Ideal Cafe Ghee Roast Masala - New Sensation in Cooking

When Shibroor Prabhakar Kamath popularly known as 'Ideal Pabba' started ice cream business on May 1st 1975, he might have had the least idea that he would start making ready to use masala paste some day.

Ideal Ice Creams have come a long way, satiating the taste buds of millions of people by establishing a brand that is a household name today.

They started in a small way at Prabhakar Kamath's Ideal Traders on Market Road in Hampankatta Mangalore which was originally a books and stationery shop, also dealing in fire crackers during Diwali and Tulsi Pooja season. Stringent quality, generous quantity and affordability have made Ideal Ice Creams maintain a perfect balance over the decades and they have many flavours and parlour products today, including quick snacks and desserts. They also have innovated ice creams and brought out prize winning presentations like Ice Cream Pizza and Marzi Paan. They also didn't think twice before introducing traditional ice pops and ice cream flavours such as Treat, Panakam, Bella Candy, Aambuli, Badam Milk, Jackfruit Payasam. Their signature item Gadbad has won the hearts of most of the frozen foods lovers and Ideal's means Gadbad for many!

With four spacious parlours including the biggest one in South India on Market Road, Ideal Cafe in Ideal Towers opposite Sharavu temple and the most popular hangout Pabba's in Lalbagh and innumerable outlets in undivided Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka, it is no wonder, Shibrur Prabhakar Kamath has the Midas touch!

As any industry grows, it requires young and dynamic leadership that can understand the expectations of the people at local level and changing trends at the global level.

Prabhakar Kamath is blessed with a son who fits the description fully, who has deep knowledge of culinary arts and who has studied science of food and beverages at the world standard institute CFTRI Mysuru, who works hard, who is friendly and god fearing, who is a trained Hindustani vocalist and talented singer, who has expertise in public relation, who takes dynamic decisions, who has passion for renewable energy sources and concern for environmental protection, who believes in the adage "Simple living and high thinking".

He is Shibrur Mukund Kamath, Managing Director of Ideal Ice Creams, brain behind innovative foods in Ideal Ice Creams as well as Ideal Cafe.

Under Mukund Kamath's lead, things changed fast and their parlours got face lift with cool ambiance and comfortable seating. Almost all the ice cream flavours Mukund Kamath introduced have been fast moving and he also introduced regular and premium flavours in most of the parlour and store products. Ideal Cafe has an extensive menu of snacks, combo meals and special a la carte items which are time tested. His compassion for the hundreds of workers who toil to keep the four outlets specklessly clean and hygienic while tirelessly serving the customers with a smile has seen that the employees are well paid, well looked after with food and accommodation and they even have a transport facility to pick and drop them! Even during present difficult times with Covid Pandemic, they haven't abandoned their workers, and are paying the ones on permanent roll full salary, if not paying handsome retirement benefits for senior staff who took retirement.

There are three other people from Ideal family who work relentlessly for the growth of the company. They are Prabhakar Kamath's daughter Usha Shenoy, son in law Vivek Shenoy and Mukund Kamath's wife Divya Kamath. They are behind the screen and are guiding forces in innovating, working out strategies and also maintenance and marketing.

They believe in the adage "Sarve janaah sukhino bhavantu".

Ghee Roast is a dish which is highly popular with the young and the old, and Ideal Cafe has popularised Paneer/Mushroom/Soya Ghee Roast with Neeru Dosa, a combo meal that is a fast seller. However, since many avoid family outings and dining out are deprived of their favourite dish, and some also being away from Mangaluru, Ideal Cafe Ghee Roast Masala was introduced by Ideal Cafe, which is perhaps the first ready to cook ghee roast masala introduced by anyone.

It has already won the hearts of many customers who have consumed it. Home makers, office goers, businessmen, bachelors, they all find it a life saver when they want to prepare tongue tickling ghee roast quickly.

