Brand 'Mysore hurigal' hit among food lovers

A modest shop in the corner of a complex on the busy Tyagaraja road is flocked by many daily only to buy munchies of types made of grains, writes Sreekantswamy B

Mysore Mallige(Jasmine), Mysore Pak, Mysore veelyedele (betel leaves) and Mysore Hurigal.

You may be wondering, what’s this Mysore hurigal? Is it in the list of geographical indexes (GI) tag of the government for its uniqueness. To place it in record, it’s not in the list of GI tag, but is among the list of many, for whom its a must buy from generations.
The credit goes to late H V Nagaraj who laid foundation for brand ‘Mysore Hurigal’ five decades ago. The shop in Kalyan Bhavan complex on Tyagaraja main road in Agrahara is also named as- Mysore Hurigal and Condiments.

The hurigal in particular is a spicy munchies made of kadle kalu (Bengal gram), hesaru kalu, hurigalu (roasted gram) and kadale beeja (ground nut). Another is- Hesarubele mix made of hesaru bele and kadale beeja popular as ‘hurukalu’ among the food connoisseurs here. It wouldn’t be a surprise if one mistakes ‘hurukalu’ for ‘Congress Kallekai beeja’, as it has a resemblance, but varies in taste.

Congress... is also available here, besides many other home made instant food products like- sambar powder, puliyogare mix, khara avalakki (beaten rice), happala (pappad) and the list goes on. Most prefer a cup of coffee or tea with hurigal and hurukalu spread on plates.

Nagaraj’s son Prasad who joined his father in the shop 30 years ago recalls- his father was a regular at select few places in the city selling the afore said snacks on his bicycle. Also, at a make-shift stall in Dasara Exhibition. The speciality here is- all the products are home made with the family members that includes Prasad’s brother’s too involved in preparing the same.

Mysore hurigal and hurukalu is the USP of this shop and it was evident when City Herald made a reality check. In case of new customers, Prasad explains them about how to use the ready mix of instant food. For some, the grains and ready mix made here are a must even for occasions and place orders in bulk here.

The taste of hurigal here has even crossed the borders, with NRIs having roots in Mysore, buying them during their visit or asking their kith and kin to parcel it. Thespian of Kannada filmdom Rajkumar had also found taste in hurigal here and an artiste by name Kundani Satyan who was staying near to the shop was regularly supplying to Raj’s family, says Prasad.

The shop is open from 1 pm to 9.30 pm.