The Origin of Udupi Cuisine

Set in the beachfront of the Arabian Ocean, the tale of Udupi and Udupi Cuisine is as old as time itself; its advent can be traced back to the 13th century.

Punctuated by Sattvic culture, simplistic livelihood and not to forget its culinary brilliance; Udupi has been a rich confluence of religion and flavours.

Two men pioneered the change – One was K. Krishna Rao, who started the first Udupi cuisine-based Sri Krishna Vilas Hotel in 1927, and later built the iconic Woodland brand. The other was K Seetharama Rao, who started Dasaprakash in 1954. While both the brands followed the kitchen principle of madi (ritualistic cleanliness), where food was served by Brahmins and on banana leaf, each cuisine was designed for a certain audience. Woodland, it is said, was for the sahibs, while Dasaprakash was for the neo-rich and aristocrats. And thus, Udupi cuisine which came from the temples was further divided into two delicious branches.

The thousands of devotees who  amassed to offer their prayers to lord Krishna in the Krishna Matt at Udupi were served delicious Prasadam- typically scrumptious Udupi brahmin recipes devised by the devout Madhava community. This was its origin- as “temple fare”.

The rise of Udupi cuisine is a story of how Brahmanical culinary tradition got modernised over the years. Today Udupi cuisine has garnered an exceptional position in the culinary world, it has become synonymous with vegetarian food and vegetarian lifestyle. The Matt cuisine’s ritualistic customs involved exclusion besides onion and garlic, tomatoes, carrots, beans, radish, papaya, cabbage, beetroot, cauliflower, brinjal, gherkins, drumsticks and even basale, the local spinach was banned. This did not, in anyway, reduce its mouth – watering taste and its popularity.

The Udupi restaurant’s period of glory came around the 1900s, when industrialization ensured people moved to cities to earn a living. This was the time small hotels mushroomed incorporating popular dishes like sambhar, chutney and ingredients that were a no-no on the temple list , all to appease the taste-buds of the colonial powers.

They brought in the culture of designated meal areas like family room, common room and others, which enabled a single woman to walk into a restaurant and eat a meal. For a time, when the caste system and restriction on women was on an all time high, this liberty came as a boon.

And just like that Udupi food became a staple for one and all. It still continues to hold the roost as a simple, tasty, vegetarian “home-food” option at an economical price.

True then and true now 100s of years later.