101 guide to a Bengaluru “Darshini” and How to order like a Pro !

• co-authored with Vijay Mysore (“CEO”, Gaadi Gourmet, a world-famous in Bengaluru foodie group on Facebook) and reviewed by co-thindipothas…

What is a Darshini ?

“ Kaapi Aayta saar ? Thindi* ? Aaytu ivagthane, nimdu ?”

Though Cafe Darshini was the first Darshini to start in Bengaluru, the word “Darshini” became popular sometime in the early 90’s when Upahara Darshini (UD) started on DVG road. Till then most of these “stand and eat” places went by standard names such as an SLV (in Banashankari and Basavangudi), Veena Stores or a Brahmins Coffee Bar.

All these places had the same “style” as the Darshini of today with a limited menu, stand and eat.

Thanks to UD’s popularity, every new eatery that opened all over the city started calling itself a “Darshini” irrespective of the quality of food.

So what really is it?

Essentially Bengaluru’s answer to McD, fast food, self-service, fresh food, no seating typically, cost-effective, prepaid, and doles out what the world knows as good Udupi cuisine.

The setting

You see a lot of folks standing around,some using their morning walk as an excuse to have their additional round of kaapi, a gang that’s talking about land and crores of rupees it costs, retired men in a very relaxed mood, the office goers and bachelors who are there for a quick clean bite and many such characters.

As you go inside, the first thing you should look for is the corner where the cashier is. The cashier holds tokens of various denominations or has a cash register. These prepaid tokens began when people started eating and left without paying. There are always some photos/idols of God behind the counter . You will notice that there are separate Dose counters, kaapi/tea,idli/vade etc and the all-important parcel counter. The crowd at the parcel counter revalidates ideas of kitchens being closed in Bengaluru homes on the weekends.

Everything gets discussed here; politics, cricket of course and real estate prices. ( you may hear Bengaluru Telugu with words like akkada, rendukotilu, manwallu, chaana baagundi ).

People here ought to be on sports selection committees and strategy planning panels. They are seen here discussing even complex topics in great detail like how a “stealth attack” was carried out on terror camps in Pakistan, whether Rohit Sharma is a better captain for ODI’s or why France had a flawed starting 11 in the finals.

Some of these folks are part of the furniture here and you’ll see them in the early morning, late mornings and the evenings. The local Darshini is their “office” (at least that’s what they tell people at home). Their attire changes from track pants for early mornings to office clothes for the late mornings and some casual wear for the evening.

Just like their clothes, the menu too changes with more “rice items” between noon and 3PM and special snacks after that. Some newer ones have started chaats post 5pm..

*Thindi- Kannada for breakfast and also snacks

The Staple

People who want to “play” a long innings typically start off with a single Idli and Vade. Haven’t you heard about “just take singles and rotate the strike “.

Idli :A Bengaluru favorite staple that is typically grainy due to the presence of idli rave or idli thari. The idli is considered the healthiest breakfast at a Darshini.

Vade: not vada, it’s vade. A good Darshini will make them in small batches to keep them fresh and crisp. In the better vades, you’ll bite into the occasional tiny coconut bit and small chilli pieces making it such a classy dish.

These places have started serving thatte idlis, mallige idlis and chibblu idlis. Let’s stick to the traditional Idli/Vade for this piece.

How to eat an Idli/Vade

The all-important question. With Sambaar? Chutney? or Both?. In some places like Veena Stores, SLV Banashankari, and Brahmins coffee bar, this question doesn’t arise(they only serve chutney). This chutney/sambaar combo has given rise to the keywords of “Dippu” and “Seperatoo”.

Dippu — Dunk the Idli/Vade in sambaar. Places that dont serve the sambaar, dunk it in chutney.

Seperatoo/Sapretoo — For this option, the plates have partitions or cups are used to serve the sambaar,chutney “Seperately” along with Idli-Vades

There are folks who can’t make up their mind and order a saambar dippu and then ask for some chutney to be poured over the pool.

