Mysuru: One of the most popular events of the annual Dasara festival is the Aahara Mela or the Food Mela. And the popularity is proved by a large number of people who flocked the Scouts and Guides Ground behind Deputy Commissioner’s Office soon after the mela was inaugurated yesterday.

Scouts and Guides Ground is one of the venues with the other one being MUDA Ground, near Lalitha Mahal Palace Hotel.

The Aahara Mela was inaugurated by Food and Civil Supplies Minister U.T. Khader in the presence of a host of dignitaries like Primary and Secondary Education Minister Tanveer Sait, Muzarai Minister Rudrappa Manappa Lamani, ZP CEO P. Shivashankar, Sr. Deputy Director of Food and Civil Supplies Department K. Rameshwarappa and others.

The inauguration was marked by performances by Nandi Dhwaja, Kamsaale, Pooja Kunitha and Dollu Kunitha artists.

Last year, more than 5 lakh people visited the Aahara Mela and taking into account the popularity, the organisers decided to host the mela at two venues.

This move was also aimed at ensuring that the celebrations are not restricted to the Central Business District.

At the Scouts and Guides Ground, 95 food stalls have been set up and 75 stalls have been arranged at MUDA Grounds.

Both the venues serve vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes where foodies can treat themselves to a wide range of food items, ranging from the traditional to the contemporary.

But response-wise, the Scouts and Guides Ground is attracting more people than the one at MUDA Grounds. Several visitors to the MUDA Ground Food Mela were disappointed to see many empty stalls.

Like in the previous years, the highlight of this year’s mela is the Tribal Food or food from the woods. Bamboo Biriyani and Bamboo Rice Kheer prepared by tribals are in great demand. Tribals from different hamlets served delicious food items to the visitors at their specially constructed   ‘Aadivasi Mane’.

Bamboo Biriyani – rice, masala and chicken – stuffed and cooked with bamboo stems, and tea made of ‘makali beru’, a variety of roots and tubers grown in the forests, dishes made of green leaves, and food items prepared using bamboo shoots are the major attractions.

This apart, dishes like traditional tribal crab curry, boiled forest tubers eaten along with pure forest honey, ragi rotti made out of Muthugada Yele, Naati Koli Saaru, Fish Biriyani and Donne Biriyani are selling like hot cakes.

People are crowding the Aahara Mela as early as 10.30 am to eat to their heart’s content. The crowd swells during lunch time, evening and it reaches its peak at dinner time.

On an average, 60,000 people visit the mela every day with the numbers touching a lakh during weekend and holidays.

All the tribal delicacies take not less than 45 minutes to prepare and foodies just patiently wait in the queue for their turn to eat.

Apart from tribal delicacies, there is great demand for cuisines that included organic food and for recipes from Kodagu and Malnad region.

Besides this, a variety of delicious food items from Mandya, Bagalkot, Belagavi, Vijayapura, Dharwad, Chikkamagalur, and coastal Karnataka are on offer.

For vegetarians, dishes including Vegetable Biriyani, Davangere Benne Dose, Dharwad Peda, Pizza, Chinese dishes and a variety of juices and desserts have been arranged.