The Annara Journal
Stories of food, coffee and culture: the dishes of Karnataka, the rituals of filter coffee, and the ideas that shape a neighbourhood café.
Latest story
Annara6 min read
Anna and ahara: the meaning of Annara
The name Annara brings together two words, anna and ahara: one about what is on the plate, the other about everything else that feeds a person. This is what they mean to us, and why food comes first.
All stories
10 stories
Coffee6 min read
Filter coffee, the South Indian way
Filter coffee arrives in two small vessels and is meant to be poured, cooled and shared. This is how the ritual came together, from a legend in the hills of Chikkamagaluru to the busy coffee counters of Bengaluru.
Food6 min read
A short guide to Karnataka breakfasts
Ask anyone from Karnataka about breakfast and you will get a list, a favourite place and an argument. Here is a gentle tour of the plates the state wakes up to, from the darshini counter to the home kitchen.
Food6 min read
Chow chow bath: two breakfasts on one plate
Two small mounds on one plate, one savoury and one sweet, both made from semolina. This is chow chow bath, the Bengaluru breakfast that never asks you to choose.
Coffee5 min read
How to make South Indian filter coffee at home
Filter coffee asks for very little: a steel filter, good powder, hot milk and a few unhurried minutes. Here is how to make it well at home, with ranges rather than rules, so you can find your own cup.
Food5 min read
Bisi bele bath, Karnataka in one pot
Rice, lentils, vegetables, tamarind and a spice blend roasted just for it, all cooked together until they become one thing. Bisi bele bath is Karnataka's great one-pot comfort, and it tastes of home to millions.
Culture5 min read
Coffee houses and the art of conversation
Wherever coffee has travelled, conversation has followed. In India, the coffee house became a place where students argued, writers met and a city talked to itself, often over a single cup that lasted all afternoon.
Food5 min read
Ragi, Karnataka's everyday grain
Small, reddish brown and quietly everywhere, ragi is the grain that fed rural Karnataka for generations. Today it sits as comfortably in a Bengaluru breakfast as on a farmer's plate.
Food6 min read
Mysore pak, a sweet from the palace kitchen
Golden, rich with ghee and finely honeycombed when you break it, Mysore pak is one of Karnataka's most famous sweets. Its story begins, so the telling goes, in a royal kitchen where the dessert was not ready.
Culture6 min read
Eating on a banana leaf, the Karnataka way
A banana leaf meal has its own quiet grammar: where the salt sits, what arrives first, when you may begin and how you say thank you at the end. Here is how a Karnataka oota unfolds, and why the leaf has lasted.
Annara5 min read
Why a neighbourhood café matters
Some of the most important places in a city are not its landmarks. They are the small, familiar rooms close to home where you are recognised, where the coffee is always right and where an ordinary morning feels a little better.
Hungry for more?
More stories on Karnataka food, filter coffee and the culture around the table are on their way. Say hello on WhatsApp or send us a message, and we will keep you posted.