: (this recipe is so simple, you could do it with your eyes shut)

1. Pass all of the dry ingredients (except sugar) through a sieve placed over a large bowl and mix them well to make sure that you get an even mixture.
2. Take water in another vessel and mix the sugar into it, stirring and warming slightly if necessary, until it is fully dissolved.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 180 deg celsius. Stir in the rest of the ingredients into the vessel containing the water and immediately mix with the dry and fold only until a watery batter is formed.
4. Immediately pour the batter into a greased baking tin and put into the oven for about 35 minutes until a dry knife when inserted into the middle comes out dry.
5. Take out of the oven when done and invert on a wire rack only after 10-15 minutes to prevent crumbling.

 

 

Your cake can be cut into pieces and served as-is or used as a base for an iced birthday cake for a loved one. Indulge in this amazingly awesome cake and post any variations that you come across!

 

Looking forward to hear from you and signing off for tonight,

Your fellow foodie.

Best Street food in Bangalore - Part 1

We thought about making a blog post about the best authentic Bangalore street food places and what better a place than Bangalore's own Food Street, V.V.Puram.

I studied in Jain PU College, V.V.Puram and as you might have guessed, I was a regular there. Name almost any food you want and there's a good chance you might get it there. From the everyday to the exotic.

So here's my write up about Food Street, or in Kannada, Thindi beedhi.

Directions:

It is located near Sajjan Rao circle  in VV Puram. If you are taking a bus or an auto, get down at Sajjan Rao circle, and the food street starts right next to it. If you are driving, you can get the driving directions from google maps:



General Info:

If you're a guy who is picky about what he places in his pie hole, this is probably not the place for you. If you are like me, who eats just about anything, get ready for the best three hours of your culinary life!

What to eat:

1. V B Bakery

Though this exactly fit into the culinary repertoire of Chat street, It is definitely worth a mention for it's amazing plain cake, cream puff and apple cake. My recommendation : Eat your fill in chat street(or more if you're a foodie of course) and then honor the time old tradition of having dessert at the end of your meal. As always, there is parceling also.

Ramu's Ghee Masala Dosa

Mouthwatering-ly aromatic, Sinfully delicious, this slice of heaven born out of pure ghee will be yours for just 30 Rupees. 

Eating time = as fast you can demolish them.

Guilt period = number of dosas consumed * 4 weeks, 5 if you don't exercise.

Idli Mane

Tired of ghee soaked monstrosities at Ramu's Tiffin Center? Hop over to Idli Mane to consume the unholy offsprings of Idli and Dosa - The Paddu.

Good things come in small packages and these are the perfect examples for the statement.

You could also try some of it's extended family for considerably less guilt, such as the Idli, Akki/Ragi rotti.

Unnamed Bajji Stall

Time to take your mouth for a roller coaster ride. Get an explosion of flavor, oil and the chilies before running to douse your mouth with a hose. These atomic bombs of flavor will make your day. Special Recommended is the Bell pepper Bajji with extra veggie fillings and a hint of lime.

North Indian style

Pining for the rustic tastes of the north? Head over to one of the numerous north Indian stalls around. Their amazing curries will take you back to your hometown for a few minutes and the rotis feel like wisps of cloud made out of flour.

Holige

Another must-try stall is the one selling holige (puran poli). Coconut holige is my personal favorite. Even the plain Dal Holige drenched in desi ghee is sumptuous.

Going to chat street is like a pilgrimage to meet the culinary gods for less than 200 bucks. You'll want more and more and before you know it, You are a foodie!
If you are still reading this, What is wrong with you?! Shutdown your computer, grab a couple of buddies and make your tastebuds lose feelings in their knees!

*Images above have been harvested fresh from the unending famland of Google.

Special Edition: Your Personal Recipe Book: Recipe 5: Blueberry Cheesecake

Hello Foodies!
Today we have a recipe to make a very sumptuous dessert contributed by our guest writer. We stumbled upon each other here on blogspot where we love to write about our passion for food and share our simplified recipes for other foodies to try out without spending too much time or resources. Normally one would visit the other blog and move on to other ingredients soon after, but our case panned out differently clearly because our guest writer is from our college- PESIT!
So today, we consider ourselves privileged to play host to the recipe for Blueberry Cheesecake written by our senior from the graduating batch of 2012, PESIT- Anusha Gargi!