Seeing many of my friends posting favourable opinions about Ideal Cafe Ghee Roast Paste on social media, I too was curious to check how Ideal Cafe Ghee Roast Paste tastes. So I made four variants of Ghee Roast with it for a start, and my observations are:

1. There is absolutely no change in taste of what Paneer Ghee Roast and Mushroom Ghee Roast they were serving in Ideal Cafe. In fact it is one step ahead in richness and smoothness of the masala. The rich aroma of pure ghee makes the dish heavenly.
2. All can not make ghee roast masala like that at home. The formula seems to be arrived at after many trials, which is also a practice Ideals follow while introducing new Ice Cream flavours. 
3. Packing is top notch with thick food grade vacuum sealed plastic stand pouch. I also have seen their 500Gm pack, but the one I used was 250Gm. 
4. 250Gm pouch is priced at 180/- and is sufficient to make ghee roast with about 500Gm Paneer, Mushrooms, cleaned Prawns or Squid or with 750Gm chicken on bone. Just empty the contents into a frying pan, add 1/4 cup water, mix well and bring to a boil, add the main ingredient and cook over medium flame for 10 mins for paneer and mushroom, 15 mins for prawns and 20 mins for chicken. You have the perfect ghee roast on your plate for the entire family. For seafood and chicken ghee roast, you can add little Kashmiri chilli powder and a pinch each of turmeric powder and kasoori methi to make it more spicy and flavourful.

"Seeing is believing". You can see the results in pictures. 

Paneer Ghee Roast

Mushroom Ghee Roast

Prawn Ghee Roast

Chicken Ghee Roast

"Like many others in the hospitality industry, we are also going through difficult times, but we are brave enough to face the situation. Our employees are giving full cooperation and whatever changes we have made are welcome by them. We have window sales and our own door delivery service, and some of the ice creams are still supplied to stores. However, we have to be innovative and have to make use of the resources we have to bring out some product which can give users the same taste as we prepare in Ideal Cafe. So for a start we have introduced a new product Ghee Roast Masala Paste, which is easy to use and fast to cook Ghee Roast, one of the most popular items on our menu. We have one masala paste with which you can prepare Paneer Ghee Roast, Mushroom Ghee Roast, Soya Chunks Ghee Roast and also ghee roast with seafood, eggs and chicken. This new product is manufactured by Ideal Cafe, packed in 250Gm and 500Gm packs that are available online. We have shipping facilities for destinations available within India. Just visit our online store, find your PIN Code and if delivery is available at your address, place an order and get it delivered to your door. Our ghee roast masala paste is prepared using choicest spices and other ingredients adding pure ghee, and has no added colour or preservative. So it is well accepted by all age groups. We have plans to introduce more innovative instant products in the coming days", says Mukund Kamath, and that's an honest statement from an honest entrepreneur.

To order Ideal Cafe Ghee Roast, you can visit their web store at: pabbasidealcafe.in
or login to Rawal Home Foods at: http://rawal.ka19market.in/

Home delivery charges apply for Mangalureans and courier charges apply for outstation delivery.

Green Chilli Pickle

It was first week of May, 1976. I was travelling with three other friends by the Bombay Janata Express train from Mangalore to Bombay via Arakkonam-Guntakal-Raichur. Our train reached Raichur station in the afternoon, it was burning hot outside as we hurriedly stepped out of the compartment and ran towards the vegetarian refreshment canteen. 

They served us piping hot meals with spicy sambar, daal and tasty side dishes. I tasted the green chilli pickle that was hot, spicy, tangy and full of flavours. It was like dynamite blast in my mouth, but the lemony tang made me ask for more! I must confess, that was one of the most memorable meals I had, and the first, if not the best green chilli pickle I tasted!

Same year same month, I visited my sister's home in Shivamogga. As I narrated my experience to her, she had a surprise for me! She went into the store room and came out with a big bottle full of green chilli pickle! She said she made it herself, following the recipe she got from a relative. No need to elaborate that the chilli pickle was awesome, because my sister is a perfectionist when it comes to cooking. My sister also had told me then, that the main ingredients apart from green chillies were lemon juice, salt, mustard seeds, methi seeds turmeric and hing. 

