Rustic rural flavours

Hand-pounded spices flavouring the scorching hot curries, biryanis, and pulaos cooked over coal to bring out the inherent flavours of the ingredients comprise the essence of Nati cuisine, writes Praveen Shetty

Nati cuisine

Nati cuisine of Karnataka is one of the country’s oldest and it incorporates flavours, ingredients, and cooking techniques from across the southern states apart from having its own unique culinary heritage.

Nati Ruchigalu means “rustic rural flavours,” and the core of Nati cuisine consists of locally sourced foods such as nati chicken, which is known for having the highest nutritional content of any poultry; the Bannur lamb which is named after a hamlet in Karnataka and is prized for its exceptional meat quality, adding to the flavour of Nati cuisine, and fresh seafood.

The Military messes were first started to cater to the food requirements of the soldiers. Then the local crowd fell in love with the flavours of this rich food.

Military messes in Bengaluru are amongst the greatest venues to satisfy your fetish for non-vegetarian cuisine. Bengaluru’s ‘Military’ cuisine honours non-vegetarian cuisine in all of its grandeur, with meals mostly prepared with real hand-pounded spices and masalas. Military food, also known as Namma Ooru’s soul food, consists of rich, scorching hot curries, biryanis, and pulaos that are cooked over coal to bring out the inherent flavours of the ingredients.

Karnataka respects native cuisines and ingredients since different parts of the state have different demographics. Native cuisine is made up of foods from Uttara Karnataka and other parts of India. Ballari, Raichur, Dakshina Kannada, Mysuru, Mandya, Karwar, Udupi, and Mangaluru are among the states that add to this exclusive pot of flavour. The cuisine is a combination of country style and homemade recipes. Nati cuisine is centred around the local essence, giving guests a nostalgic resurrection of taste from the military messes and presenting a local and cultural experience, with a global twist to it.

Most country-style dishes such as Donne Biryani are ideally served in a leaf pouch with aromatic spices that elevate the taste buds, Ragi Mudde, where ragi is finger millet, is a very nutritional dish that’s high in minerals and earthy flavours, Mutton Kurma which is made from slow-cooked lamb and Keema Ball Curry are mouth-watering. Beverages like Bel Sherbet, Panakam and Nannari sherbet are savoured well with this cuisine.

Nati cuisine combines flavours and spices such as coriander seeds, pepper, and unique masalas such as the green masala, which contains onion, tomatoes, fenugreek, whole masala, coriander leaves, and methi leaves, and the red masala, which contains Byadagi chilli, small onion, jeera, coconut, and coriander seeds.

Nati food is the essence of real flavour and can be found in almost every Karnataka family.

(The author is a leading chef who believes in keeping it original by sourcing the finest ingredients from origin markets across the world. He is passionate about adapting global culinary techniques like ‘Pans to your Plate,’ ‘Source Local Serve Global’ and innovative plating and presentation.)