Blueberry Cheesecake:

Ingredients

First Layer(Biscuit Layer)

60 Marie Digestive Biscuits

200 ml melted butter

Second Layer(Cheese cake layer)

400g Condensed Milk

2 tsp Vanilla essence

200 gms paneer

2 tbsp Sugar

300ml blueberry crush

3 tbsp gelatin

1 cup cold water

Third Layer

Blueberry crush 

White chocolate shavings for garnishing

Method

1. For the first layer: Grind Marie Digestive biscuits and mix with melted butter and layer it on a spring pan. Refrigerate it for 10 mins.
2. For the cheese cake layer: Grind paneer, condensed milk, sugar, blueberry crush and vanilla essence into a smooth mixture. Usually all fruit crushes contain sugar so add the sugar as required.Mix gelatin with 1 cup of cold water and leave it for 20 mins. Then dissolve this gelatin in some boiling water and add it to the ground mixture. Pour this on top of the biscuit layer. This will be the second layer on the spring pan. Refrigerate  it for 6-8 hrs.
3.  For the top layer- After setting the cake in the fridge for around 6-8 hours, smear a thin layer of blueberry crush and garnish with white chocolate shavings. Serve chilled.

 For more unique recipes of exotic dishes of all types of cuisines, do visit our guest writer's blog: Anu's Cookhouse.

We'd also like to thank her for her contribution to our blog. It is the inspiration and encouragement of such friends that drives the foodie spirit inside us!

Your Recipe Book 4 : Pasta in Red Sauce

Things you'll need:

1. Three tomatoes

2. One medium sized onion

3. Three clover of garlic

4. About a handful of corn Kernels

Preperation:

1. Criss cross the skin of the tomatoes and drop them in enough boiling water to immerse them and boil them for about 10 minutes.

2. Chop the onion and the garlic and saute them in oil till the onions become translucent.

3. Remove the tomatoes from the water and peel off it's skin and proceed to put them into a grinder along with the sauteed onion and grind them till they're the consistency of a sauce.Add salt and water if necessary.

4. add the corn kernels into the water in which the tomatoes were boiled. After it has been partially softened, add the pasta into it and cook it till it's soft and keep aside.

5. take the grinded tomatoes in another vessel and let it boil till it reaches the a color and consistency of a sauce.

6. take the cooked pasta in a sieve and add it into the boiling sauce.

7. boil the mixture for a few minutes, top it off with oregano and chili flakes and serve hot!

Your Personal Recipe Book: Recipe 3: Funky Paneer Frankie

Hello Foodies! Its past dinner time and I can finally think straight with my stomach full. Just the week before the Dasara holidays I was left home alone with the entire kitchen and fridge at my disposal. Of course, without a super-talented multi-tasking Mom who turns into Goddess Durga with 10 hands when it comes to taking care of family and food, I left some stuff a little longer than I intended to.
    But I definitely wouldn't be writing this to insult myself now would I? So here's a simple way to make yourself a sumptuous and nutritious meal out of milk that is close to curdling and leftover dough: a Paneer Frankie!

To make the paneer: Put the milk on the stove and heat it to above room temperature but not quite its boiling temperature. At this point, add 2-3 tablespoons of curd (even if the curd is sour, it will do) and the juice of 1 lime and stir gently a few times. Let it boil and watch the milk perform its magic and split evenly. Once done, pour the entire contents of the vessel through a sieve lined with a thin cloth to collect only the solid particles and wrap the cloth in a bundle. Place this bundle on a hard surface (kitchen counter will do) and place another flat surface on top of it with a weight on top to compress it.
    Then go watch your favourite TV show and when you return, remove the cloth off your "bundle" and applaud yourself!

Now, cut this up into bite size cubes carefully with a knife and keep aside.

Let's get "rolling":
Now you may have some dough left over from your previous chapathi meal. U could either use that or prepare a fresh dough using half quantity of wheat and half of all-purpose flour (maida). Roll out a chapathi and cook it on a tava. (You can learn this just by doing it)
    In a pan quickly put some butter and sliced onion followed by some capsicum rings and toss well. Add some tomato ketchup, chilly sauce and keep tasting it for a flavour of your choice. Add the paneer right at the end and give the mixture a gentle stir.
    Now spread your chapathi on a plate and spread mayonnaise on its surface. If you do not have mayonnaise any cheese will do. Put a bit of the mixture towards one side of the chapathi in a vertical line and fold the chapathi horizontally up till it covers the mixture (this is to make sure nothing will spill out when eating and you have mixture till the bottom of the roll).

