Shivaji Military/Miltary Hotel in Bangalore

My dear vegan friends might want to close the tab immediately. Others, however, have something truly marvelous to discover. This afternoon I had lunch at a place called Shivaji Military Hotel. It is situated at 1st C Main, 45th Cross, Jayanagar 8th Block.

The place survives in the duality of Miltary and Military. You will encounter signs with quantum uncertainties about them. No one really is sure if the name of the place is Shivaji Military or Shivaji Miltary. Then, the uncertainty just adds to the aura of the place. There is nothing military (or miltary) about the place. No guns, guards or garrisons awaited us when we reached the place. It was just a big hungry crowd eagerly waiting to experience one of the richest biryanis ever.

The place is very Spartan and the service is no-nonsense. As you enter the place a very simple board greets you. Then you are lead upstairs by another board. Both of them disagree about the name of the place. As you reach the first floor, eager crowds, mouth watering smells, busy cash counter and a rebellious board welcomes you.

You have to eagerly scan the plates of the patrons. Watch their eating speed. And then calculate which one is going to finish first. I went and stood next to one such table. Glances were exchanged and the current occupant understood the urgency. He speeded up and was about to finish his business, when my boss tapped on my shoulder and demonstrated how influence works. We had a fresh clean table to ourselves when restaurant was full. The menu looked very inviting.

 We started with mutton fry. It was delivered within moments. Lemon, onion slices and hot green curry accompanied it. The very first bite made me cry. It was one of the most unique spice combinations that I have come across. A radically different paradigm compared to regular mutton fry I am used to at Punjabi dhabas. An entirely unpredictable, unprecedented and incomparable one. Every other bite into the succulent juicy flesh yielded different tastes as spices rolled inside my mouth and worked their magic on different taste areas. It was fiery, fragrant and flavorsome. I finished it and then took a break as my tongue recovered from the spice assault.

 The biryani arrived after a few minutes. It was served in a leaf-boat kind of bowl. The rice was impatient to invade the plate. The biryani came along with something called bone rasam. It is your regular rasam but prepared in goat bones. A few more bowls of hot green curry and cucumber raita (for dowsing the heat) were invited to the table.

The biryani was another BDSM treatment to the tongue. This one was also a radical departure from Hyderabadi Biryani school of thought. The chicken was spicy but rice was tempering. There were some dry fruits to further smoothen the spicy torture. I was teary eyed and sweating. But the taste kept me going. I finally gave up, just two spoons (or handful) short of finishing the rice on the plate. We helped ourselves with another round of Mutton Fry.

Our tongues were on fire after the meal and the solution arrived with the bill. The old Indian mouth-freshener. The place does not serve any cold-drinks but provides clean mineral water. I doubt if they would mind if you carry bottles of coke inside and use it to temper the taste now and then. But then, that would be a gross injustice to the secret spice combination that the place is famous for.

The best time to visit is before 1 pm and after 3 pm. Lunchtime are jam-packed and the scene is riotous. If you don’t believe that, see this pic. This entire parking is full of patron’s bikes.