I very well remember the taste and flavour  of the two pickles I had that year and I being a lover of pickles and spicy treats, decided to make green chilli pickle when I had chance. That chance never came my way, for Meena is not a fan of pickles. Besides, we used to get two or three different kinds of pickles every year from my mother, and I was the lone eater who used to have them over the year myself!

Two weeks ago, our door bell rang, my ex Bank colleague friend Munjandira Appaiah Venu appeared with a bag full of lemons from his family estate in Madikeri! He said, since I am fond of pickles, I can make any good pickle with them. There were around 32 of them.

I told Meena that I am making two kinds of pickles using them. One is 'Kanchi' or the salted lemon pickle while the other is green chilli pickle like the ones I tasted at the Raichur railway station and also the one made by my sister. Meena didn't object this time, as she can very well understand how useful lemon kanchi is for those who are down with illness. She also knew how much I love chillies! Besides, ever since my mother became aged(and subsequently left us two years ago), I have started making pickle at home myself, but never thought of green chilli pickle, because we get 'Presto' green chilli pickle here. Presto pickle has added vinegar and I wanted it with lemony tang. 

So here I am, with this recipe, which I formulated on my own. Green Chillies are abundantly available and so are lemons. It's the season. Weather is also on the cooler side, favouring consumption of spicy pickles. You can savour this with Congi, curd rice, rice and daal or even with idlis, dosas or chapatis.

Hope you all will like it and have a blast! 

Ingredients:
Green Chillies(Slim long ones, preferably Mysore or Byadgi) - 400Gms
Lemons - 8
Mustard Seeds - 1 Tbsp
Fenugreek(Methi) Seeds - 1 Tsp
Asafoetida(Hing) - A generous pinch
Sesame Oil(or Refined Sunflower Oil) - 3 Tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 Tsp
Rock Salt - 1/2 cup or 1/3 cup salt

Method:
Wash, wipe, cut and deseed lemons and extract juice.
Heat a shallow pan and dry roast salt for 3-5 minutes on medium low flame.
Powder the salt in a mill, if using rock salt.
Wash the green chillies thoroughly, wipe them dry with kitchen cloth, remove the stems and cut each green chilli into 2-3 pieces lengthwise.
Apply roasted powdered salt and keep for 2-4 hours. 
Heat 1 tsp oil and roast mustard seeds until they splutter, roast fenugreek seeds and hing, allow to cool.
Dry grind the roasted spices into a coarse powder.
Heat 2 tsp oil and lightly fry the chopped salted green chillies on slow heat for 2-3 minutes, taking care not to turn them white.
Mix in the masala powder, turmeric powder and lemon juice.
Allow to cool down completely.
Fill into dry airtight bottle and keep for a week at least(preferably for 2 weeks), in a cool and dark place.
Mix the contents with a dry spoon every alternate day.
Green Chilli Pickle will be ready for consumption.
You can preferably store this pickle in a fridge to retain freshness and crunchiness of the chillies.

Prawn Green Sukkha

Prawn Sukkha is a Tuluva dish, a cousin of Chicken Sukkha originated from Mangaluru and spread worldwide today. Any auspicious function in Tuluva household is incomplete without sukkha. I like Prawn Sukkha, we have been making the regular sukkha adding dried red chillies for too long, and I wanted to experiment with green masala. 

I replaced red chillies with green chillies and added chopped coriander and onion greens instead of cumin seeds while grinding the coconut for the final stage in making sukkha. That gave the brilliant green colour as well as good taste and flavour of fresh coriander leaves. Adding butter while cooking enhances the flavour of prawns, and coconut oil gives the authentic Mangalurian touch.

The dish turned out finger licking good and we ate this with Ghee rice for dinner.

