The New Royal Bakery of Kotagiri by Vishwajit

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The New Royal Bakery


The sweet scent of bakery and confectionary has been infused into their blood over many generations.


It’s been 80 years since the ovens of this bakery have been burning hot and strong. The bakers here have over 20 years of experience up their sleeves. 


Our trip to the Nilgiri mountains was dotted with a special surprise. A journey into the heart, of one of the many famous Variki Houses.Their artisans make the much sought after, ‘Ooty Variki’.  It’s famous for its unique texture and flavour. Crunchy, sweet, a bit salty and flaky, making it a perfect teatime snack.

 


The furnace is lit the previous day, fuelled by burning wood procured from the surrounding forests.  

As the day progresses, the intensity of heat generated reduces. Hence the items to be prepared are sequenced accordingly, starting with the breads and concluding with the biscuits.



The prized Variki is prepared around noon. When the temperature is just right. It has to be baked in 2 round, the batch is first semi cooked and let to cool. Then it’s placed back in the oven again. The unique flaky and crunchy texture owes itself to this technique.


The staff were part of the native ‘Baduga Community‘. All of them were oozing with pride and enthusiasm while giving us a tour. 


Here’s our tour of the ‘New Royal Bakery’ in Pictures.


These trusty bakers never hesitate to take a bite out of their own creations. Their motto being, ‘Eat and let Eat’.







We managed to have a bite of almost every product they made. 



Fresh Peanut Bars anyone ?



Shaping the biscuits.



Removing the last batch of Variki !



Stack the Varikis and let cool.



Hand made to Hand Packed. The photo on the wall is of one of the Founding Fathers of the Bakery.



And I say it again -

Welcome to the New Royal Bakery of Kotagiri.







Comments

  1. Srileka JMarch 6, 2021 at 7:20 AM

    The above wordings are 100% true. It is one of the best evening snacks I have tasted. Th article about 'Ooty Variki' and the history of the bakery is nice and all people must read it and taste the VARIKIS.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vishwajit G.VMarch 13, 2021 at 11:03 AM

      Glad you share the passion for food. Thanks for the comment :)

      Delete

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