Date:05/01/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/05/stories/2009010550210200.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

When foodies are full of beans

Staff Reporter

Feast: Avarebele on sale at a mela in Bangalore.

BANGALORE: It is that time of the year when V.V. Puram is full of beans. Literally. Foodies seeking out the favourite “avare bele” found themselves at the Avare Bele Mela here at Sajjanrao Circle on Saturday.

And there it was: fresh and green. Cooked and added to everything from dosa, vada, payasa, nippattu, jamoon, puri, usli, ragimudde and fried and mixed with whatever can be eaten. More than 20 delicacies are on offer for visitors.

Vasavi Condiments, which has been organising the mela for six years now, has left no stone unturned to create a suitable atmosphere, what with drumbeats and bags and bags of the lentil.

Season

Winter is the season for “avarekai,” which is cultivated in about 20 villages of Magadi taluk in Bangalore Rural District. And no Kannadiga’s home is complete without the avarekai saru during the season. The mela, open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. till January 14, was inaugurated by Ramalinga Reddy, former Minister for Primary and Secondary Education. Actor Tara and Parvathamma Rajkumar were among those who were present.