Prawn Green Sukkha with Ghee Rice

Ingredients:
1. Jumbo Prawns - 500 Gms shelled and deveined(18-20 prawns)
2. Onion - 1 big, finely chopped
3. Garlic - 8+2 cloves
4. Green Chillies - 4 chopped
5. Coriander Seeds - 1.5 Tsp
6. Cumin Seeds - 1 Tsp
7. Fenugreek(Methi) Seeds - 1/4 Tsp
8. Black Peppercorn - 1/4 Tsp
9. Tamarind Pulp - A pea size pinch
10. Salt - 1/2 Tsp(Or to taste)
11. Turmeric Powder - 1/4 Tsp
12. Grated Coconut - 1/2 Cup
13. Coriander Leaves - 1/2 Cup Chopped
14. Onion Shoot(Optional) - 1 Sprig chopped
15. Curry Leaves - 1 Sprig
16. Coconut Oil - 4 Tsp
17. Butter - 2 Tsp

Method:
Wash and pat dry prawns.
Heat 1/2 Tsp oil and roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and peppercorn.
Grind together the roasted spices, chopped green chillies, 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 chopped onion and tamarind adding very little water, until smooth.
Remove the ground paste and in the same mixer jar coarsely grind grated coconut along with remaining garlic, coriander leaves and optional onion shoot.
Heat 2 Tsp oil in a saucepan and fry 1/2 chopped onion on high flame until transparent. 
Add prawns and turmeric powder and fry on high until prawns turn opaque.
Add the masala paste and fry for 2 minutes on high.
Add 1/4 cup water and butter, add salt, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 5-7 minutes until prawns have just cooked.
Heat remaining oil in a frying pan.
Add curry leaves and fry until crisp, add  coarsely ground coconut garlic and greens paste.
Saute well for 1 minute on high flame and add this to the cooked prawn masala.
Check for salt and simmer for another 2-3 minutes, until the masala is thick and dry.
Serve hot as starter or side dish.

Prawn Green Sukkha with Sannas/Soft Idlis

Note: 
You can make Chicken Green Sukkha with 700 Gms Chicken pieces instead of prawns.
You can add 2 sprigs mint leaves while grinding the masala for that extra flavour.
You can also add 1/2 Tsp garam masala powder along with coconut in the end.

Udupi Rasam Powder

Udupi is a pilgrimage center in Karnataka, also famous for Madhwa Brahmin style cuisine. Besides the favourite South Indian breakfast staple idli, vada and dosa, they have some excellent sambar, curries, soups and fries to offer us. Udupi Rasam is one such tasty and aromatic tomato soup which goes well with steamed white rice, Idlis, Vada or even Paniaram or Guliappa.

I have tasted very good rasam at Udupi Krishna Math when I was in school, then at a small Udupi Brahmin hotel named Sharada Bhavana in Manipal, then at Mitra Samaj, Woodlands, Kediyoor and other restaurants in Udupi. Woodlands, Vishwa Bhavan, Mohini Vilas, Udupi Krishna Bhavan, Panchami, Swagath, Krishna Vilas and Janatha Deluxe in Mangaluru also served fantastic rasam.

I am a fan of Rasam Vada, a combo snack introduced in Mangaluru in the Eighties by Mohini Vilas. Mohini Vilas has since closed down and a swanky hotel called Saffron cropped up in that spot, now we depend on Janatha Deluxe where we get authentic Rasam Vada even today. However, my attempt in getting the right formula for the Udupi Rasam failed over the years, when we tried books on Udupi cuisine or recipes given by my ex-colleagues. They all lacked something in them, and the taste or looks of the rasam was not exactly like Udupi Rasam!

When it is monsoon season in Mangaluru, it pours heavily for days, and we feel like eating some spicy stuff. I was reminded of Rasam Vada last week and was about to ask Meena to prepare vadas and I thought of preparing the rasam using my own imagination. I did some mental work and assumed what all spices go into the awesome Udupi Rasam Masala Powder. 

Then when I was browsing through the net to test my luck, I bounced on this recipe following the blog Udupikitchen, which I slightly modified to suit my taste and convenience. It is authentic and I guarantee you, the rasam will turn out better than what you get in restaurants and may come very close to what you have tasted at Udupi Krishna Math. 

It is very easy to prepare Udupi Rasam adding this masala along with commonly available ingredients. If you prepare the masala powder in bulk, you can store it in an air tight container in the fridge and use it for months. 

