Walking about in his crisp pancha and kanduva, Bala Bhaskar stands out from others in the buffet area at Park Hyatt. The vertical tilakam line on his forehead is another marker that makes him look distinctly different from the rest of the kitchen team. Bhaskar he gently rests his hand on the kanduva on his left shoulder as he speaks about his business in the hotel kitchen and with the guests. “I am here to talk and cook for the ‘A cuisine so divine’ food fest, which means I will be cooking the delicacies that are served at a temple. They come paired with stories of ancient tradition and rituals extant since time unknown,” says Bhaskar. The meals are simple, he shares and adds with a lot pride, “The simplicity of the meals will let you relish every ingredient in the dishes. Please make sure you begin your meal with the kadambam.” So saying, he disappears in the kitchen to make some bellam dosa.

Fine dine Bala Bhaskar is hosting ‘A cuisine so divine’ at Park Hyatt, some of the food arranged in a thali, bellam dosa  

What makes Bala Bhaskar an authority on temple food? Hailing from an Iyengar family, he reveals that his family has been cooking at the Tirumala temple for generations; he was initiated into the process of temple cooking when he was 18 years old.

“As a newbie we were all made to prepare laddoos; making laddoos is a mandatory first step in the kitchen, till we perfect the art. I worked in the temple kitchen for a few years and came out to work in the corporate sector. After working for a few years, I decided to make this cuisine familiar to people. I want to take this traditional food abroad so that people there to get to know about it. But we are not caterers and I want to develop an app so that bigger hospitality branches can pre-book us to promote this cuisine,” says Bhaskar.

As I relish Kadambam with a liberal helping of ghee over what has been already added, I wonder why I have never had this dish before. Kadambam is a wholesome meal of rice, pulses and vegetables cooked together with a very mild spice mix. It is soft but not mushy and nothing like sambar rice or bisibele bhath. “The spices are different. This meal is usually given as prasadam so that it benefits those who cannot afford a balanced meal on their own,” Bhaskar explains.

The Kadambam was to be had with plantain (aratikaya) fry or alu upma koora. The sambar I felt, was watery but tasted divine. There was anapakaya pappu, beerakaya jeelakarra kaaram and chilakada dumpa pulusu koora.

For desserts, nothing was better than drinking bowls of mildly sweet ksheera payasam. Bhaskar then came with the bellam dosa which paled in comparison.