 Now roll it along the direction of the mixture quite tightly and place it on the tava for a few seconds to keep it warm and make the cheese melt slightly.
Your Funky Paneer Frankie is now ready to impress!

The aim of this post: Don't waste any food. There are many in need of it. And why waste it when it can become something this awesome! :)

I scream, You Scream, We all Scream for Ice Cream! part-4

Hey guys, so this will be the last part of the Ice Cream festivities! Like all the other parts, we have two more Ice Cream parlors lined up for your taste-buds delight.

1. Baskin Robin's: This is on my favorites list, probably for their outlandish, out of the world flavors.

Mint Chocolate chip? lunar cheesecake? very berry strawberry? Here's my theory: They have a computer program that mashes multiple words together to get a flavor.

All this variety makes my head go into a tizzy with all the permutations and combinations that are possible with all these flavors. I actually did the math considering a maximum of 3 scoops of ice cream per sundae and 31 flavors of Ice Cream(That's the current number). Turns out there are 33760 combinations. If I eat one sundae per day, It will take me about 92 years to go through all the possible combinations. I am nearly 20 years old so I doubt I can do it in this lifetime!
(On a side note, I can't believe I was jobless enough to do this.)

The possibilities are limitless!

2. Polar Bear: Here's one more place that I visit pretty often. I like polar bear probably because, they might not have the sheer variety of Baskin Robin's or the awesome chocolate sundae of Corner house, But what drives me there is because they get their basics right. Their vanilla Ice Cream is the best I've tasted.

The fact that their basic flavors are right makes their sundaes all the more worthwhile. Their hot chocolate fudge is extremely good. The cold of the Vanilla Ice Cream contrasts with the hot chocolate sauce and the feeling is pure heaven. 

So, this is officially the end of the Ice Cream series. Stay tuned for more delicious treats on the blog. 

If you find this blog interesting, please give us a +1 or share this for your friends on facebook, twitter, et all.

Also, There is a poll on the right side of the page, please take the time to tell us what's your favorite Ice Cream parlor.

I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for Ice Cream! Part-3

Hey guys! Thanks for the amazing response to our blog! We've just hit a 1000 views and look forward to plenty more with what we have in store for you!
    Its good to have you back here for more Ice-cream so lets get on with another set.

Lakeview Milk Bar:
With the Bengaluru Namma Metro project forcing this fairly-classic styled Dessert and quick-bites bar into a more modern styled location, not much has changed with what Lakeview has to offer its customers,which is good news!

This place has a sophisticated look and feel to it, and a very sophisticated dessert menu. Although famous for its cakes, the Ice-cream and sundae range is simply amazing! You can order a Peach Melba and Ice Cream with Cream and Nuts or a scoop of Bloody Mary Ice-cream (no, I haven't tried it either) and relish some of the most unique, yet classic Ice-cream sundaes. Their fresh fruit ice-cream sundaes really tingle your taste buds and are definitely worth a shot. Despite the exotic fruit and really great ambience, they are quite reasonably priced. A great place to hang out with a close circle of friends!

Just Sundaes:
Have you ever had the mad urge to go really crazy with your ice-cream and toppings combination even though it may seem completely absurd? like for example fig and honey ice-cream with fresh strawberries and chocolate sauce along topped off with Kellogg's Corn Flakes? (Crazy right?) If so, Just Sundaes is your ticket to paradise!

When you get there, all you've got to do is grab a bowl and let your imagination go wild! Oh and it gets better! you don't have to worry about the cost of each ice cream and topping separately. All you have to pay is Rs. 20 for every 50gms of your sundae with no restrictions at all on the induvidual components.
    For those who feel that their imagination could lead to a civil war with their tummies (though the chances are almost zero), there's also the option of choosing one of the numerous international sundaes that they have on offer. So don't hold back! Get yourself to Just Sundaes and relish one of the experiences of a lifetime!

Watch out for the concluding part of Ice-Cream Parlour reviews which will be put up shortly and please participate in our poll to let all readers know which according to you is the best place for Ice-creams in Bangalore! The results will be published and put into the limelight on this very blog so please do contribute!

I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for Ice Cream! Part-2

Swensen's:
If you're looking out for a place that specializes in making your mouth water with just the images and descriptions on their menu card irrespective of how full your stomach may be, then Swensen's is it.

