“Challenges are what makes life interesting. Overcoming them is what makes life meaningful“.
It has been ages since I sat down to writing a post and connect with you.What seemed to be an innocuous pain turned out to be a nightmare!And for the past few months the only agenda were doctors and hospital visits and colorful pills and smelly oils to keep the body going. But no matter what kind of challenges, difficulties or painful situations one goes through in life,I feel that deep within us, there is a certain something that we can reach down to and find the inner strength to move on despite the pains and challenges. And so here I am trying to reach out to you over a cup of hot steaming coffee!
The Entrance to TKS Iyengars, up and Close
A long Shot of the Entrance
It was on one of those visits to the doctor,that hubby and I came across a newly opened outlet named TKS Iyengars, a quaint little place with bright images frescoed on the wall. It was not a stand alone building so one could well miss it, had there not been a crowd assembled in front of what looked like a food joint. Curious, I asked hubby to slow down the car when I saw this attractive place with bright pictures at the entrance. So, we decided to stop by and see what this place had to offer. It seems it was the first day of their opening and we were therefore warmly greeted with a box of Indian sweets and flowers.
Paintings at the Entrance
The restaurant TKS Iyengars belongs to a family of food enthusiasts with members not just being passionate about cooking but also keeping their age old traditions alive. Their motto is to serve delectable and gratifying South Indian vegetarian food to the people, the Iyengar way!
A Wall With Copper Vessels Used in the kitchen
The restaurant is lively and welcoming; decor, traditional with South Indian paintings adorning the inner walls and menu typical of the southern region. This restaurant in Basaveshnagar, Bengalaru is probably set up in old space as can be seen from the unpolished stone floors, but the cleverly done up interiors does belie the age.The cemented sitting arrangement at the entrance where the elderly sat talking over coffee reminded me of the old bungalows which we used to visit as children in villages in Assam.
Baleyele Idly
Dosa
Sweet Pongal
Coffee, traditional South Indian way
The menu comprised of idly s and dosas, vadas and thirst busters and something called’Wow Uppittu”. Unfortunately, we did not get the chance to taste the unusual named food.We opted for a Baleyelle idly and a dosa with coffee. The idly wrapped in banana leaf did not have the usual round shape, it was long and tasted different. The chutney was good. Dosa, sans the sambhar was crispy and tasty but the filter coffee was a bit strong.We tried a sweet pongal that had lots of nuts and resins. But what I liked about the self help restaurant was that they used copper glasses and cups.In fact their water purifier was not the modern RO, but a huge copper tank for purifying water. It is proved that drinking water from copper glasses or cooking food in copper vessels,enhances the quality of water or food cooked and naturally purifies and removes bacteria.
Back to traditions, Copper Water Purifier
All in all, the restaurant is spacious and clean, ambience is good though I think it does get crowded in the evenings when people drop in from office on the way home for a quick bite.I think it is healthy cooking here, as the owners told us that they use pure “ghee”(clarried butter made from cow or buffalo milk) instead of refined oil, sea salt instead of chemical salt,unpolished red raw rice for making dosas and other items.
For coffee lovers, this restaurant is a good place to try out the Iyengar style of coffee along with their interesting food items… for life is like a cup of coffee.It is all about how you make it!
