The master of spices

MASALA MIX

P S Babu was born and raised in Andhra Pradesh.

He began cooking as a teenager and assisting his father in their family food business in Hyderabad.

Soon, Babu not only picked up the finer points of running a business establishment, but also learnt how to make every conceivable dish that is popular among the people of Andhra.

After establishing his father’s business in Andhra, Babu moved to Bangalore a few years ago and opened RK Restaurant in Electronic City to serve authentic Andhra food.

After his interactions with family and friends in Bangalore, Babu gathered that there is a dearth of Andhra food.

He felt that the youngsters who work in IT Companies literally live on food from outside.

Babu clearly caters to them and if you happen to visit his eatery at lunch hour, it is packed with working professionals from the many tech parks located in the vicinity.
“Our thali, comprising 13 items, sells fast. We change these items on a daily basis to break the monotony,” Babu tells Metrolife.

Andhra Pradesh is known for its spicy food and most of the dishes, vegetarian or non-vegetarian, are spicy.

“The non-vegetarian dishes are spicy and sometimes, the extent of spice is altered to suit the requirements of the customers,” he adds.

A must-try dish here is the brinjal masala or guttivankaya, which is brinjal mixed in a spicy masala. It goes best with plain white rice.

The drumstick curry mixed with coconut and ground cashew is another fast-moving dish. The place also sells a variety of biryanis such as chicken boneless biryani, joint biryani and liver biryani.

The meat is cooked separately in a deep masala and then mixed into the rice.

   “The meat is bought on a daily basis and nothing is frozen and reused. The
meat, required for the day, is always marinated in a home-ground masala before
it is cooked,” adds P Ravi Sreekrishna, Babu’s younger brother who also manages
the restaurant. Among the gravy items, ‘Mango Mutton’ is worth a try. “The mutton
is cooked until soft and mixed with raw mangoes. This gives it a nice tangy taste,” Babu states. 

The regulars swear by the thali, ‘Mango Mutton’ curry and the chicken dishes. Lokesh Anchal, a regular, says, “I don’t really miss home food because I get the real taste of home-made dishes here. The place is clean, reasonable and authentic.” 

RK Restaurant is located at 1st Floor, opposite Velankani Tech Park, Doddthogur Road, Electronic City Phase I. For details, call 9742914877.