So what are you waiting for? Get going and surprise your family to a royal treat of rasam made following this fantastic authentic Udupi Rasam Powder!

Ingredients:

Red Long(Byadgi) chillies - 25-30

Curry leaves - A handful(2-3 sprigs)

Mustard Seeds - 1 Tsp

Cumin Seeds - 2 Tsp

Coriander Seeds - 4 Tsp

Black Gram(Urad) Daal - 2 Tsp

Fenugreek(Methi seeds) - 1 Tsp

Black Peppercorn - 1/2 Tsp

Turmeric Root - 2" piece(Or 1 Tsp powder)

Asafotoeda - A generous pinch(Around 5 Gms)

Coconut Oil - 2 Tsp

Method:

Heat 1 Tsp oil in a frying pan and roast chillies and curry leaves, fry for 2 minutes on a medium flame until crisp. 

Transfer to a plate.

Heat remaining oil and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds, allow them to crackle, then add coriander seeds, urad dal, turmeric root, peppercorn, asafotoeda and methi seeds and fry until the contents turn brownish.

If you are using turmeric powder, you need not roast it.

Transfer to a plate and allow to cool down completely.

Once the roast ingredients cool down, dry grind them into a powder in a mixer/mill. 

Allow to cool down and then fill in airtight jar and store in a cool, dry, dark place or a fridge.

Note: 

To make one liter Rasam, you can add 3-4 Tsp of this masala powder to 1 cup cooked tuvar daal, 2 chopped tomatoes, 2 chopped green chillies, handful of grated coconut/chopped coconut kernel, handful of chopped coriander leaves, juice of 1/2 lemon, salt and 2 tsp powdered jaggery.

Adding congi water or a teaspoon of rice powder to boiling water enhances taste of the rasam.

Udupi Rasam need not be topped with seasoning. 

If you wish, you can prepare a seasoning with mustard seeds, curry leaves and a pinch of asafotoeda in 2 Tsp ghee and add to the rasam.

This powder can also be used to make Udupi sambar or the vegetable dry curry Thaallu.

Indra Bhavan Changes Premises, Keeps Promises

There was a time when restaurants in undivided South Kanara District in general, and Mangaluru in particular used to cook and serve food just like home made. I have not only heard stories from my late father about how the snacks tasted in Mangalurian restaurants during his hey days, but I also remember my own times in the Sixties and the Seventies when many restaurants made lovely snacks and maintained quality and quantity at very reasonable prices. The people who founded those restaurants cared more for the satisfaction of those who patronized them, and also earned goodwill by word of mouth and reputation beyond the seven seas! Such restaurants are very few today, and Indra Bhavan is one.

When Late Raghurama Udupa hailing from Kinnigoli took over Indra Bhavan from one Babu Shetty in 1952, he not only cared for good food and good service, but he also was compassionate about poor students who came there for mid day meal. I remember my classmate from high school to PUC, a brilliant student Gopalakrishna Bhat hailing from a very poor Brahmin family who came walking all the way from Kulur to St Aloysius College to study, and he used to carry monthly lunch coupons issued by Indra Bhavan on concessional rates those days. He also used to tell me that plated meals at Indra Bhavan were homely, just like his mother cooked! Unfortunately Gopalakrishna Bhat is no more, but the reputation Indra Bhavan has earned by caring for such poor students, is copious. Today they don’t serve plated meals but they serve snacks with same standards and reasonable pricing.

Late Raghurama Udupa - Founder

Then when I started to frequent restaurants during my college days, some of my friends recommended Goli Baje and Buns at Indra Bhavan, acclaiming them as the best in Mangaluru. I was living in north Mangaluru those days and it was a bit out of the way for me to visit Indra Bhavan. Then couple of my friends said “Vishwa Bhavan in Hampankatta is also managed by the owners of Indra Bhavan. You can get the same stuff there!” So I started to visit Vishwa Bhavan regularly and I still recall those days when I used to relish idli, vada, ambade, dosa, podi, golibaje, buns, chattambade, sajjige, avalakki, sheera and such snacks there at very reasonable prices. When I moved my home to Attavar in 1990, I started visiting Indra Bhavan and also started to get snacks packed for home. Their special dosas were also very crisp and tasty. Few years ago, Vishwa Bhavan moved from its original premises to opposite side in a new complex but they continued to serve the same awesome snacks.

