My Guide to the Best Dosas in Bangalore
For the longest time, I've held this grudge against folks who spoke ill of the beautiful golden brown goodness that is the masala dosa we get in Bangalore. I'll categorize these folks into:
1. Folks from outside South India who get used to the "thin & crispy" or worse, the mashed up version of everything that you get on the streets of Mumbai, so much so that they start thinking that that is the real version of of a dosa. They're not too bad actually but hey, that dosa is as authentic as gobi manchurian is "Chinese". Read this blog to know more or see the image below for a quick snapshot.
2. Stubborn Tam folks with whom I've had umpteen borderline philosophical debates on Karnataka sambar vs Tam sambar. Murugan Idly Shop's amazing Podi Idly cannot make up for the shapeless, hapless and underwhelming "dosai" that you get at the same place
3. Folks who like "99 variety/verity/vareity/varity Dosa" where they go have their favorite Schezwan Pav Bhaji Masala Mushroom Mayo Cheese Caviar dosa. God damn it, by the time you go through half of it, it becomes so messed up you forget what you had ordered in the first place
So as a grumpy old Bangalorean, here is my little attempt at making the world a better place by educating the common folks on some of the real Dosa places in Bangalore.
Now I'll not get into too many technical details such as the ratio of urad dal to rice or what the Leidenfrost Effect is because I'm pretty clueless myself but I'll try to bring about some aspects of uniqueness of various types of dosas I will mention here. What you should know is that, most of the types of dosa you get in Bangalore are very much influenced by the Mysore Masala Dosa or the Udupi style sambar. Also, please please guys - it is pronounced as Do(the way you pronounce 2 in Hindi)-Sa (or Do-Se) and NOT Dough-sha/Dough-sa!
Loosely speaking, let's classify an authentic masala dosa into 3 types:
Type 1 - The old Bangalore no nonsense style which you get at majority of the darshini restaurants. These are generally made in oil (and occasionally in Ghee) and are generally served with both Sambar and chutney. They are lined on the inside by a layer of garlic chutney. It is generally more on the thinner side and only occasionally crispy.
Type 2 - The ghee/benne dosa - these are generally thick and crispy (yes its possible!) thanks largely due to the generous dosage of ghee or local butter aka benne that is used to make them. They are generally served with the usual coconut chutney and the red Kempu chutney. They are also lined on the inside with a garlic chutney and hence the taste is an lip-smacking combination of ghee soaked dosa, garlic chutney and the 2 aforementioned chutneys.
Type 3 - The new age "mini-dosa" which are smaller and cheaper dosas finding their feet in new age slick darshinis such as Taaza Thindi etc. They are served with a rather small topping of a little ghee or butter and an economical serving of thick chutney but is perfect for those folks who want to have more than a single dish at the same time without the risk of overeating. They usually dont have any garlic chutney on the inside leaving you with a taste of only the dosa and the chutney (and masala). They are seriously cheap (20 bucks usually!) and the owners make up for this by sheer economy of scale and an efficient supply chain. Seriously, their business models deserve to be studied in b-schools instead of some large dying US conglomerate of the 1990s.
Of course, dosas have far more varieties than masala dosa alone. Some other great authentic varieties are the set dosa, khali dosa, onion dosa, podi dosa, bath dosa etc - some of which I will cover below.
Do note the interesting history behind many of these outlets, some of the older ones like Vidyarthi Bhavan, Mahalaxmi Tiffin Room etc were meant for the students nearby
The typical engineering mind that Ihave, I'm going to make yet another classification into 3 categories of place - the good, the great and the holy shit/godlike places (a little Dota reference there!).
Also, these are by no means exhaustive but purely a list of my own go-to places.
The Good:
1. Airlines Hotel, Lavelle Road
Known for: The breezy outdoor ambience which a favourite joint of morning walkers from Cubbon Park and family outings alike. I've honestly had a dosa here only once and have far more important memories eating Death by Chocolate at Corner House right next door
Type of Dosa: Type 1 Old Bangalore
Known for - the place where the famous HSR startup janta meets and eats everything from Masala Dosa to Gobi Manchurian. I was pleasantly surprised by how such a gem of a place went undiscovered for months after I joined my current company which happened to be a 5-10 minute walk away.
Type of Dosa: Type 3- New Bangalore
3. Davangere Benne Dosa, Jayanagar/Basavanagudi
Known for- the unique Davangere style dosa which has a unique patchy light brown colour characterised by a fluffy dosa soaked with butter. There are many such "Dosa camps" all over Bangalore and till date, I have not figured out which one is the real deal (dark corners of Google say its Sri Guru Kottureshwara Davangere Benne Dosa but I've not been there yet). Anyhow, this place in Jayanagar served some pretty good dosa and it was spicy AF.
Type of Dosa - NOTA - they're unique!
Known for: Old school simple joint serving some simple kickass dosa. I havent been to this place for at least 12-14 years now but I cant help but remember that it was spicy enough to have my nose running by the time I walked out of the place
Type of Dosa : Type 1 Old Bangalore
Known for: A sit down and eat place which was one of the first places I've been to which served a dosa in the shape you see in the pic below. Good for folks who live closeby or are passing by. Also, its a good place if you like your sweet-sour Sambar alongside the dosa.
