Karnataka on your plate

BENGALURU: If you were in Namma Bengaluru at the onset of 2017, you might remember witnessing one of the largest display of local cuisine from six regions under one roof. This year, MTR Foods is back again with the second edition of its Karnataka Food Festival, Karunadu Swada. More than 70 home and MTR chefs are gearing up to display their regional culinary prowess with over 100 unique dishes, comprising one of the oldest surviving cuisines in India.

The festival will treat food aficionados to a complete sensory experience with an eclectic feast of signature dishes such as gurellu chutney, subsige soppina anna, Mysore kootu and menthe matwati palya from Bengaluru-Mysuru region; Khotte kadabu, appi payasa and hayagreeva maddi from Udupi; und kabadu, hagalakai palya and godi huggi from Bidar-Gulbarga-Gadag region. From Dharwad-Belgaum-Bijapur region, diners can expect speciality dishes like uduru bele palya, girmit mandakki and navanakki holige. Menu from Kodagu will include bollari barthad and baale nuruk. Lastly, the food from Mangalore will include dishes like valai hoovina chutney, taushya kadamb and kali tholi gassi.

This festival is a result of a study conducted by MTR Foods’ Centre of Excellence along with a renowned food historian, Chandri Bhat. In an attempt to capture the ethnic flavour of food from this region, they conducted an in-depth cuisine study across Karnataka, which involved travelling and visiting home-cooks from various regions over the last three years.

More than a thousand recipes collected from the study were either used for product development or curated and preserved. The second edition will see 25 new additions of food, along with 100 unique dishes from the first edition. The presentation will also be different this year and will include pre-paired dishes in order to present the right combination and experience. This way, visitors to the festival will get to taste more of these cuisines. Along with the food, different dance forms of Karnataka will be showcased at the venue.
Having serviced around 3,500 diners in the first edition, this year MTR Foods is expecting to double the service to 7,000 people.

Itinerary

Venue: St John’s
Auditorium, Koramangala
Cost: 500 per person for unlimited food
Date: January 26 and 27