Mysore/Mysuru: This year’s Dasara Food Festival — Aahara Mela — is an exciting and lip-smacking culinary journey for food lovers who are crowding the venues in droves. Starting from about 11 am till 11 pm, people are hogging the delicacies that are on a platter.

At the Scouts and Guides Grounds behind the DC Office, over 113 stalls have been set up and over 70 stalls have been set up at MUDA Grounds near the Lalitha Mahal Palace.

Gastronomic delights have been introduced for foodies and as in the previous years, the highlight of this year’s Mela is the tribal food like Bamboo Biriyani, Bamboo Rice Kheera and also crab delicacies.

Tribals from different hamlets in Hunsur, H.D. Kote and Periyapatna served delicious food items to the visitors at their ‘Aadivasi Mane’ where a village environment has been created with thatched roof, wheels, haystack and lanterns.

Bamboo Biriyani, cooked with bamboo stems, and tea made of ‘makali beru’, a variety of tubers grown in the forests, dishes made of green leaves, and food items prepared using bamboo shoots were among major attractions.

This year, the Bamboo Biriyani is being made with country chicken and mutton. Though it takes over 45 minutes for the Biriyani to cook, the foodies wait patiently for their turn to savour them. The prices too are reasonable and it is worth the wait for most food lovers. In fact, the aroma of spices from stalls selling non-veg dishes is attracting a large number of people.

Other cuisines include organic food, Mysore cuisine, food from Kodagu, coastal and Malnad region, north Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra, and North Indian cuisines. A variety of delicious food items from Mandya, Bagalkot, Belagavi, Vijayapura, Dharwad, Chikkamagalur and coastal Karnataka are also being served.

According to officials from Food and Civil Supplies Department, more than 40,000 people visited the Mela on average every day, with the numbers likely to cross 80,000 this weekend. 

The evening crowd start their food journey at around 6 pm and many of them were spotted eating Biriyani as early as 6.30 pm.

Along with an assortment of delicacies offered in many non-vegetarian stalls, equally in demand are vegetarian spread. Melukote puliyogare, curd rice, sweet and khara pongal, mushroom biryani, Davanagere benne dose, akki roti, channa batura, masala dosas, chat items are in great demand.

Hot holige, Bhojpuri chat, pav bhaji, channa batura, Kolhapuri chat, Bagalkot jolada rotti, yennegai, Bangarpet pani-puri, Dharwad peda, chibbalu idli, North Karnataka girmit, mirchi-mandakki, pizzas, burgers and french fries too are savoured by the crowd all day and night. There is a spread of fruit delicacies including masalas, juices, ice-creams and salads.

One Biriyani, several names and flavours

The stalls have been divided into vegetarian and non-vegetarian sections. While the veg sections start dishing out food at 11 am daily, non-veg dishes are served at 12 noon. Interestingly, the Biriyani dish dominates the Aahara Mela this time and it is called under different names to attract the crowds.

Some of the names that are attracting the crowds are Appu Dum Biriyani to attract fans of Puneeth Rajkumar, Bannur Gowda Naati Mess, Gowda Mess, Madike Biriyani, Hosakote Dum Biriyani, Jonne Biriyani, Mandya Naati Style Chicken Biriyani, Gundu Pulav, Mysore Special Naati Biriyani, Desi Madike Biriyani, Madike Biriyani and Kaalu Soup, Gowdara Biriyani, Dambus Biriyani, Hyderabadi Dum Biriyani, Bikers Chicken Barbeque, Crunchy Punch, Donne Biriyani, Donne Pulav, Jumboo Savari  Aramane Biriyani, Matka Biriyani, Mysuru M.E. Biriyani, Tegu Mess Pulav and Nandu Biriyani House.