Type of Dosa: Type 1 Old Bangalore
6. Mahalakshmi Tiffin Room, DVG Road, Basavanagudi
Known for: I honestly dont recall much of this place since I've been there only once more than a decade ago, but its easy to miss the awesomeness of this rather plain looking old place in the shadow of the far more popular Vidyarthi Bhavan which is not too far from here. Go here if you want a taste of a long foregone Bangalore with decor from a long time ago and no sort of electronic payments accepted
Type of Dosa: Type 1 Old Bangalore
Known for: Being a poor man's version of the MTR Masala Dosa (they have this mysterious taste which I cant really put down in words). Heck, the very founder of the company was ex-MTR (he sold MTR to a big Norwegian company in 2002 and set up his own shop later after the non-compete clause ended)
Type of Dosa: Type 1 Old Bangalore
8. RK Dosa Camp, Wilson Garden
Known for: The gigantic family feeding paper masala dosa. You can easily miss this place for a shady little dosa camp but its made a niche of itself thanks to their relatively spicy food and the 3 feet long paper masala dosa
Type of Dosa: Type 1 Old Bangalore
The Great
1. Chikkanna Tiffin Room, Sheshadripuram
Known for: The pretty kickass Podi Masala Dosa, the deceivingly tasty "Khali Dosa" and (not for the faint hearted) the Bath Dosa (pronounced as Bhath). They have an outlet somewhere in Cubbonpet as well but that is not as well known or easy to spot. I first visited this place on a friends reco who swears that it is his favorite place (and who turned up one hour late while I watched folks devour the ghee laden dosa - if you're reading this, I havent forgotten!) after a morning jog in Cubbon Park
Type of Dosa: Type 2 Ghee/Benne Dosa
Known for: Being a favourite joint of the students from nearby colleges. I am a little biased here because I frequented this joint back in classes 11 and 12 and revisited the place after a decade. The Set Dosa is seriously underrated and the Masala Dosa is pretty damn good. I also suggest trying out the Akki Roti and Ragi Dosa if possible.
Type of Dosa: Type 1 Old Bangalore
3. MTR, Lalbagh (the original one)
Known for: Being pretty legendary and synonymous for a masala dosa, especially for folks outside of Bangalore thanks to number of outlets spread across the city. I have visited 4 different outlets but found the original MTR which was in business even before our Independence. The Masala Dosa is pretty unique with its relatively thin, not-so-crispy but delicous taste. It was once famous for being one of the few places which served ghee with the Dosa (some say they cooked it in Ghee earlier on). Watch out for the crazy crowds on a weekend morning thanks to those folks who compensate for lost calories after a stroll/jog in Lalbagh. The thali and Mangalore buns are pretty kick-ass as well.
Type of Dosa: Type 1 Old Bangalore
4. Samrat in Hotel Chalukya, Race Course Road:
Known for: Being the place where babus, MLAs and the other men in white come for their breakfast and coffee. Dont be surprised to see a few luxury cars parked in the parking right outside. I always loved their dosas (not too different from the MTR style) and absolutely love the Sambar (with Idly!). Their dosas are almost orange in colour thanks to the inner lining of garlic chutney. However, I must say that my last visit a year ago on a very crowded Sunday morning was a forgettable experience with an extremely oily dosa and pretty crappy service.
Type of Dosa: Type 1 Old Bangalore
Known for: A very very simple looking place serving the spiciest chutney I have had anywhere at all. I have worked in sales roles for while earlier which entailed a fair bit of travel across the city and this was always on my go-to list. I was pretty unimpressed by the look of their outlet and searched twice to make sure I was at the right place. But boy-oh-boy, looks dont matter in this case. Their idly-vada-sambar is pretty amazing as well. I left with tears in my eyes thanks to the spicy chutney (and how good the dosa was).
Type of Dosa: Type 1 Old Bangalore
Known for: Revolutionizing the darshini into a new age, limited menu, smaller serving and fast service (and unbeatable hygiene standards). I believe they were the ones who pioneered this format which was later copied by innumerable new places. The crowds here are the biggest you will see in ANY of the outlets mentioned in this list. Some of you may be surprised to see this darshini not included in the "Godlike" places given how legendary this place has already become. While I do agree that their Dosa is very good, I like this place far more for the Idly-Vada-Chutney and the supreme Chow-chow bath.
Type of Dosa: Type 3 New Bangalore
7. Vidyarthi Bhavan, Basavanagudi
Known for: Being the most well know Dosa joint in Bangalore after MTR and another legendary outlet which was opened pre Independence. Do read this article for more. The golden brown colour of the dosa itself evokes a familar taste in your palette and the generous serving of a rather liquid chutney to dunk your dosa into. I would say the most legendary and unique differential about VB is the way the dosas are served (see the pic below to figure why). Some old timers may find it to be a surprise that I have not included VB in the "Godlike" category given that the oldest tribal debate between North and South Bangaloreans is the classic CTR vs VB (which is best) conundrum. I just find the dosa here to be slightly overrated and not at par with some of the dosas in the next category.
