Ragi mudde

I read this post on raagi mudde and posted a comment too. My thoughts about this subject raced. Among the comments was snippetsnscribbles slurping about raagi mudde with chicken saaru. I decided to write more about this on my own. I hope I have not committed any breach of blog etiquette. If I have, I hope I am excused.

Shruthi's list of things that go well with raagi mudde is fairly limited. Most of our experiences are limited by what Amma makes. What Amma makes depends, among other things, on her tastes, what her Amma made, her caste and class of society she comes from.

A friend of mine, a connoisseur of food (and classical music, not necessarily in the same order) once took me to a special place to savour raagi mudde with matan chaapees (Mutton chops). This is a special place called Jai Bhuvaneswari Hindu Miltry Hotel.

(Many restaurants in Karnataka that serve meat and fish call themselves Miltry - military - hotels. The Hindu part is not that it does not serve food to others. It could either mean that it is run by a Hindu or that the meat is Jhatka and not Halaal. Jhatka is the method of killing an animal, for meat, in which its head is severed in one stroke. Halaal is where the neck is cut and at the end there is a small strip of skin left attaching the head to the rest of the body. This is the recommended method of killing for mulsims)

Coming back to Jai Bhuvaneswari, you can spot it on the road from Bangalore to Mysore. Just before you reach Sriranagapatna there is a bridge. Before reaching the bridge there is a sharp turn to the left. You find JB there, to your left, just before the left turn. (I decry this method of giving directions. If you are traveling on that road for the first time, how do you know when you reach the bridge?. So let me try again.)

While on the way to Mysore, after you have passed Mandya and travelled about 20 kms, you reach a small bridge. As you approach the Bridge, you see a board to your left directing towards Karighatta. (That is a lovely place. You should see it) Pass the bridge and the road takes a right turn. Then you enter Kirangur. There is a row of shops to your left starting with a petrol bunk. After this row of shops, you find a pretty ordinary looking house with Mangalore tiles and a board announcing JB.

This place is famous for raagi mudde with various side dishes. What happened when I was sitting there and enjoying the food is indication of its fame.

A white, chauffeur driven [1] Contessa stopped in front of the place. The chauffeur waved, asking someone from the restaurant to go there. Someone did. The person sitting inside, whom we could not see, gave some "tiffin carriers" and orders for some food. The waiter brought the carriers in and announced what the orders were. It did contain raagi mudde and some side dishes.

Then, one of the owners who was serving us, as we were a rare occurrence - city bred educateds (that is what college educated people are called by many) - proudly told us who the customer in the Contessa was. "Do you know who that is? It is Arundhati Nag, Shankar Nag's wife. He and some friends are staying in Lalit Mahal Palace Hotel. But they want the food from here! Whenever they come to Mysore they come here for food" (Yaar gotta saa adu? Arundti Naagu saa. Sankar naagavrendti. Avrella laltmahal Otlallavre saa. Aadre avrigoota illindle bEku saa. . . ."

Wow. . . .