Thindi Walk - Malleshwaram

Inspired by the N.R. Colony's Thindi walk, Kanishka decided to plan her own walk - this time in Malleshwaram. But with two people, it was a challenge since sharing is limited. So, we decided to cover only three places and also focus on the walk. Places were identified from  Thindi Capital - a Whatsapp group of Thindi lovers. 

Car park point - Near C.T.R Malleshwaram

By design this place was skipped since it was tried and tested. Also, limited apetite:)

Stop 1 - Shri Raghvendra Stores, Malleshwaram

Located right outside the Malleshwaram train station, this was decently crowded. Its a small hole in the wall setup but amazingly soft Idlis. Chutney was not too chlli but had a nice thick consistency to it. Dosa and vada were ok. Its Idlis are worth to get down at Malleshwaram train station, have breakfast and then take auto/cab to home.

Stop 2 - Malleshwaram Dose corner

Known for its Davangere style Benne (butter) dose, this was a decent walk from first stop. This walk gave us good opportunity to digest the food. The Davangere style dosa was crispy.  Chutney was watery,  less chilli than the benne dose at NR colony. We decided to Skip the palya (potato) and savored the dosa. Dosa was good. 

Not very crowded though. It had a nice token system. The place is also very prescriptive though - they had a poster saying - "Dear Citizen, If you are living here and do not know Kannada, please learn and be one among us. Do not be a stranger."  

This was amusing :) 

Stop 3 - Veena Stores, Malleshwaram

No Thindi walk is possible in Malleshwaram without a stop at Veena stores. Having been there, we decided to only do parcel from this place. Not just for us but for family as well. Even when we had the food at home, it was very tasty. 

Stop 4 - Shri Krishna Sweets Malleshwaram

Kanishka decided to satisfy her Mysore Pak carving here. Shri Krishna sweets perhaps makes the best Mysore Pak. It is dipped in Ghee and sweet, but not very sweet. The Mysore Pak melts in mouth and it is irresistible to have just one. 

Stop 5 - Hotel Janatha

By this time, our stomachs were full. But hotel Janatha is an iconic shop, having been around for more than 50 years. It has that old place feeling - high walls airy, wooden tables. This is also not a self-serve place, someone comes to take your order. Dosa and Idli were decent. Either we were full or tired, it did not gave us the Aha moment but still pretty decent.  Like most of the yesteryear place, it can be made into much better space. 

Our intention behind this walk was to try out new places. That is why CTR and Veena were skipped. CTR had a long queue outside it. Walking in Malleshwaram is comfy - enough bylanes to avoid traffic, nice trees to have shade. Overall, a delightful breakfast Thindi walk. Took us three hours in total. 

Thindi Walk - N.R. Colony, Beganluru

 

Kanishka and I did a Thindi walk in N.R. Colony. This walk was organized by Ajit Bhaskar along with Enthu Cutlet (what a cool name!) and Edible Issues.  Icame to know about these walks organized by Ajit on Twitter, started following him and landed on the first one that was organized. 

As a Thindi lover, this walk was delightful, informative,  with a gang of people who are serious about their breakfasts. It was super fun. Plus, the new places were super cool. In this blog, I will cover the restaurants but this is just information and the walk is an experience. It is a must! 

Meeting Point - South Kitchen, NR colony

 

Stop 1 - Hotel Dwarka

No walk in N.R. colony will be respectable if it does not include the Khali Dosa of NR colony. This is the only place that I had been before out of the below list. Khali Dosa is amazing, fluffy, no oil (yes, it is dosa without oil) along with a liquidy chutney. You dip your dosa in the chutney to just soak it in and then have a bite. It is legendary. 

We also tried the Vada Sambhar here which was also good

Stop 2 - Trupthi Aahar

We largely stopped here to get a taste of Mangalore Buns. Again, how can you have a Thindi walk without Mangalore buns. Buns were decent. Not the best :) But still Mangalore Buns plus coffee is a combination that is difficult to beat. We also had  a Pudina Masala dosa here, I just had a bite and it was good. This place also deserves respect for its audacity to open right opposite Hotel Dwarka :)

Stop 2.5: Mookambika sweets

Just ahead of Trupthi Aahar on the way to South Kitchen is this small chat shop called Mookambika. It was not a planned stop but the Rawa Wada (Suji Pakoda) made us stop. Apparently, Hotel Dwarka also has it but only in the 2nd half.  Suji Pakoda are anyways my favorite. So good to see it here. 

Stop 3 - Namma SLN, Gandhi Bazaar

It was fair bit of walk from NR colony to Gandhi bazaar but it was worth it to get time to digest the food. Along the way, we crossed Vidyarthi Bhawan and saw huge lines there. Some part of me likes to believe that Ajit planned this intentionally :)

Namma SLN is a Darshini in they style of Cubbonpet Muddanna - a variation of breakfast where dosa has a filling of rice bhat inside it. Done so that the breakfast is a meal higher in calories, meant for folks who work in factories, high laborious kind of work, it is a twist to the standard Darshini fair.  Served with a delicious chutney, in an open dosa style, it was very delicious. 

Another tid bit here is that you do not pay before your meal. You come, order from this hole in the wall outlet, eat food outside and then inform the owner what you ate so that he give you the amount to pay. talk about integrity, heh. 

Plus Ajit's tweet sums up my feelings here - 

Stop 4 - Hotel Srinivasa, NR Colony 

Now, this was a total surprise. Just wow. A hidden gem in between some residential quarters. You know this place is good just by looking at the queue outside.  It is known for its chutney dosa, but we could not have it because it had a massive waiting time. We settled for its Podi Thatte idli and it was awesome. Look at the pic below, it is mouth watering just to look at it. This place needs a second visit :) 

Stop 5 - Sri Gurukottureshwara Davangere benne dosE, NR Colony

In this carefully curated itinerary, Ajit ensured that we do not try the standard dosa (masala dosa) faire. It is available everywhere. The idea is to check out different variations, preparations. and understand the history behind it. One such is the Davangere benne dose (benne=butter). This one was crispy, I had never had a crispy davangere benne dosa before. Chutney had too much chillies and with bland mashed potatoes, this combination, though got sweat to foreheads, but definitely a unique culinary delight to taste. 

Stop 6 - South Kitchen, NR Colony

Back where it all started :) . Little did I know that this ordinary looking Darshini is a cult place. Its choice of offering were delightful. Even though we were stuffed, this place forces you to make room (overeat) and then some more. The Halabai (square kalakand made with rice though was amazing). Regular Idli, Shavige bhath were very well done. The chutney here is similar to Taaza Thindi style one. Overall, it is yet another new discovery place to not miss out. 

Lastly a group photo and an enthu cutlet badge because I am one :)