Gastronomy Unlimited!

I was on a mission. It looked like MI V. The odds were insurmountable. I had to
convert Anil Jagalur, an 'I-couldn't –care- less-about-food' man to a passionate
foodie! I was in search of that food haven, the temptations of which even he could
not resist. Yes, It struck me that I should take him to the Mecca of food...
‘Thindi Beedi'.

Tucked away in one of the oldest parts of South Bangalore, Sajjan Rao Circle, is 'Thindi Beedi' (food street) or should I say 'Food Paradise'. After a hard day at the office, I coaxed Anil to accompany me to Thindi Beedi and savor the delicacies on offer. We reached the place at about 7 in the evening with ‘foodies’ streaming in slowly, but eagerly.

 Before i launch into the next part of the story, a few facts about the place: The place is in existence as a food paradise for about 30 years now. It opens in the evening at 7pm and closes by 11.30pm. The street is just about half a kilometer, and hosts about 30 eateries! Each shop has its own menu with a minimum of 10 items. So, all put together one has 200 options to choose from and what more, it is light on the pocket too!

OK, let me name a few from the 200 options - bajji, onion bonda, pakodas, samosa, cutlet, idli, dosé, gobi manchurian, babycorn manchurian, fresh fruit juices, North Karnataka specialties…the list is endless! So we went to this eatery with an assortment of items like - kodbale, obattu, puliyogare, paddu, idlis, jowar rotti, ragi rotti, akki rotti, rumal roti, tandoori roti and 8 types of dosés...phew!

What can mere mortals do faced with such temptations? There we were, scratching our heads and trying to make the best choice. Finally we settled for the quintessential masala
dosé. Now, the making of dosés here is an elaborate ritual. 

First, the dosé batter is spread on the hot tavva to form a perfect, thin circle. While it is frying, with steam emanating from the surface, a blob of Amul butter is placed on the dosé. Now you go counting the calories. Then, the cook picks up a 1 ltr packet of Nandini ghee....brace your heart..your heart beats increase, makes a small hole in the
packet and starts to pour the ghee on the dosé in circules. 1,2, 3..... and it finally stops at 5. It reminds me of a lawn being watered with a hose! The calorie count touches 500 (in my modest estimate). The prepared dosés are served with red and green chutney and the yummy aloo subzi.

The hot steaming doses were served. My question to Anil, “How's it?” was met by closed eyes and a busy mouth! There it was… the expression one has when one achieves NIRVANA!
I had won. The mission was accomplished.

We rounded of our jaunt in the ‘Beedi’ with Butter Gulcan, Ice-cream and mixed fruits for dessert. Needless to say, Anil was, well.... busy tucking it all in!

OK folks, if all this made you hungry drooly, just rush to Thindi Beedi. For directions contact me or our newly converted foodie, Anil Jagalur!