Navanitha B Shetty, a food blogger basically from Mangaluru, now based in Pune fondly remembers Late Raghurama Udupa and says, “When my grandfather Late Subbayya Naik who owned Hotel Woodside and Vishwa Bhavan wanted someone to run the veg restaurants in Woodside and Vishwa Bhavan, he could not find anyone better than Late Raghurama Udupa. Udupa was very hard working, honest and efficient. Woodside veg section was managed by the Udupas for a few decades before someone else took over, and Vishwa Bhavan restaurant, until it was shifted. Now the Udupas own Vishwa Bhavan restaurant in its new premises”.

Today continuing the tradition of Late Raghurama Udupa in hospitality, his son Prakash Udupa, Prakash’s wife Bhagyalakshmi Udupa and his two sons Vishnu Prasad Udupa and Vishwajith Udupa manage Indra Bhavan and Vishwa Bhavan. Prakash’s mother Sarojini Udupa is the guiding force. Indra Bhavan has become an iconic restaurant in Mangaluru, and a black and white picture of this restaurant dating back to the early days of its functioning in Balmatta Circle, is viral on the internet. I can see that picture being shared by hundreds of my friends on social networking sites and also via email. Indra Bhavan to Mangaluru is as important as other traditional south Indian style restaurants. Sadly, some have closed shutters due to labour problem, lethargy of the younger generation to continue family business or forced eviction, leading to increasing operational costs.

Old Pic courtesy: http://www.thehindu.com/

   

 

Ruchir Agarwal trying his hand at making Rava Dosa

 

  

 

 

Yet, the Udupas managed a smile and continued to serve Mangalurians with delicacies mentioned above, some of which are not found in many places, at least with good quality at affordable prices. I must say, the Udupas have earned the goodwill because of the daily customers from all walks of life. They maybe high class doctors, engineers, businessmen, industrialists, accountants, lawyers, professors or from middle class salaried public and private sector employees, autorickshaw and taxi drivers, garage mechanics or labourers. Indra Bhavan serves them all with equal zeal and regard. They all sit in the common hall and relish the hot snacks and beverages, if not some traditional sweet meat or cool pick me ups. Some of the servers and kitchen staff have been serving here for over Three or Four decades. PG Balakrishna the cashier has 53 years of service here! A senior waiter who posed for a pic by the sign board at the entrance proudly says that he is the senior most among the waiters here. I can very well remember the senior man at the parcel counter, who was there when I first visited Indra Bhavan in the early Nineties for food parcel.

In an expected move, some builder purchased the property housing Indra Bhavan in its old premises and it was inevitable for Udupas to move into some nearby premises. They tried for many months, but things didn’t move in their favour until they found an ideal location behind the petrol pump on Arya Samaj Road which the owner agreed to let out. They took possession of that premises and renovated it with a blend of old and modern look, giving a feeling for the regulars that Indra Bhavan spells not only good food, but also homely ambiance. They vacated the old premises on April 30^th this year and relocated to the new premises on May 9^th. Throughout the process, one man who is an avid fan of Indra Bhavan, one who has been a daily visitor there for over the last three decades was concerned about them, and he is my friend Ruchir Agarwal, who owns Agarwal Agencies in the same building Dwaraka Complex where Indra Bhavan has relocated. Mr. Agarwal is direct neighbour to Indra Bhavan now, and he seems obviously happy to have his daily snacks and coffee just next door! Mr. Agarwal is also the reason for me to narrate this story and showcase some pictures of last days of Indra Bhavan in its old premises and continued service in their new premises. 