Pro tips : Order Quantity + item(s) + dip or separate

For example : Single idli/vade dippu Or idli/vade separatoo (can say sep-seperatoo also). Note : no quantity specified is 2 idlis and 1 vade always ). To order multiple plates of idli for eg 2 plates one could say “yeradu double”.

Sambaar made in a Darshini originates from the Udupi region of coastal Karnataka, has lesser quantity of dal/veggies. It gets its sweetness from the jaggery /sugar added to it. It’s pronounced sambaar not samburr or sambr.

Don’t get hassled if you see someone with a dippu chopping away with spoons furiously at that idli to make it look like minced meat. Explanations we could think of were :

a) No teeth to grind solids. b) Can eat more sambar as the insides soak in a lot. c) A recent conversion to vegetarianism. d) His parents wanted him to be a surgeon but …

The Bengaluru folks are very particular about how they consume their staple.Don’t argue about these belief systems if you want a peaceful thindi time …

Rave(ra-way) idli : This was a dish that was invented during the period when there was a shortage of rice during the war. The dish is made of semolina(rave), curds and tadka. Typically served with chutney and a saagu made from veggies or just potatoes (The Bombay saagu) or Kurma, a mixed vegetable gravy.

The Bath’s

No, we aren’t talking about washing dirty linen in public or a Turkish hamam.

Kharabath :Used to be an uppittu but somewhere along the line they “coloured” it and called it kharabath. Some places like South Kitchen and Sathvik kitchen still serve both.

Kesaribath :This dish wasn’t invented by the BJP or Sitaram Kesari. For the uninitiated, it’s a sweet version of Uppittu. Bits of pineapple or banana are sometimes added to give it that extra zest. Copious amounts of ghee are added as well.

Chowchowbath:For those who want the best of both worlds, chowchow bhath has a scoop of kharabath and a scoop of kesaribath.

Pro tips: Kharabath/Uppittu can also be had simultaneously with coffee (our favourite).

For the sweet people: Kesaribath is not to be had before Coffee. Coffee with sugar cannot follow a sweet.

“Special” in some places may just refer to an added cashew on the Kesaribath and a piece of tomato on the Kharabath

PS : Last known the Bengaluru fellow was hosting a rave party with Rave idli, Kharabath, Kesaribath and Rave Unde for dessert.

Bisibelebath or bisibele huli anna : A Karnataka special. It’s a mixed rice made of lentils, rice, veggies and topped with some peanuts, cashews fried in ghee. This is “THE one-pot meal” to try if one is looking for something special. Served typically with boondi on top and a mosaru raita like preparation ( that is cucumber, onion, tomato and boondi in curd)

Mosaranna or Curd rice

The “Fire Extinguisher”, ”The panacea”, Curd rice, with a dash of a pickle (preferably lime or mango) is the perfect end to any meal. A typical South Indian craves this and may even want to end a pizza meal with curd rice.

Ricebath : A Generic term for any rice preparation.

The token you buy at the counter is for a “Rice Bath” and at the delivery counter you are asked “bath yavadu (which bath?). Your options may include Puliyogare, Tomato, Vaangi baath, Pongal, and these days; Pulao which usually has a few fried breadcrumbs which may have started as a substitute for meat chunks.

The Dose’s (Do-say)

The one dish that everyone wants to eat when they are at a Darshini is a Dose. Darshini’s tend to serve various textures of dose — crisp, soft, crispy-crust-and-soft-core, and so on. This dish probably is the most versatile and can be made with combos of ingredients as a base from rice, Ragi, wheat flour etc. Bengaluru is also famous for its “99 verity dose” carts. The authors don’t recommend eating at those carts at any time for multiple reasons.

The doses are served with a coconut chutney and just a drizzle of ghee on the top. With requests from folks who can’t eat anything without the sambaar there is a cup of sambaar also served by default in the darshini’s these days.

Masale: This is the mango of dose’s, every darshini would be rated by a Bangalorean on a scale of 1–10 on how well they make their masale doses. There is an alugadde palya ( potato curry )which is served inside the dose. The insides of the dose are sometimes smeared with red chutney or green coconut chutney. A variant that some darshinis do on special days or Sundays is the saagu masale (Saagu instead of the alugadde palya).