 The minute you enter the store, you feel like a kid in a candy store irrespective of your age. Swensen's offers you a variety of sundaes starting from the classic Banana Split which is ever so rare in our city to the lovely varieties of strawberry sundaes to the all-time favourite chocolate sundaes and also Hot Chocolate to wind up with on a chilly winter night.

  

I have been here just twice and both times I have completely indulged in these skilfully created sundaes. There are flavours to suit anyone's needs and you may also customize their sundaes with your suggestions but its better not to tinker with perfection! A little pricey though it may seem, take my word for it, the experience is worth it!

                                         
Richie Rich:
Probably one of the veterans of the business in Bangalore, Richie Rich gives you the appearance of a kid's paradise. At one point of time, I'm sure I must have dragged my parents there just for the sheer pleasure of ordering something with a fancy cartoon name.

 Richie rich offers you a variety of options from regular scoops in cones to chocolate dips (softy coated with a thin layer of solid chocolate) to Hot Chocolate Fudge to a variety of sundaes which include tropical fruit sundaes and also ice-cream sodas. You could also opt to have a Spider-Man or a Darling-Duck if you dare to! Pay a visit here and you won't be disappointed except for the price you pay for a dessert.

I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for Ice Cream! Part-1

There we were, on a Sunday evening. Thinking about what article to put next to keep out readers entertained for the day. Out Eureka moment was when we realised "What better article to put on a Sunday, Than an article about Sundaes"

We have a list of what We think are the 8 best places for Ice Cream in Bangalore. We'll have a poll at the end of this to see where the Citizens of Bangalore like their Ice Cream best.

Let's get on with it then.

1. Corner House: Probably the most well known Ice Cream parlor chain in Bangalore. They have several locations all over Bangalore and one in Mysore as well.

Their Specialty: Death by chocolate of course. 

The monstrosity of a sundae is packed with brownies, vanilla Ice Cream, nuts and bucketloads of Dark Chocolate sauce. The moment you start digging in to it you realize why everyone hypes about this place.

The brownies, the vanilla ice cream and the chocolate sauce make for the perfect combination for a filling treat. It would probably be a leading vector for diabetes as well.

2. Sreeraj Lassi Bar: So Here's another place that I love.

Their Speciality: Sreeraj Lassi Bar, like it's name says, is known primarily for Lassi and their badam kesar kulfi.

It's a simple recipe - khova, almonds, saffron, milk and sugar. It's hard to imagine something this good can be made from something so simple. You can smell the aroma of the almond in each bite. It won't be long before you go back to the counter to get a few more. This along with a side of salty lassi makes everything all the more enjoyable.

Watch out for part 2 of this issue where we talk about more succulent treats!

EDIT: Part-2 is here!

Your Personal Recipe Book: Recipe 2: Gourmet Maggi!

Sometimes I have one of those evenings.
I'm home alone and I'm hungry with nothing to eat with only raw materials in the fridge.There are a few instant noodle packets that my mom bought for me to eat when I'm hungry but I don't want to eat the same thing again.
First world problems you might say. I face this a lot and this has led me a nirvana of sorts.
An instant noodles that tastes good. Is that even possible in the hands of mortals one might ask. Let's try to get a hands on experience with it.

What you'll need:

• Maggi noodles (duh)
• One or two Tomatoes
• One Onion
• A few Green Chillies(diced)
• One small carrot
• some green peas
• Corn kernels
• cauliflower 
• Chop up a couple of mushrooms too(optional)
• A few leaves of mint

Chop the onion, tomatoes and cauliflower into small bits. Dice a small carrot

 

 

In a pan add some butter.
when its hot, add some jeera and a few peppercorns.
Wait till they crackle.
Add the onions and the slit green chilli.
Next add the vegetables - tomatoes, carrot, peas, corn and mushroom.
When they are cooked a bit, add some salt (for the extra vegetables that we added) and a bit a crushed red chilli flakes.
Then toss in the mint leaves.
I also like to add half a teaspoon of sugar to get that rounded off taste. if you Like your dish to have  sharp taste you may choose to skip this step.

At this point, cut open the Maggi tastemaker and toss it in, stir a couple of times and add the water.
cover with a lid and bring the water to a boil.
Then add the Maggi noodles and stir.
cover the lid again and let it cook for 5 minutes.

Serve hot with a side of tomato ketchup

Your Personal Recipe Book: Recipe 1: 2-minute Garlic Bread

    Most of the people I know really love Garlic Bread with their Pizzas and Pastas but you can buy Garlic loaves of bread only at certain places or buy them from your nearest Pizzeria for a huge price. So here, I will show you how anyone can make their favourite accompaniment in almost no time with really simple ingredients.

