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A lavish spread

Banjara in Jayanagar serves an array of authentic cuisines, stretching from Mangalorean to distant Thailand

PHOTO: BHAGYA PRAKASH K.

SPOILT FOR CHOICE There are over 250 items to choose from, and you'll be overwhelmed by the sheer variety

Disappointment hangs in the air for those who swore by the now defunct Café-de-Airlines in Jayanagar complex. However, there's not too much cause for gripe, because Banjara now stands in its place.

The place, now run by Hospitality Link Pvt. Ltd., is the brainchild of Prakash Shetty and Sanjay Vazirani who have several years of expertise in the food industry. Mr. Shetty runs restaurants like Banjara, Kumara Krupa Road, Aura on Cunningham Road, and Gold Finch Hotel at Shivananda Circle. This joint venture is a new beginning for the two hoteliers.

The new Banjara is tastefully done and provides ample space. This southern branch was flagged off on June 1 as this part of the town was strategically located. Hospitality is the key word in Banjara. The menu too is quite impressive, offering rich Indian and Chinese cuisines. The Indian section includes Mangalorean, and north and south Indian dishes.

As a starter, it was the solkadi, the delicious kokum and coconut milk drink that makes for a perfect prelude to a lavish meal. Along with this comes a good variety of starters in the vegetarian and non-vegetarian sections.

Must-haves

Some of the must-haves are the white sesame toast, topped with crisp onions and beans, served with garlic sauce. Or you could also go in for the achari paneer tikka that is sharp and tangy.

The ravenous can dig into the rich tandoori platter. Grilled meat served with a choice of chutneys simply bowl you over. There are over 250 items to choose from, and you'll surely be spoilt for choice. However, the staff is helpful enough to recommend favourites.

And one that tops this list is the pichkai, a Thai style item marinated in coriander paste and oyster sauce, which, with a touch of limejuice, is just perfect. Then there are baby corn bamboo shoots in chilly bean sauce that should be tried.

Mutton sukkha made in typically Mangalorean style is worth a try. Another favourite is the adrak murg tikka, marinated in a variety of spices and cooked to perfection.

Another interesting offering is the palak rice, which is without a doubt is the signature dish her and a favourite with all age groups.

Banjara also offers a vast seafood menu. There are prawns, pomfrets and anjal that can be downed with neer dosas, rice or appams. Here, the Manglorean flavour and spice dominate as most of the seafood dishes are cooked in the coastal style.

Coming to the meat section, there is the kheema Hyderabadi that grabs your attention. The minced meat cooked in palak, pudina and jeera goes well with rotis or naans.

Banjara's impressive menu does not disappoint the frugal eaters either. It offers pulavs, biryani and dal khichdi that are really light on the tummy.

The desserts

To end the meal there are desserts — "homemade" rasmalai, caramel custard and ice-cream. The universal favourite is the fried ice-cream, a specialty item for which one should definitely save a bit of space in the tummy.

have after the lavish spread.

Banjara soon plans to introduce a vegetarian thali section too. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. It can be contacted on 41471133/44.

M.V. CHANDRASHEKAR

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