Type of Dosa: Both 1 and 2 - Old School Bangalore with a serving of benne
Godlike:
Known for: The achieving the impossible trinity of a THICK, crispy and and the trademark golden yellow colour without wear and tear. Honestly, they deserve far more accolades on their walls than Burrp! or Zomato or Time Food type of awards. This is another old Bangalore place with notable history as seen here. Also, avoid Sundays given the absolute mayhem in getting a table which may take upwards of half an hour. The feels when you eat that first bite when the thick butter ridden dosa (Served with 2 chutneys) slowly dissolves in our mouth and leaves behind the best after taste possible. I discovered the place only thanks to my college mates from that part of town but have visited the place religiously ever since through thick (Crowds) and thin (Covid!). It is oft said that a Idly at Veena stores up the road followed by a Benne Dosa at CTR is the best breakfast you can have. I also recommend their pretty awesome Mangalore bhajji as an appetizer just before you eat the dosas which take some time to get served.
Type of Dosa: Type 2 Benne/Ghee Dosa
2. Lakshmi Nataraj Refreshments aka "Pandus", Nagarathpet/Chickpet
Known for: Being a pioneer of the ghee soaked "bath" dosa and also popular for the podi masala and masala dosas. I have faint memories of eating at a much smaller roadside "thela" over 15 years ago when I first ate their popular bath dosa (I could not believe one could eat dosa with a "pulao"!). Fast forward 15 years, I got to visit this place often during market visits in the crowded markets nearby. It is pretty tricky to find the place as it is located in the corner of a narrow bylane of a crowded and narrow street. It is said that the man selling this minted so much money in the last few years that he purchased many properties in the vicinity and rented them out commercially (And property rates are NOT cheap in that part of town!). Anyhow, the Dark brown color of the ghee-soaked podi masala dosa and the 2 chutneys served with a topping of fried gram tadka ( makes for an absolute treat. Their Idly and the afternoon meals are also something definitely worth trying.
Type of dosa: Type 3 ghee/benne dosa
3. Shree Sai Dosa, Rajajinagar
Known for: The coma inducing amount of ghee that they put in their dosas. Oh, which taste absolutely amazing. The chutney is also topped the fried gram tadka (vagarne). This is a not so well know place located close to the popular Navrang theatre and was another late discovery for my after my Sunday morning jog at Cubbon Park. I give it full credit for making me a fan of the type 3 ghee masala dosa more than any other outlet mentioned in this list.
Type of Dosa: Type 3 ghee/benne dosa
4. Umesh Dosa Point, Kumarapark/Sheshadripuram
Known for: A favourite breakfast point of Marwaris who throng the place on weekends (lol). I personally find Umesh dosa as the most complete and consistently well made Masala dosa across any outlet - it is hot and crispy and the outside and soft on the inside giving it a crispy touch but still melts in your mouth. The dosa here has never let you down (hey, even CTR has served me undercooked dosa or the potato masala more than once) and this consistency alone has made Umesh Dosa my go-to place for all kinds of dosas (podi masala dosa is as good) and also for their ghee soaked Idly sambar.
Type of Dosa: Type 3 ghee masala dosa
Known for: A new age limited menu quick service darshini (a concept pioneered by Taaza Thindi) which serves some amazing Idly-Vada and Chow-chow bath and an even better Masala Dosa. I ended up visiting this place a little more than a year ago thanks to its ratings on Google and Zomato and have been a regular ever since. The chow chow bath at this place is to die for.
Type of Dosa: Type 3 New age Bangalore
So there goes my list of some of the best places for a variety of dosas in all of Bangalore. If you're truly interested in visiting some of these places, here's a couple of ways to go about it:
1. Make a mental map of the locations of these outlets and the next time you plan to pass by the given area for whatever reason, stop by for a quick bite irrespective of the time of day (as long as it is open)
2. Just go to Lalbagh or Cubbon Park (or even Agara Lake) for a morning jog on a Sunday. Run/walk enough to get you really hungry and build up an appetite. More than half of the list here is within a 5-10 minute drive of either parks.
I'm sure there are dozens of other hidden gems I'm yet to visit. Some of the names which come to my mind are Siddappa Hotel SR Nagar, Hotel Dwarka, SLV Coffee Bar Banashankari and By 2 Coffee to name a few. What are you favourite places on this list and what else would you recommend to me?
I aim to write more blogs on other go-to places for different foods (and drinks) so do give me a little encouragement if possible!
PS - Some of these images are taken from Google images given that I may not have visited some places for a while. Credit to whoever has taken them originally
EDIT:
I add a few new places to this list based on recent experiences without classifying them into any category
1. IDC Cafe (multiple locations like Indiranagar, Residency Road, Koramangala, Gandhinagar etc)
2. Rameshwaram Cafe, Indiranagar and JP Nagar
3. Skanda Sai Dosa Camp, Cambridge Layout
Good stuff man! Looking to read more!
ReplyDeleteVery nicely written and enough detailing for one to choose the dosa joint
ReplyDeleteClearly I haven't yet tried any of the god like dosa places. This list is #goals. Thanks a bunch!
ReplyDelete