At the beginning of the year I made a small promise to myself - to try and attend some city-based food festivals - not of the 5 star variety, but rather those that are more region/culture/ethnic-specific. The Avarekai Mela was one such close to the beginning of the year and then there was the Iftaar meals at Shivajinagar, MM Road and Tilaknagar. We missed the Ganesh Chaturthi food festival at National Grounds which brings in stalls representation from most districts of the state, hopefully next year we cover that as well. And this year finally we ticked off the Kadlekai Parishe or the Groundnut festival at Basavangudi.

I wanted to get there early, since this was a festival that was on all day and I could just imagine the kind of rush the evening would see. We got there, on bike by 4.15PM, 45 minutes later than what I expected and it was already crowded but not so bad that I didn't get to elbow my way in and take it all in. 

The main road is entirely cordoned off and no traffic is allowed on it. Stalls are set up on either side of the median and when I say stalls, I mean tarpaulin sheets and pushcarts. Groundnut growers from villages around the city and a little further away like Gutahalli, Dasarahalli, Hosakerehalli and more come here with their produce, offer it to the Bull God at the temple and then sell their wares. 

Of course there are a lot of other vendors also find their way here and you will see everything from groundnut based savory delights, to corn variations, to tapioca chips being freshly made, cotton candy and more. 

There was a lot more to see and take in - more photos here. 

At the entrance to the festival

The strange this was that I kept an eye out for skinned and roasted peanuts. I did not find a single vendor selling it this way

This was the highlight of our visit. It was a first for us. Called the Bhoochakra, this is a tuber than is crisp and cut into thin circles as you below. The vendor rubbed the slice with lemon, dipped it in sugar and then sprinkled on some chaat masala. The result was this amazingly juicy crispiness that had us going back for round 2. 

Am so glad we managed to go here this year and now am looking forward to the Avarekai festival at the end of the month again. Can't believe that its close to year since I blogged about it. In case you missed it earlier, a link to the FB album with more photos.