Bengaluru the start of South Indian journey

Once you exit Bengaluru, the road is a dream, totally undeserving of the undisciplined drivers on the road.

The saving grace – bikers stick to the extreme left of the road (most of the times).

There is a continuous string of eating joints on either side of the highway – Saravana Bhavans and Adyar Anand Bhavans – our preferred eating joints while on the road with the totally safe idli as our staple food.

One regret however, crossing the border from Karnataka to Tamilnadu, the awesomeness of the chutney is lost in transition.

Chutneys and Pudis (spiced masala powders) are most awesome in Karnataka, the other South Indian states have their specialities but the range and taste of the Pudis from Karnataka are unmatched.

Since I am writing about food, the Bengaluru dosa, needs special mention, unlike the anaemic thin skinned dosa with a hasty filling of bhaji, the Bengaluru dosa is full bodied crisp and rich brown in colour with a traditional filling of potatoes and onions whose sight and smell is captivating and the taste is “to die for”. My favourite is the masala dosa from the iconic Vidyarthi Bhavan at Gandhi Bazaar.

Another Karnataka speciality is the “Saaru “, not the water like rasam, the thief and imposter, the pretender who is available on the menu of every god-fearing southie restaurant the world over. Saaru, is another full bodied staple with a handsome helping of dal and if one were to prepare it in my family’s traditional manner, there is sufficient dal (lentil) in one helping to prepare ten helpings of rasam.

I will keep coming back to Karnataka, my janmabhoomi, as the emotional ties are still strong though my loyalty and identity is with my karmabhoomi, Maharashtra.

More about our stay in Coimbatore later.