Karnivore Kitchen with Kalyan Gopalkrishna.. organised by We The Chefs

Kalyan Gopalkrishna is one of the godfathers of Bangalore food scene, the OG influencer before there were influencers, the man who has done more to spread the gospel of Karnataka’s “naati” food than anyone I know. 

Salt and pepper riblets

The food of Karnataka is often typecast as Mysore dosas and Maddur vadas and sweetish sambar and a host of legendary vegetarian dishes popularised by migrants from Udupi or culinary custodians from South Bangalore.

The non veg cuisine that we do talk about comes from coastal Karnataka, especially Mangalore, with its ghee roasts and anjal and gassis. 

Bannur lamb organs 

But the vast majority of Karnataka’s population is meat eating. And not just the tribal communities of Coorg or the Muslim communities across the state. The vast majority of Hindus in Karnataka eat meat. The best lamb in the country (and possibly the world) is found in Karnataka in Bannur. And there is an old and robust culinary tradition of nose to tail eating in Karnataka that goes back centuries. 

It is this culinary tradition that Kalyan seeks to preserve and popularise through Karnivore Kitchen. Kalyan’s family has roots in Bangalore in Chickpet going back eight generations, and showcase the food and the recipes that he has grown up with through special meals for guests as well as for delivery. 

Bannur mutton coriander fry

Last weekend in collaboration with the home chef platform We The Chefs, he organised a lamb based meal that showcased the naati food of Old Bangalore. Interestingly, he says that this is the food that was eaten in the locality across ethnicities. His own family is Kannadiga but there were Sindhi and Telugu families who ate the same food. 

The meal was spectacular, better than any meal I have had in any military hotel across the state. Kalyan found a way to retain the bold and robust flavours of commercial naati food, but it was cooked with a refinement and patience that elevated it as an experience. The biggest differences between home cooked and commercial naati food is the quality of product/produce and the use of slow cooking, and Kalyan used both those elements to demonstrate that this is food that can be far more sophisticated than I realised. 

Khaima unde saaru

The only meat that was used was Bannur lamb, with different cuts for different dishes. We started with offal.. heart, liver, some delicious spleen and a brilliant, fatty kidney. The riblets were salted overnight and then tossed with green chilies and cooled. The shoulder was slow cooked in a homemade masala with 28 ingredients and lots of coriander since early in the morning until it was  tender and the flavours as soaked into every part. The mutton meatball saaru was cooked in lamb marrow to add richness and the meatball itself was hand chopped using the meat of the raan rather than offcuts with kidney fat added to thicken it. The star of the show, the bannur lamb pulao was cooked with basmati rice since that is what his family had been using for generations. 

Every single dish was cooked without any oil, using the fat of the bannur lamb, the fattiest lamb you can find and India’s (lamb) version of  wagyu. 

Bannur lamb pulao

I have known Kalyan for a few years and have incredible respect for him as a human being and for his love and knowledge of food. I had been meaning to eat his food for a long time but I honestly didn’t expect it to be this special. This was the best representation of naati food, of Karnataka’s meat heritage that you can ever have. 

Just a word on We The Chefs. The company began as a pandemic baby in Gurgaon that helped home chefs reach a wider audience but also supported them with marketing, logistical support and delivery. It has grown rapidly and now has over 250 chefs on the platform and is an especially great way to discover and showcase local micro cuisines. They have now expanded to Bangalore and along with the chefs listed on the platform, they will now start curating get togethers for chefs at homes. I hope to organise one soon with my food community and that of the Blah Dining Society. 

Chandrahara

We ate (in Kalyan’s words):

• Chilli pepper Bannur Lamb Organs. Liver, Heart, Kidney & Spleen. This is highly nutritious & rich in essential minerals & vitamins
• Chilli - Pepper Bannur Lamb Riblets. Tender riblets salted overnight & tossed with green chillies
• Bannur Mutton Coriander fry. Chunks of Bannur Lamb shoulder tossed in homemade masala (made with 28 ingredients) & lots of coriander
• Khaima Unde Saaru made with minced meat from the leg of a Bannur Lamb. Blended with kidney fat & homemade masala & cooked along with the nalli bones
• This palav is made with tender & fatty Bannur lamb & Basmati rice. Rice is cooked in mutton broth & freshly squeezed coconut milk along with an assortment of fresh herbs & whole spices
• Chandrahara, a Bangalore born sweet made with semolina, folded into multiple layers. Best had dunked in condensed badam milk. Served warm