Ruchir Agarwal says “My day is never complete without snacks and coffee at Indra Bhavan. My most favourite snacks here are buns sambar, sheera, rava dosa and golibaje. I also like other snacks here and they are very tasty and hygienic. Buns they make here has the perfect formula, the dough fermentation is consistent giving the right taste and flavour, crisp outer crust and soft spongy inner core are truly amazing! I never had any health issues like Delhi Belly as long as I ate here. When I first got the news about them being asked by the new owners to vacate the old premises, I was worried about losing my favourite hangout. When they closed down for almost 10 days for relocating, I had to depend on other restaurants and invariably developed stomach upset! I am extremely happy to have my most favourite hotel Indra Bhavan next door”.

Blany fernandes of Khazana Boutique says that he frequently comes here for snacks and tea. “Taste is the same as when I used to come here since I was a small boy”, he says. He adds that though Mangaluru has many modern restaurants with a/c ambiance, nothing beats the homeliness and heritage within Indra Bhavan and its employees.

Vasantha Bangera who runs his two wheeler garage Ganesh Auto Works smiles and says, Indra Bhavan is part of my life, and I have grown with it. You can’t find any food stuff here which can have negative remarks. Taste, cost, quality and quantity remain consistent. We don’t have match for Indra Bhavan in our area.

Another regular customer, the famous Yakshagana exponent and scholar Dr. Prabhakar Joshi says “Indra Bhavan means so many things for a Mangalurian with a taste for traditional snacks. It has memories, it has history, it has culture and it has amity. You can indulge in social networking without modern technology or electronic media, at Indra Bhavan! You can suddenly bump into an old friend parted long ago, settled in a distant country, eating goli baje and buns here. You can just sit aloof, sip a cup of coffee and reminisce over the Fifties and the Sixties Mangaluru. You can talk to the waiters and feel nostalgic! Indra Bhavan has that magic, which modern swanky restaurants lack. For contemporaries like me, it is nothing less than a temple!”

I met senior Advocate Kedla Shivarama Rao at the new premises and he looked very happy about Indra Bhavan still continuing to serve in a new premises. “Starting from my college days, I was regular at Vishwa Bhavan, especially from 1975 to 1979. Then when I started my profession in 1980, I changed over to Indra Bhavan and ever since, a regular here. Their tasty and inexpensive traditional treats keep me fit and fine, always cheerful. I am an old fashioned man still traveling by city bus in spite of owning good cars, eating out at old hotels like Indra Bhavan in spite of affording food in Star comfort! Happiness is being associated with common people, simple living and high thinking. Indra Bhavan provides me food for the mind and body, both.”

I agree with all of them, for I have experienced it all during my visits to Indra Bhavan over the last 26 years. People who come here for breakfast or evening tea are mostly friendly, and perhaps the food here makes them all equally amicable!

I have tried to compare new setup with old one in the pictures above, to show that nothing has changed much except premises and interiors for Indra Bhavan. Clean vitrified flooring and strong moulded seats with same white marble top tables and granite benches at the entrance for waiting customers, airy bright interiors with ethnic old style windows, and pleasant colour scheme of exterior and interior walls spell comfort. Two kitchens, one for making dosa and hot beverages on the ground floor level and the other in basement level for making other snacks look slightly smaller compared to the old setup but the cooks render their service without much sweat even in the scorching summer heat, thanks to good planning and ventilation. Same experienced staff with an addition of few young faces continue to serve customers, regular well wishers, more new customers visit here for definitely the best, gentle goli baje, bouncy buns and other fried stuff, if not delectable dosas, awesome avalakki, superb sheera and ultimate uppittu! Except a few snacks, prices for all the snacks continue to be same as before, although operational costs are much higher in new premises. They have invested in energy conservation with alternative fuel like cashew shell husk for cooking. I didn’t forget to consume a cup of hot coffee and take a parcel consisting of 3 plates of goli baje, 4 buns, 3 sajjige(uppittu) and 3 kesari bhaat(sheera) for home, which cost just Rs. 200/- including an environmentally friendly carry bag. The Udupas thus believe in social justice or in Sanskrit ‘Sarve Janaah Sukhino Bhavantu’.

Indra Bhavan has changed premises, but kept promises. 

Making Goli Baje at the old premises

Making Masala Dosa

Expert Coffee Maker