Your Sankranthi fill the North Karnataka way

People of North Karnataka celebrate Sankranthi by exchanging greetings and performing pujas to oxen. But since spotting an ox in Bengaluru is as difficult as finding parking space, the region’s residents in the city turn to an easier and fulfilling way of following their customs – indulge in the festival treats.

Uttara Kannada Foods, popularly known as UK Foods, has been catering to people of North Karnataka living in Bengaluru for over two decades, dishing out the region’s delicacies.

“People from North Karnataka prepare special dishes for Sankranthi. The sajje (bajra) rotti is one of them which is made in Vijayapura and Bagalkot in North Karnataka and served to customers here,” says Thimmanna Hosur, who has teamed up with farmers’ associations in the region to source farm-fresh bajra.

“The Sankranthi tradition in North Karnataka is Butthi Oota, which is tempting array of the region’s celebrated treats like rottis, ennegai (a brinjal gravy), chutney pudi, madli (a sweet made of wheat, jaggery and cardamom), sesame holige, karindi (a green chilli chutney), fiery red chutney and groundnut obbatus,” says Thimmanna, whose outlets at Bhasyam Circle in Rajajinagar and Gandhi Bazaar are offering these festive delights.

Other sweets relished during the festival are milk-based ones like basundi, shrikand, peda and khova.

“We also have a special menu this year with a range of health foods like navane chaklis, millet sweets and navane rottis,” says Hosur, who is also offering millets sourced from farmers in North Karnataka to consumers in the city.

Thimmana affirms that his customers consume close to 5,000 rottis at his outlets during the festival season.