Mysuru: Besides healthy millets, organic food, and regional and continental delicacies, the Mysuru Dasara will this year offer "bamboo biryani" and several other tribal dishes at its food festival that will be held between September 21 and 30.
With hardly two weeks to go for the Dasara, tribals from Mysuru, Kodagu and Chamarajnagar districts arrived at the Scouts and Guides grounds in Mysuru on Friday to build their stalls under two large banyan trees, where they will make their traditional dishes and serve them to visitors.
District incharge secretary, Lakshminarayan and Mysuru DC, D Randeep , who welcomed them, got a taste of what was in store when 64- year- old Hindu from Shankarapura in Hunsur taluk served tapioca burnt in firewood with pure honey, and ragi roti cooked inside a pathrele on firewood. The tribals also plan to serve bidrakki paayasa, ragi ball with crab curry, maagali beru tea and coffee during the festival.
While some tribals will set up stalls, other tribals from Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Karnataka will perform traditional folk dances during the food mela.
Visitors to the mela can also look out for Punjabi, Rajasthani, Gujarati, Chettinaadu, Kerala and Karnataka delicacies. The festival will see an "Akki rotti badanekai playa" contest between mothers- in- law and daughters- in- law and housewives take on the " Ragi mudhdhe and Upsaaru and Bisibelebath" challenge. A millet food contest will be held for senior citizens, and a "Bele holige and holige saaru" contest for women self- help groups.
Meanwhile, all 15 Dasara elephants were familiarised with the sound of nine cannon shots being fired from three old brass cannon barrels at around 12.30 in the afternoon near Mysuru Palace on Friday. Traditionally, 21 cannon shots are fired in 90 seconds on the occasion of the Jumbo Savari .
