Food fit for an emperor

I keep going back to Karim for a taste of the food whose secrets have been passed down for generations in a family that cooked for the Mughal emperors. After Bahadur Shah Zafar was deposed, the great grandfather of the current managing generation took to feeding the public outside the Jama Masjid, not very far away from where the restaurant is located today.

Alight the Metro at Chawri Bazaar Station and ask any rickshaw guy to take you there. You will pass through this tunnel, and at the other end is Wonderland.

Please do not come back from Karim without having tasted the sheekh kebabs.

The best naans in India? I don't know, but certainly the best ones I ever ate.

The chicken jehangiri.

And more stashed away delights.

More pictures from Angels in my Kitchen

Edit: Caramel cookies on the foreground and chocolate-chip ones behind. All cookies are priced lower than Rs. 20 each, and so it is something anyone can walk in and consume without thinking about it too much. When hot, they are all spectacular.

Moets Sizzler

Conti food does not excite me a lot, and it was no surprise when Moets Sizzler in Defence Colony left me unsatisified. I had their Special Sizzler.


The fish-and-chips (above) were no more than adequate for me, but my friend Chow seemed to enjoy it immensely.

Strawberries and Cream

Corner House is a Bangalore institution that grew roots and then grew branches. One of them is located inside the premises of the Airlines Hotel near Lavelle Road. Always worth heading there. Strawberries and Cream, during the winter months and Death by Chocolate at any other time. There is also a really, really thick chocolate milkshake, whose name I forget now. All wonderful.

Keema Meat

How I love the Amritsari Meatwalla.

Mr Narender's keema meat is spicy, soft and guaranteed to put you to sleep for you just cannot stop eating.



Very nondescript, you will find this place once you turn left after you pass under the Defence Colony flyover.


There is not a lot of things that you can eat here. The several printouts plastered all over the walls indicate four items - the Keema meat, Keema kaleji, Keema egg curry and Chicken biriyani - all priced between fifty and eighty rupees. Each roti comes at two rupees. The first three items have a generic keema-based gravy that comes out of this large bubbling pot.


The only problem is that you cannot set your watch by the timings. If you take his word for it, you can expect to be served lunch at half past one. I waited from two to three before I was served.


But pure desi ghee, Mr Narender claims. More photos of this place soon.



Edit: Mehra compared Mr Narender to the beloved soup Nazi on Seinfeld, the "guy who lays

down the law when he gives you soup". I had to agree. At 9:15 p.m., there were a few frayed nerves around that bubbling pot.



Seemed to be some kind of system in place, but whatever it was, its collapse was painfully evident. People wanted food. And they were being made to wait in a haze of the most amazing aroma of mutton being spiced. Several plates of keema kaleji and keema meat and stacks of rotis were being sent to what can best be described as an "eating area", but it was never enough. A Sardar feigned familiarity, another person threatened to get angry, but nothing worked. One just had to wait.




We had decided to get the food packed, and despite the chaos, we did not have to wait more than 25 minutes. At home, we attacked the keema meat and rotis. Not surprisingly, it was well worth it.

The simple puttu

If you have never had puttu, make sure you do so before you die. It is a simple and common Malayali breakfast preparation, made from rice and coconut.

The puttu demands the same simplicity from the gravy dish that will go along with it. It can be served with kadalakkari, which is a spicy curry made from gram, and the kind of gram may vary. For a slightly "more special" breakfast, a chicken or mutton stew is more appropriate. For less special occasions, a banana and some sugar will do.

Both pictures feature the simple chicken and potatoes stew.

Bennai Masala Dosa

The letters C.T.R are written in tiny script, next to the large Kannada lettering over the nondescript door. I cannot read the language but I have been told that the letters expand into Chennai Tiffin Rooms. It is another Malleswaram institution, serving up some unique breakfast. The crisp bennai (butter) masala dosa is very popular.

For all the ghee and butter involved, both Raghavendra Stores and CTR attract a fair number of morning exercisers.

Raghavendra Stores

Raghavendra Stores is located just outside Malleswaram Railway Station in Bangalore.

A favourite among morning walkers and others on their way to work, and some people without work, this place dishes up a mean idli-vada combo. Drenched in an excellent chutney, the consistency of which has been determined to precise perfection, there is even a dollop of butter on top if you like. The coffee too, as one might expect in Bangalore, is perfect for a day with a nip to the air.

There is no place to sit, but the boundary walls of the station will do.