There is an ongoing war on why it’s called a masale, whether it’s the red spicy chutney that is smeared or is it the alugadde palya. If you want to support the No red chutney movement make sure you say “Kempu chutney beda” when you hand over the token.

Plain: As the name suggests, this is just a Masale dose without the palya. This is served with a coconut chutney. In some places the plain dose is made in the shape of a cone, which helps distinguish it from the masale to make life easier for both the servers and customers.

The below doses are served with Saagu/Kurma and chutney

Onion:An onion Dose is a thick Dose with one side smeared with onions, chillies, coriander, curry leaves. This is similar to the uthappam from Tamil Nadu.

Rave:A very large thin flaky dose with the base of semolina and the flour contains chillies/coriander and cashews sometimes. It’s poured on the tawa like a tablecloth and requires tremendous skill to get the heat and consistency right.

Set: As the name suggests a Set Dose is a set of 3 small fluffy plain Doses. The batter needed for set Dose is slightly different from the normal Dose. This is not to be confused with the Khali Dose which is very similar looking but comes in twos which are thinner and larger in size.

Pro tip:

To order like a local, just say the type of dose without actually mentioning the word “dose.”

For example: Ond(one) Masale, Ond settu.

Also to sound like a pro if you have to say the word, don’t say Dosa, Dhosai or Dhosa, say it like a Bangalorean does, that is; “Dosay.”

For “special” effects there are better versions of each of these with a little benne (butter) or a spoonful of tuppa (ghee) on the top. There are also variants that add pudi on top (pudi masale,pudi plain etc ). The authors feel too much ghee or butter changes the actual taste of the dose negatively.

Special “Items”

Some Darshini’s go a bit more traditional and add a few “special items” that are made only in certain other regions (for example: Kotte idli for breakfast from Dakshina Kannada region). These specials are made on occasion or at particular times of the day like a goli baje is typically made only in the evening for snack with coffee.

Poori : The fluffy poori is best served with an alugadde palya and coconut chutney ,though most places serve them with a kurma or a saagu. Ask politely “saar swalpa alugadde palya kodthira please ??” and you may be in luck .

Akki rotti : A thindi very unique to Karnataka. This is made from rice flour, garnished with chillies, coriander and served alongside chutney and a saagu. The making of an Akki rotti is a tough ask, making the dough, the heat needed to cook it well without burning it and getting the perfect thickness of the rotti.

Pro tip: Always eat it as soon as it made for best results( You dont want to parcel an akki rotti ), and yes it’s a Rotti with a double t.

Buns — A fried Mangaluru creation that is fruity, sweet and tangy at the same time, thanks to the banana that gets added to the dough. Looks like a thick poori. We Love it with chutney and dalithoy/sambar/chutney.

Maddur vade — For this vade, the dough is held together by finely cut strands of onions. Very few places in Bengaluru measure up to the originals made in Maddur.

Mosaru vade : A vade dunked in curd and served with boondi and tadka on top. A cool vade :)

Neer Dose :A dose that has more water than dough. It’s thin and soft and served with a mild coconut chutney, and a mixture of jaggery and grated coconut. The alternating bites of the two flavours with the neer dose makes it a must try.

Nuchinnaunde: Our answer to “protein-filled snacks.” A solid steamed dish made from 3 different types of lentils. Each piece is loaded with probably as much protein as a boiled egg.

Holige or Obbattu: A Chapati-like dish with a sweet filling in between. Traditionally, “kayi” (coconut) filling and “bele” (lentil) fillings are the norm, but the new age “Holige Maney” stores have become extremely creative and have various unique choices of stuffing.

Bonda soup: The joke goes that Bonda Soup was “invented” when the cook ran out of sambar powder. It’s available mostly in the evenings. The “Soup” is just a watery dal with a dash of lime. The Bonda is the same as the uddina vade except for the absence of the hole (like the mint without the hole).

