I bite in to the soft Congress Bun and I am in the seventh heaven. This is the first time I have had this, that too in one of the oldest bakeries of Bangalore-the VB Bakery. And there is only one word for this bun filled with spicy peanuts and butter-exquisite!
For more than a decade I have lived and worked in Bangalore but I never did visit VV Puram eat/thindi street. This week I had an opportunity to do so but unfortunately it was midday when I visited this place. So the popular shops that dishes out Avarekalu dosa and curd Kodubale(crispy snack) had to be skipped. But there were still a couple of shops open and I was content sampling that.
VV Puram thindi street
My first stop was of course at the VB Bakery. After gorging on the bun and the pleasant fruit cake I bumped in to one of the proprietors. A quick chat with him revealed that the bakery was gearing up to celebrate its 70th year in Bangalore. ” “We are busy making preparations for the event. Ours is the oldest bakery to be opened here at VV Puram,”recalled the owner proudly. They used to supply Garlic bread to Pizza outlets. Khara bun Congress was their avishkar! The sweet damrot prepared with pumpkin is not to be missed either.
A quick cross over from VB and I had a hot bite of freshly prepared Holige(sweet flat bread) at the outlet- Shree Vasavi Condiments. With dexterity the cook was filling yellow gram, Jaggery stuffing in to the holige ball, patting it skilfully and dropping it in to the flat top grill. 12 holiges in less than a minute, beats the 2 minute maggie ad any day:-)
With the Averekalu(Hyacinth Beans) season beginning, the Belle Nipatu(crispy snack) with generous dose of this beans is also a worthy bite. I wanted a pack of 10 but I didn’t get any. The reason ” Hot illa madam, swalpa kaya beku(The goodies are not hot madam, wait for sometime),” was the shop’s response. Ever been turned out because a shop did not have freshly made stuff for you?
After that I did not get the popular curd Kodubale or the Avarekalu dosas anywhere. The shops all serve these delicacies after six. But I was not disheartened.
Gulkand at VV Puram:
I got my favorite Gulkand with a dollop of ice cream and fruits at the Shivanna Gulkand shop. U mm…. heaven with dates, sweet gooseberry, banana, cherry with a generous dose of vanilla flavored ice cream. Sinfully wicked I say and you gotta try it. ” Madam we export our Gulkand and the masala mix to other countries,” said the owner proudly as he counted my change. The Pepsi and other drinks you get here has a twist. The masala mix is generously sprinkled on it making it a Pepsi Masala.
There is of course the Dosas, Thatte Idlis, corns,noodles and chats. A person visiting this little street can happily spend 2-3 hours gorging on the snacks. But if you wish for some long, short tales to go along with it then join Unhurried Food walks and you will not be disappointed.
–Usha
Unhurried Tales 