JOIN USBest pulavs around town
Every Bengalurean has a special bond with the Bengaluru-style pulav — a vegetable and rice preparation laced with spices.
Consumed as a hearty breakfast, a spicy lunch, or a sumptuous dinner, pulav can be eaten to the heart’s content, any time of the day.
Metrolife checked out a few places in Bengaluru that serve these irresistible pulavs.
Spice route
In the narrow bylanes of Nagarathpete, at a stone’s throw away from the Dharmaraya temple, is SLN Tiffin Room, also known as Muddanna Hotel. Established in the 1960s, the place has a dedicated fanbase that swears by its pulav.
We reached at 7.30 am to find what the craze is all about. It’s a no-frills place and exudes a home-like vibe. We ordered half pulav and idli. Served in a banana leaf, it came piping hot, accompanied with chutney.
The pulav smelt divine — the pleasing heat of the cinnamon and cloves hit the palate in the first mouthful. Vegetables are sparse in the pulav here. The coconut chutney complemented it well.
PS: While here, indulge in breakfast combos that bear Dr Rajkumar’s movie names, like ‘Shankar Guru’ and ‘Trimurthi’.
Three in one
Pete (City Market) is the nucleus of the food culture of Bengaluru. Nestled in Cubbonpete is Chikkanna Tiffin Room.
Established in 1965, the hotel is popular for its Bath masala dosa. It combines masala dosa, pulav and butter, three of the city’s favourite food items, all in one.
The dish is a masala dosa topped with green chutney and potato curry cooked in butter, and topped with pulav.
Our order of Bath masala dosa came in a banana leaf placed on a disposable plate.
The pulav was mildly spicy. The combination of chutney, potato curry and pulav all wrapped in the crispiness of the roasted dosa doused in melted butter was heavenly.
Fragrant, crispy and flavourful, it satisfied all the senses. While here, you can also try the pudi-rice.
Temple service
A hotel inside a temple premises sounds bizarre, right? But Siddappa Hotel is cozily placed between idols and markers that adorn Manjunathaswamy temple at Sampangiramanagara.
Patriarch Siddappa, a weaver, started this hotel in 1975, when his loom was facing difficulties. Now run by his son, it has remained a hallmark for great taste.
It is good to get here early, as the place gets jam-packed in no time in the morning.
The pulav here was saffron-hued and piping hot and was served with saagu. It was mildly spicy and full of flavour.
The saagu gave the dish more heat. While here, try the Thuppa kalli dosa that is cooked in ghee.
Half-plate story
Spawned to capitalise on Muddanna hotel’s popularity, Namma SLN at Basavangudi, near Vijaya Teacher’s College, is now a hotel of its own standing.
A place popular with college and office-goers of the area, it is famous for its Sabakki idli. But its pulav is worth trying too.
We ordered a half pulav and lemon rice combo. The lemon rice was bland compared to the well-balanced pulav. Its mildness was compensated by the heat of the spices.