In a small lane of busy Bengaluru, a nondescript eatery – Sri Siddeshwara – is keeping the taste of North Karnataka alive in the Silicon Valley with IT professionals from across the world. The eatery looks very ordinary and unplanned as compared to other fancy cafes in the locality in terms of ambience but what it offers is nutritious food with an authentic taste of North Karnataka. Still better, the meals are moderately priced and frequented by students and young office goers who reside in the area.
The story of this eatery started in 2013 when four brothers – Raiappa, Narsima, Prashant, and Srisai – migrated to Bengaluru from their native Ainapur village in North Karnataka’s Belagavi district in search of work. The eldest brother Raiappa discovered his talent for cooking and taught the art to his younger brothers.
The brothers came up with the idea of starting a restaurant in Bengaluru, over 500 kilometres away from their native village. After taking a loan from their relatives , they rented a shop in Venkateshwara Layout in SG Palya area in south Bengaluru.
It wasn’t easy and they faced hurdles due to lack of finance and customers. This made them analyse their customers’ needs and they soon realised that the young party-going crowd would not come to their shop on weekends. They needed their own USP (unique selling proposition). Language was another barrier for the four brothers because even though they spoke Kannada, customers didn’t understand their north Karnataka dialect.
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Eureka! The four brothers decided to start serving traditional and nutritious meals specific to their north Karnataka region that abuts Maharashtra.
While most local eateries in the SG Palya area served popular food items such as momos, sandwiches and milkshakes, Sri Siddeshwara started offering authentic regional cuisine.
The menu includes north Karnataka dishes like jolada rotti, avalakki, girmit, holige and also some other popular food items such as idli sambhar, paddu, vada, khara bath and kesari bath. These food items are also highly nutritious.
The jolada rotti, also known as jowar bhakri, is made of sorghum flour. It is gluten free, and said to be rich in antioxidants, vitamins and fibres. It is less in carbohydrates and starch and believed to help reduce body heat as the mercury soars in north Karnataka during the summer.
Another delicious and also a favourite among sweet-lovers is holige, made out of maida (occasionally wheat), chana dal (Bengal gram), jaggery, ghee and spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg and fennel. This festive dish, usually made only during special occasions, is served here every day.
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Beaten rice or avallaki, known as poha in the north and west of the country, is a gluten-free dish that is easy to digest.
This ordinary looking eatery offers more healthy and tasty food items at an affordable rate than any other great looking restaurant with a glass façade.
Like it did for the other sectors, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in huge financial losses for Sri Siddeshwara too. For two months after the lockdown in 2020, the brothers cooked up their stock and distributed the food for free before heading back home. Once things improved, they returned to Bengaluru to restart their restaurant.
If you happen to be in south Bengaluru and are up for some traditional north Karnataka cuisine, hop into an autorickshaw and head to Venkateshwara Layout in SG Palya to enjoy a hearty and nutritious meal at Sri Siddeshwara.
