10 Popular Karnataka Food Items You Have To Try
Karnataka has one of the mildest cuisines in India. It has many different and diverse regions, each with its own unique Karnataka foods to try. Regions in Karnataka like North Karnataka, South Karnataka, Kodagu, Udupi, and Mangalore have their own staples and specialties, from vegetarian popular dishes to seafood and meat curries. Cuisine of Karnataka is also influenced by its neighbors, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu to the south and Maharashtra to the north. It is also said to be one of the oldest cuisines in the country, dating back to the Iron Age.
The staple food items of Karnataka include rice, raagi, and jower (millet). A traditional meal in Karnataka is made up of huli (thick broth cooked with vegetables, lentils and ground paste of coconut, chili, tamarind, and spices), palya (vegetables), tovve (cooked lentils with minimal seasoning), kootu, kosambari (lentil and vegetable salad), saaru (clear pepper broth), obattu (sweet flatbread also called holige), payasa, papad, puri (rolled from wheat flour), pickles, and curd. This is served on banana leaves or muttuga leaves (these leaves are sewn together). Local ingredients are used while cooking most of the delicacies with ghee being used on special occasions and festivals.
Famous dishes in Karnataka include: bisi bele bhath, Davanagere benne dosa, uppittu, ragi rotti, akki rotti, saaru, kesari bath, bangi bath, khara bath, and ragi mudde. Popular sweet dishes of Karnataka include Mysore pak, chiroti (a light flaky pastry that is sprinkled with granulated sugar and is later soaked in almond milk), obbattu or holige (a flat, thin chapati/crepe filled with a mixture of jaggery, coconut or copra and sugar and toasted gently on a skillet), gokak, Dharwad peda, kardantu, sakkare acchuhaala-puri, ladoo and shavige payasa (made from milk, vermicelli, sugar and cardamom).
1. Bisi Bele Bhath – An All-In-One Dish
Bisi Bele Bhath is one of the most popular traditional food of Karnataka. Essentially a blend of rice, lentils, vegetables, and spices, all cooked together to create a flavorful all-in-one dish. It is often served with generous helpings of ghee and potato chips or boondi. Bisi means hot in Kannada and hence this dish is best eaten piping hot. This south-Indian version of ‘North Indian Khichdi’ is the staple food of Karnataka and is loved by all because it’s simple yet flavorful. The wholesome meal is believed to be invented in Mysore Palace, which was a typical lunch of the Royals.
2. Dosas – The Perfect Comfort Food
Dosas are a popular dish all across India, and Karnataka is no different. They are essentially pancakes made with fermented batter of rice and black gram and served with sambar (lentil stew) and chutney. The southern state is known for its many varieties of dosa. One of the most well-known is Davangere benne dosa, which is made with generous amounts of butter, while Mysore masala dosa is smeared with chutneys stuffed with spicy potato filling. Set dosas are thicker versions, while you can also get dosas made with ragi (millets) and rave (semolina). Another popular variation is the neer dosa that comes from Mangalore, where the rice is soaked in water overnight rather than being fermented.
3. Mysore Pak – A Delicious Sweet Treat
Mysore Pak is one of the well-known sweet food items in Karnataka. It was first created in the kitchens of the Mysore Palace and hence the name. Ingredients used to make the delectable sweet are chickpea flour, ghee (clarified butter), and sugar. The texture varies with the amount of ghee added to the dish from hard and porous (less ghee), to soft, dense, and fudge-y (more ghee). It’s distributed especially during festive occasions, weddings, celebrations or even as a snack during tea time. As Mysore Pak holds a special place in the hearts of locals it is considered the most famous food of Karnataka.
4. Maddur Vada – The Ideal Snack
A popular snack, the Maddur Vada gets its name from Maddur town in Mandya which is just 80 kilometers away from Bangalore city. Unlike regular vadas which resemble doughnuts, Maddur Vadas are large and circular. They are made with flour, onions, semolina, and spices, and fried until crispy on the outside, but soft on the inside. You can’t stop once you start munching these fritters. Maddur Vada is best served with coconut or peanut chutney. They are quite popular Karnataka foods to savor on your trip to Karnataka.
5. Tatte Idli – A Popular Variant Of The Traditional Idli
Like dosas, idlis are favorite foods of Karnataka enjoyed across South India. These steamed rice cakes are made with a fermented batter of black lentils and rice and served with chutney and sambar. A popular variation in Karnataka cuisine is the thatte idli, a plate-sized flattened variant (thatte is the Kannada word for a plate). While the regular idli is smaller and thinner, tatte idli is a flat big idli which is super soft to eat. Other variations popular in Karnataka are the rava idli, made from rava (or semolina), and Muday idli found in Mangalore.
6. Dharwad Peda – Wholesome Goodness
Named after the city of Dharwad in Karnataka, this sweet is made with milk which is heated and stirred continuously, along with sugar and condensed milk. It is said that the Dahrwad peda was first created by a 19th-century confectioner in Dharwad, and has been given a Geographical Indication tag making it a famous food in Karnataka among the various foods. The sweet which is the pride of Dharwad is a one-of-a-kind milk-rich dessert that is packed with proteins and can be enjoyed on every occasion.
7. Jolada Rotti – A North Karnataka Specialty
Jolada Rotti, an unleavened Indian bread is a Karnataka traditional food which is a symbol of the region’s rich agricultural heritage. This Indian rotti is made with jowar (or sorghum) flour and salt, which is cooked in an iron skillet. It is popular in North Karnataka, where it is eaten with enne gai (eggplants stuffed with spices) or chutney. Other common rottis include akki rotti (made with rice flour, chillies, and onions) and ragi rotti (which is made with ragi, chillies, and onions). Unlike the wheat rottis, Jolada rotti has a rougher texture. Make sure to try out this authentic Karnataka food on your next trip.
8. Pandi Curry – For The Pork Lovers
Pork or pandi is a popular non-vegetarian delicacy hailing in Coorg (or Kodagu). This spicy curry is made with a unique spice blend, and ‘Coorg Vinegar’ is made from kachumpuli, a fruit that imparts a distinct sour flavor. The dark color to the gravy is because of the use of different masalas and spices like bay leaf, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and coriander powder. This karnataka special food is best served with rice balls or akki roti (rice roti).
9. Chiroti – A Flaky Pastry
Chiroti is a traditional Karnataka sweet that is prepared with a layered dough of maida (plain flour) fried until it resembles a flaky pastry and sprinkled with cardamom sugar. These flaky pastries are as a result of the dough being rolled out into multiple layers. It is a very popular dessert served in Karnataka during festivals and special occasions. A version of this is the shredded, flaky peni (also called pheni or sutarfeni) which resembles crispy vermicelli. Also similar is mandige, a crepe with a thin filling of sugar and ghee.
10. Mangalore Bajji – The Monsoon Snack
Also called goli baje, Mangalore bajjis are a popular snack from Karnataka. This crisp fried fritters is a favorite tea time snack among all. It is made with flour, yoghurt, gram flour, rice flour, onions, coconut, and green chillies which are shaped into small balls and deep-fried. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, it is often served with coconut chutneys.
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