Cuisine bonanza: Ethnic meals conquer IIMB

A thali served during the Ethnic Meal Day at IIMB. 

Now, students at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) can savour the culinary delights of various states on their campus.

The institute has introduced ‘ethnic meal’ to be served once a month at the mess. The meal will be served mostly during lunchtime on Friday or on specific occasions. When the mess prepares the ethnic meal, students of the state concerned would dress up in traditional attire and serve the food to fellow students and faculties.

An IIMB official said food diversity would help promote harmony among students from various states. “There are students from 13-14 states,” the official said. “Once a month, they give their state’s recipe which the mess staff would cook. It’d be served by students of that state.”

The ethnic meal concept was piloted during the 2018-19 academic year and became a smashing hit. On November 1, the campus would mark Kannada Rajyotsava with the state cuisine, including the Ragi Mudde. “Along with the food, we’re also planning to invite a group to perform Dollu Kunitha,” said the official.

The campus brings together over 1,200 students from different states, who proudly call it their ‘home away from home’. The institute celebrates the diversity with enthusiasm, fanfare and with mouth-watering cuisine, officials pointed out.

“We eagerly wait for the Ethnic Meal Day. Serving the food of our state and having food of other states are always exciting,” students said.

The 13-plus regional dinners organised at the mess hall feature delicacies unique to the states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bengal, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka among others.

IIMB recently launched Zero Plate initiative on the campus to reduce food waste.