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Home to rustic cuisine

Familiar taste
Last Updated 20 May 2016, 18:26 IST

The best way to understand the culture and identity of a city is through its food. ‘Hallimane’ stands true to this statement. More than a decade-old, this ‘village house’ in Malleswaram was started with an aim to serve a slice of Karnataka to Bengalureans and now, it has become a phenomenon because of the rustic cuisines that it dishes out.

It’s difficult to not go gaga over this place at the first sight as it provides the aroma and simplicity of a home. This old-school, heritage building with clay tiles and red oxide floors, tiled roofs, brick walls and high ceilings is a visual treat. Customers of all age groups (from the senior citizens of Malleswaram and the corporate crowd to the hip youngsters) throng the place, especially during festivals.

Ramanath, one of the managers, says, “Bengaluru is such a diverse and cosmopolitan city. We didn’t want people to forget their roots and their culture. So we decided to start a restaurant that speaks of the rural diversity of Karnataka. A lot of people get swayed by fancy, fine-dining places today, often forgetting that we have the best meals at home! When people come from other cities to Bengaluru, they want to sit and eat authentic cuisines from Karnataka rather than Chinese noodles or Mexican ‘tacos’.”

One can find families on both floors coming to dig into Mangalore buns, ‘Akki and Ragi roti’, ‘Ragi mudde and sambhar’, ‘Kundapura pathrode’, ‘Karavalli kadabu’, ‘Bansi rava dosa’, ‘Bisi belebath’, ‘Malnad soppu’ and ‘Khara bath’. As customers are always clamouring and jostling at the counter for steaming hot ‘kadubu’ or ‘rava idli’, they tend to miss out on the intricate design of the interiors.

Apart from the countryside vegetarian food, ‘Hallimane’ also serves regular tiffin items that one can see at a darshini such as ‘idli’, ‘dosa’ and ‘uppitu’. Their biggest USP (apart from the food) is that they don’t pinch the pocket. Though it does have a few Chinese and North Indian items on the menu such as ‘manchurian’ and ‘paneer’, the customers who come to ‘Hallimane’ are purists who want to go back with a mouthful of ‘ragi roti’.

Ramanath adds, “We keep trying innovative concepts. We serve ‘Habbada Oota’ or festival food thrice a year, during ‘Ganesha Chathurthi’, ‘Sankranthi’ and ‘Ugadi’. We serve a 40-course meal on the plantain leaf. People are so busy today that many don’t have the time to cook popular dishes during a festival. So families finish their ‘puja’ at home and come to ‘Hallimane’ for lunch. We also have fun events such as dances and doll festivals then which the children really enjoy. Bookings start way in advance during the festival.”
Apart from service, they also have catering divisions and help plan weddings, anniversaries or house- warming ceremonies. Many chefs are from the Northern and North Eastern parts of India but are trained and well-versed in the cuisines of the South. Despite the additions and deletions in the menu, Ramanath says that the chefs have always stuck to the basics of cooking and serving and there has been no major change as such in the menu.

He adds proudly, “We are not scared of the competition with new places coming up today. Bengaluru’s population is so large that everyone has their own requirements. Cuisines from Karnataka will never go out of style. Youngsters are also very interested in rural cuisines and want to know more about it when they come here.”
     For details, call 65611222.


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(Published 20 May 2016, 16:35 IST)

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