Bajjis/Pakoda : Fritters made from anything they find around the kitchen: Potatoes, Onions, Chillies and if not anything, then just the dough, like in a Mangaluru bajji (There’s probably a Mangalorean out there who’s quite angry at this point, we know it’s called goli baje).

Huli/gojju avalakki: Avalakki (poha) with a tangy twist courtesy, the tamarind. This is a dish made at homes for a Vrata OR when there is a need for a quick fix very much like the Upittu.

Ottu Shavige/ Shavige bath — The local (and much better) version of thin noodles with seasonings on top. A very light and delightful snack.

Something to end your visit to the darshini?

The best part of a Darshini ,KAAPI. A Bangalorean lands up at a darshini any timeof the day for some fresh Kaapi and Tea.

Kaapi — This is the famous filter kaapi. The fresh decoction made every few hours and the milk is boiled continuously making this a must-do at a Darshini. When you are ordering a kaapi here are the parameters to specify

a) How strong a coffee can you handle: Straang /Medium/Normal

b) Lessu/plussu/mixedu: Zero sugar/ Extra sugar / A mix of sugarless milk and milk with sugar. Mixed is like a medium haircut — when you are not sure what you want.

c) by-two — sharing is caring! This is a way of moderating quantities, much like a cutting chai.

Like the North indian fare /chaats, the Kaapis and teas have also gotten an upgrade to variants like green tea/ Kaapi with Jaggery etc.

Tea is made from time to time as a readymade version. It comes with the choice of with sugar or without sugar. In some Darshinis options like ginger, cardomom, green tea and tea with jaggery are also available.

Pro tip : To order like a local say ond lessu straang, ond mixed naarmal (pls note, ordinary is an insult). Some of them have started frothing the coffee too much, and we feel it spoils the taste, sticks all around one’s mouth and is a lesser bang for the buck. So ask “Anna kaapi, straangu, lessu, nore beda” . This too much “nore” probably is a candidate for change.org.

With the by-two both halves need not be same composition, so for example it can be half strong sugarless, half medium extra sugar “ardha straang lessu , ardha medium plussu “.

Some of our Bengaluru favourites and the dishes to try

SLV Bsk — Idly (with benne), Vade, Kharabaath (Chutney Only)

SLV Ragigudda — Masale Dose, Set Dose, Saagu masale

SLV Bull temple Road — Idly/Vade dippu , Masale dose

Brahmins Coffee Bar -Idly chutney

Sathvik Kitchen- Mangalore Buns, Huli avalakki, Masale Dose

SN Refreshments - Idly/Vade chutney

Raghavendra Stores — Idly, Vade, Shavigebath

Naivedyam (Jayanagar) — Podi dose ,Idly, Vade * Please don’t have coffee here walk down to HatttiKaapi or Maiya’s .

Gayatri Coffee Kendra — Idly, Vade, Kharabath

South Kitchen — Anything on the menu

Bengalore cafe — Masale dose, Idli/Vade

Veena Stores Idli Vade

UD Basavangudi — Idli Vade dippu, Masale Dose

IDC Kitchen — Anything on the menu

Filter kaapis before during and after thindi everywhere …Never say no to a filter kaapi, say “churechuru”(very very little).

“VERY IMPORTANT FOOTNOTE !!!!” 😊

The authors of this piece have donated a lot of their wealth to Darshini’s from time immemorial and still continue to do so. By now they probably could have owned a darshini with all that “investment “. They are the OGTP’s ( Original Thindipothas ) and would love to be taken out by anyone interested in such an experience : vikramchan@yahoo.com and vijaym63@gmail.com. Or alternatively, find them a good Darshini that is worth visiting and they will join you for breakfast and add it to the list!.

Special mention

AB- @ajit_bhaskar twitter, a thindipotha who makes people “Run for thindi “. A lot of the photos of this piece are from those runs. Thanks for the review, owe you a lot of thindi.

PS : If someone finds things written here in bad taste, encourage them to ignore us and write your own versions :).