Mangaluru (TOI): It's not only the Coca-Cola formula that is a closely-held trade secret. The ghee roast masala of a Kundapur family is a fiercely guarded one too. But on Sunday, the Kundapur family lost one member, who had spread the aroma of 'Ghee Roast' from the quaint little town to the rest of the world.
Kundapur Mohandas Shetty, who started the famous Anupama Restaurant at Hotel Abhiman Residency near Bunts Hostel, passed away at 61. With his death, only three members of the family are privy to the secret recipe that has made their ghee roast masala famous. The masala, added to egg, fish and meat, is a big draw.
Mohandas' brother Ravindranath Shetty, a partner in Bengaluru's Coast to Coast restaurant, fondly recalls: "It was my mother (Padmavathi) who created the secret recipe, which made Kundapur town a must-stop destination for all those who passed that way either for lunch or dinner. My mother was an inventor of recipes - be it the white korma or the ghee roast masalas for lady fish, egg, chicken and crab."
It was not an easy beginning for the family. "Poverty forced my mother and father Tejappa to start the hotel in 1958, with the hope that it would at least not keep us hungry."
As business flourished in Kundapur and the brothers grew up to take over, they decided to try their hand in Mangaluru. Their first restaurant Anupama opened at Hotel Usha in 1973. Ravindranath, known as 'Kane Ravi' as he used to visit the market and haul the entire Kane (lady fish) catch to his restaurant, recalls: "I can claim that ours was the first restaurant in Mangaluru to have people queue up for their turn. Never before had this happened.'' Mohandas was initially working in a bank before he quit the job and joined the business
Soon they ventured into a hotel project opened in the name of their deceased brother Devadas (Chandra), but it did not take off. Ravi moved to Bengaluru after an eight-year stint in the Middle East in shipping business. Mohandas took a break after the lease with Hotel Usha ended. But the aroma of ghee roast could not be bottled and in 2000 Mohandas was persuaded by builder Manmohan Malli to open the Anupama Restaurant once again.
After coming to India, Ravi started his own venture in Bengaluru. "How could I compete with my brother? A sheath cannot hold two swords,'' says Ravi who tasted success in the state capital.
"As of now, only I, my sister Hemalatha Rai at Kundapur and my sister-in-law Shakuntala hold the secret recipe. Going by customers' reaction, it's one of a kind and has never been replicated by others,'' adds Ravi.