    To start off, make sure you have these at home:

• Bread (who couldn't guess!)
• a few peeled cloves of Garlic (or you can peel it yourself)
• Butter

These are sufficient to make a basic batch of garlic bread by yourself. Optionally, you could choose to use

• A sprinkle of a dried herb (oregano or rosemary)/italian seasoning/chilly flakes
• Cheese

    So lets get started!
Take a bit of butter in a small bowl and add to it chopped garlic (about 5-6 cloves) and mix well. You now have a garlic infused butter in that bowl. If you want a really strong hit of garlic in your bread, make it beforehand and store it in a refrigerator or add more cloves of garlic

Heat up a tava or an oven if available (180 deg celsius). Once hot, spread your garlic infused butter on the breadon one surface(both for the oven) and place it on the tava (or inside the oven) until the bread turns golden brown. Repeat the same procedure on the other side of the bread if you are using a tava.

Voila! Your garlic bread is ready to be savoured! Wasn't that simple? Great! Now if you want to add more flavours, grate cheese onto your hot garlic bread and watch it melt. If it doesn't melt, pop it back onto the tava/into the oven for half a minute with the cheese-side up and serve on a plate. Sprinkle any flavouring of your choice on top and enjoy!

We'll be right back with more easy to make treats for you soon! Till then Happy Eating! :)
P.S: we do take requests for recipes too!

Best Masala Dosa in Bangalore

    Masala Dosa is a favourite delicacy of most Indians alike and even more so of people in Bangalore. They can be eaten at almost any time and can be consumed for any meal, almost polymorphic in nature! (forgive us for the use of computer jargon here) Inspite of being an obvious "Masala Dosa", there are still subtle variations in the styles that they are made in, and every single variation produces a different taste.

 

   
    Here, we will review 6 restaurants that serve the best Masala Dosa in town and hopefully be able to guide you, our readers, to savour the delicacies offered here.

1) Vidyarthi Bhavan 
    Vidyarthi Bhavan is probably the most popular dosa joint amongst the Bangalore locals. Having the appearance of a very small shop, it actually extends inside to easily accomodate around 60 people in one sitting. Bills and menu cards won't be delivered to you but a common display would help you choose from the available items of the day apart from the masala dosa which is a no-brainer. Catch a table if you can and tell a passing by waiter your order and prepare for a slightly long wait to work up your appetite. Surprisingly, the wait makes the dosa taste even better!!

    The dosa arrives thanks to an amazing display of balance and precision by the waiter and may not look too appealing owing to the chutney and plate but hey, we care about the taste right? One bite of the dosa and you're already open to the thought of a couple more! The taste of the butter and the melting of the dosa in our mouth takes you to a different dimension altogether despite the crowd and other such factors. The chutney ,though seemingly watery, actually turns out to be of a perfect consistency to complement the dosa.

 

    One can go ahead to experience a wonderful concoction of filter coffee

which on a good day can convert a caffiene-hater. The overall cost is quite reasonable for something that delicious with a dosa costing Rs. 40 and coffee Rs. 8. A meal for two can easily be purchased at a cost of Rs. 120 only. Overall, it is a mouth-watering experience that should be experienced atleast once by everyone who visits the city.


Food Quality:  4.8/ 5
Hygiene:  4/ 5
Ambience:  3.7/ 5
Value for Money:  4.6/ 5
Crowd: 3.4/ 5


2) Hotel Chalukya (Samrat Restaurant)
    Located centrally in the heart of Bangalore, Chalukya is one of the well-known places famous for its Masala Dosa. Parking facility and dine-in-vehicle also available.

    There are two dining rooms, one as you enter with the traditional wooden furniture and another upstairs which is air-conditioned and carpeted with more comfortable seating. Choose one and you can order a Masala Dosa without thinking. A popular choice is going for a Badam Halwa followed by the dosa and finish off with filter coffee. The waiters are courteous but speak to the point in order to attend to more customers. Overall ambience is good and is not as crowded as other Dosa joints.

 

   Coming to the Dosa itself, it is a thin crisp Dosa, evenly roasted to a golden brown colour with a slightly pungent red chutney spread on the inside. A generous quantity of masala (yellow boiled and mashed flavoured potatoes) is placed inside and folded into an appealing triangle with a generous blob of in-house butter placed on top just before serving. The dosa is served with a green coconut chutney and sambhar. The chutney makes a good combination with the inner red chutney and masala and the sambhar is well-balanced in terms of sweetness and sourness. Overall, every bite is full of flavourful delight!

