You can easily miss this eating corner, but you can’t miss the crowd here. It carries no name board.
Yet it has managed to win hearts and of course, the palate of the people with its lingering flavour. People literally wait for ‘99 varieties of dosa’ in 6th Block of Koramangala to open at 5 every evening and the place keeps teeming with people, mostly its regulars, till 11 at night. The eatery operates from a cart that is fixed on to a tempo.
‘99 varieties of dosa’ has been in the business in the City for the last two years now. It was started by Prakash and his wife Padma Prakash with a few varieties of dosas and soon the menu was expanded and today, the eatery sells exactly 99 varieties. The dosa comes in all mixes and the ingredients that go into it are all healthy veggies. They serve only vegetarian dosas and Prakash concedes that innovation is key to his soaring popularity.
Prakash has no menu card, he simply reels out the names and offers suggestion to first timers as to what they could start with. Cooking is all he and his wife have ever known and when he relocated from Mumbai to Bangalore, he didn’t think twice before starting this eating joint. “I don’t want to move into a hotel and expand my business. I am quite content with the pushcart and it is this informal setting that attracts people. I don’t think I would get the same response had I been housed in a hotel,” says Prakash.
There are no concerns about hygiene, for the dosas are made then and there as when an order is placed. “The batter is readied in the morning and the vegetables are bought fresh and cleaned. Nothing is cut and kept. The preparations begin at 8 in the morning and we are on our toes till 11 at night,” says Prakash. He avers that he doesn’t compromise on the cleanliness and hygiene.
“We don’t give people a spoon and the food is served on a plastic sheet. They have to eat with hand and provision is made for them to wash their hands. We buy big cans of clean water for people to drink and wash their hands,” he adds.
Among the varieties available are paneer dosa, Mysore dosa, cauliflower, aloo, mixed dosa, beetroot dosa, Mysore set dosa, mushroom, chocolate, channa – it would be impossible to mention all the varieties in one go, but Prakash’s experiments with the dosa has won him a lot of regulars.
“We use Amul butter and cheese not ghee to make crisp dosas. It’s expensive but taste is what brings people back here,” he says. The dosas are priced anywhere between Rs 25 and Rs 125, depending on what you order.
And the regulars who come here say they never leave without eating one and parcelling another. Nandini, an artist and Vallish, an IT professional like the dosas and vouch for the taste. “It’s rich and the quantity is good, it really fills you. We intend to come back for more,” says Nandini.
And Vatsala Kamath, a homemaker confesses she really likes the taste. “I come here quite often and sometimes parcel some home as well. It’s served hot and it’s quite different from what you get in other places. More than anything, it’s value for money,” says Vatsala.
Prakash parks his cart in 6th Block, Koramanagala, near the Ganesha Temple, opposite the Bajaj Showroom. For details, call 8147048251.