A cartful of 'dosas'

The food comes in a small push cart, which everyone fondly calls Krishna’s dosa gaadi. Krishna, who is the owner, comes to the location at sharp eight every night and stays on till 10 pm.

The minute you enter the road, the aroma of the hot dosas hits you. It is so strong and mouth-watering that it automatically pulls you towards the cart. But there is absolutely no place to sit and people generally come in cars or two-wheelers and park nearby so that they can eat to their heart’s content.  Speed is one of Krishna’s trademarks. Within seconds, he can give you an array of well-cooked dosas.
A popular pick is the special vegetable dosa. Don’t get scared by the deep purple colour, it is the favourite of many vegetarians.

“We mainly put beetroot, carrots and other green vegetables into the batter and fry the dosa.”  Though all the other variants are pretty popular, this particular one is fast moving,” explains Krishna. Apart from the regular masala dosa and plain dosa, the eatery is also known for its crispy ragi dosa and avarekalu dosa. Another tasty option is the ragi dosa filled with mashed potato and vegetables.
“We also make two kinds of chutney, mint based and tomato-onion based,” he adds. Apart from the dosas, the place also serves plain idlis, masala idlis, pulav, tomato rice, and aloo biryani, which changes everyday. “Sundays we have a special addition of mini-idlis with sambar,” he says.

The eatery has always been Krishna’s dream but to make it happen, he has worked in many popular South Indian restaurants. “Altogether I have worked for almost 25 years. I slowly got this cart as somewhere in my heart, I always wanted to have a eatery of my own,” he says. Most of his clientele have been his fans since the time he worked in Kadambas. Once they got to know about his new venture, their loyalties shifted to this place. There have been times when even celebrities have taken a pit stop at this place.  Actors like Shivarajkumar, Darshan and Rakshita are said to be regulars at this popular haunt. “Last week, Shivarajkumar and his family had come over. It was such a surprise. At first, I didn’t even realise but my helpers told me about it. He loves the ragi dosa and the masala idlis here,” says Krishna. Krishna’s business is strictly restricted to the cart. Though he has had offers to venture into catering, Krishna has refused, “Once in while, I don’t mind that but I make food because of my passion for cooking not to overburden myself,” he says.