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Bangalore or Karnataka food is largely non-greasy, roasted and steamed. Rice is the staple diet and forms the basis of every meal. It is usually served with Huli (a thick soup with vegetables) or Sambhar (a thick soup without vegetables), Saaru or Rasam (a thin soup), dry and curried vegetables called Palya and the meal ends with Mosara Anna (a mixture of rice with curds). Coconut is an important ingredient in all Karnataka recepies. Most restaurants offer all the above in a stainless steel plate called "Thali Meals". Sometimes rice is mixed with spicy powders, vegetables which makes eating easier and are called Rice Bath. There are varieties or rice baths depending on what it is mixed with.
Karnataka's culinary culture revolves round three staple items-rice, ragi and jowar. However, the people in the northern districts have a preference for wheat and jowar rotis (unleavened bread made of millet) eaten with spiced vegetable preparations. In rural Karnataka, ragi is widely used with each meal. This staple grain is steam cooked and rolled into balls the size of cricket balls and served with hot chutney or huli (a cousin of sambhar).The Kodavas or Coorgis, who are culturally quite different from the rest of the state, have an equally distinct cuisine. They are perhaps the only Hindus who serve non-vegetarian food and alcoholic drinks for their marriage ceremonies and traditional festivities. Most of the Coorgi curries-noted for their flavor and taste-are coconut based, lightly spiced and moderately sour.
The coastal cuisine of Karnataka is as delightful as that of Coorg. Fish and seafood are available in plenty and since the majorities are fisher-folk, the cuisine is simple, yet flavorsome.
Coconut is widely used in Mangalore cuisine- its oil as the cooking medium, its gratings or milk for curries. Meat cooked in coconut milk lends a special taste typical to Mangalorean cuisine. Local vegetables are used for a wide variety of preparations and for chutneys; even the skins of the vegetables are used. Most of the gravy dishes are accompanied by kori roti-dry broken pieces of dosai or the handkerchief soft neer dosai, so called because the unfermented batter is of watery consistency. Sana idlis fermented in toddy are yet another popular accompaniment for most of the gravy items.
A typical Karnataka meal has many delicacies like Kosambari, a salad made of the broken halves of the soaked green moong dal (lentil) minus its skin, spiced with salt, green chili and mustard seed (oggarane) and mixed with tiny scrapings of coconut, cucumber and carrot and dressed with a little lime juice. Then there are the playas which are vegetables steamed or boiled to retain the original color and flavor. Sometimes, huli is replaced with a milder kootu. Tamarind is taboo for kootu, which is spiced with lots of pepper, cumin seeds and ground coconut. Also, no Kannada meal is complete without saaru-a clear pepper broth.
Other popular Karnataka specialties are bisi bele huli anna, which is created out of rice, dal, tamarind, chili powder, and cinnamon, the gojju-a vegetable, most popularly bitter gourd, cooked in tamarind juice and jaggery with chili powder in it, chitranna-rice with the juice of lime, green chili and turmeric powder and sprinkled with fried groundnuts and coriander leaves, and Majjige huli with tovve which has vegetables in a buttermilk base.
Breakfast foods in Karnataka include the popular uppittu (upma in Tamil) made of roasted semolina and laced with chilies, coriander leaves, mustard and jeera (cumin seed). Karnataka's exclusive dosai served in some restaurants catering to the middle class is the famous set or a pile of four dosais served on a banana leaf, and topped with coconut chutney, potatoes, and two small pats of butter.
Kesari bhath (a halwa made of semolina, sugar, and saffron), chiroti and Mysore pak are among the favorite sweets in Karnataka. But the piece de resistance is the obbattu or holigea-flat, thin, wafer-like chappati filled with a mixture of jaggery, coconut and sugar and fried gently on a skillet. Along with payasa (south Indian kheer), obbattu is always served with celebratory meals in Karnataka. Other delectable sweets that come out of the Kannada kitchen are the shavige payasa made of vermicelli and sugar, hesaru bele made with green gram dal, and baadami hallu, which is, crushed almonds mixed with milk, sugar and saffron.
The Park Bangalore, Sunnys Restaurant, Fiorano Restaurant, Hotel Taj, Harima Restaurant, The Basil, Kobe Restaurant, China Pearl Chinese Restaurant, Sukh Sagar Veg Restaurant, Barbeque Nation Restaurant, Sahib Sindh Sultan, Samarkand Restaurant, Koshy's Restaurant, Jamavar Restaurant
Bangalore Mandarin, Changs Bar & Restaurant, Chinese Hut, Chung's Pavilion, Chung Wah, Golden Harvest, Hong Kong, Mandarin Room, Hotel Ashok, Memories Of China, Taj Residency, Nelson’s Pavillion, Windsor Manor Sheraton, Paradise Island, The Taj West End, Shanghai Restaurant, Shogun, Silver Wok, Taipan, The Red Pepper, The Rice Bowl.
La Casa, Lotus, Hotel Ashok, Sunny's, Nilgiri's Cafe, Orange County, Fillers Food Services, Jockey Club, Taj Residency, Orchids & Roses, Pool Side Barbeque, The Taj West End, The Only Place, Windsor Grill.
1498 AD, Abirami, Caesars, Coorg, Hotel Ashok, Darpan, Ebony, Gulmohar, Ice & Rice, Koramangala Jacaranda, Koramangala Kabab Korner, Residency Road Cross, Lanai, Le Meridian, Nizaams, Rasoee, Shezan, Tandoor, The Royal Afghan, Windsor Manor, Wazwan, Zodiac Fast Food.
Far Pavilions, Koshy's Restaurant and Jewel Box, Le Jardin, The Oberoi, Nagarjuna Savoy Restaurant, The Pink Panther.
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