    The dosa might seem a little costly priced at Rs. 60 each, but is quite its worth. A couple of these paired up with one badam halwa and two coffees, a meal for two works out around Rs. 200.

Food Quality:  4.2/ 5
Hygiene:  4.5/ 5
Ambience:  4.5/ 5
Value for Money:  3.8/ 5
Crowd: 4.5/ 5


3) Hotel Janardhan
    This hotel,though quite old, still stands strong in terms of construction and even stronger in terms of fan following.
    The variety of dosa famous here is the Sagu Masala Dosa. The Dosa itself here is a little thick with a crispy outside and soft inside but spread evenly. The USP of this dosa is the way it melts in the mouth along with the delicious sagu that it is served with. It is also accompanied with traditional south indian sambhar with drumsticks which is tasty but conveniently ignored in light of the extraordinary sagu.

    As is the case with most good dosa joints, the filter coffee here, too, is great to wash down the amazing dosa flavour if you are a coffee lover, else you might as well skip it!

   Waiters here are friendly and the entire place is clean and hygienic. The dosa costs around 50 rupees and paired up with coffee, a meal for two would cost around Rs. 150.

Food Quality:  4.3/ 5
Hygiene:  4.3/ 5
Ambience:  4/ 5
Value for Money:  4.1/ 5
Crowd: 3.9/ 5


Watch out for Part 2 of this article which will come up shortly!

EDIT: part 2 of the article is out.

Best Masala Dosa in Bangalore Part-2

Okay. So this is me as I'm writing this blog

In any case, Thank you guys for sticking around for part two of the Dosa series!

Like the first part, I'm going to be talking about some of the best locations in Bangalore to stain your hands with chutney, hog a few Masala dosas and a fresh filter coffee at the end of the it. Sounds finger licking good doesn't it? So here we go.

1. CTR Malleswaram 

CTR Malleshwaram is probably a hotel which is easy to pass by, knowing not it's heritage of pure Dosa awesomeness. Dressed in a cream coloured unassuming building, It's pretty easy to miss. Once you are in, you see fellow customers waiting eagerly for the famous benne(butter) Dosa which is their signature dish.

The butter used in these Dosas are sourced directly from the farmers of Nelmangla town of Mandya district and they lend a heavenly aroma to the dosa. One probably can nitpick on a few things such as the size of the dosas. Then again, Good things come in small packages. Regarding the pricing here, This one is a no brainer. You can probably have a filling meal with a glass of  coffee within a hundred rupees which to me screams value.

    Food Quality:  4 / 5

    Hygiene:  4.5 / 5

    Ambience:  3.5 / 5

    Value for Money:  4.5 / 5

    Crowd: 4 / 5

2. MTR

A Bangalorean cannot think of a dosa without thinking about MTR. There are several locations of MTR restaurants in Bangalore including Lalbagh road which was the original MTR, Indiranagar and one outlet in Singapore. The Dosas here are one of the best you can find in Bangalore. The godlike Dosa and the piping hot filter coffee makes this one of the best breakfasts in Bangalore. 

Here's one thing you probably did not know: MTR is the inventor of the now ubiquitous Rava Idli. During world war 2, there was a severe short supply of rice, the main component of Idlis. This made MTR experiment and  discover that rava (semolina) was a suitable substitute for rice. One thing that appalls me here is the price of food here. 60 rupees for Masala Dosa is pretty expensive for one dosa.

    Food Quality:  4 / 5

    Hygiene:  4.5 / 5

    Ambience:  4 / 5

    Value for Money:  2.5 / 5

    Crowd: 4 / 5

3. Brahmin's Cafe

Last on the list and by no means least, We have the Brahmin's Cafe in Basavanagudi. This eatery is not only famous for it's Dosas, but it is also famous for it's Idlies and it's coffee which is considered one of the best in Bangalore. The specialty of this place is it's dosas with chutney pudi in them which leads to a unique flavor and sets it apart from other restaurants. 

The chutney is pretty spicy so be careful while digging in. Bhramin's Cafe has become the go to place for breakfast for thousands of residents of basavanagudi.

    Food Quality:  4 / 5

    Hygiene:  4 / 5

    Ambience:  3.5 / 5

    Value for Money:  4 / 5

    Crowd: 3.5 / 5