WAY BEFORE EVERYONE KNEW the exact way they liked their coffee, and it became our whole personality. We were negotiating our standards for a perfect cup of tea on the daily. And the only minor adjustments that were allowed to us ranged from being heavy on the vices – milk and sugar – to being spiked with aromatic and herbaceous ingredients, think ginger, cardamom, mint and saffron, or served just plain without any of these added perks. While the thousands of darshinis that dot the cityscape of Bengaluru with their all-day breakfast fare have been deemed noteworthy, the blink-and-you-will-miss-it tea shops and bakeries that line Bengaluru's streets haven’t been bestowed their due.
It’s a given. I’m not even looking to win this argument: yes, drinking tea at these joints is an exercise in excess. It will not meet the strict criteria of one’s corporeal constraints. But, let’s be clear: this hot beverage isn’t to blame. We can all agree that tea has been the key to the treasure trove of snacks neatly stacked in the tall, glass jars at these establishments. You can go down the path of biscuits: buttery, salty cookies; others with a punch of jeera, coconut or a layer of chopped, mixed nuts. Some hold their own even when dunked, while some are beloved for their crumble. Then, there’s the selection of spongy, sweet cakes or rusks – plain and flavoured – with their crunch and crackle. Savoury snacks are a whole other list of delights: spicy egg puffs, fun bowties of puff pastry, a pungent scramble of onion, chilli, tomatoes drizzled with salt and turmeric atop a thick slice of white bread soaking up all the run-off of the spiced slick, hot aloo buns and more. There are slight variations within these basic categories, depending on region, as well as even neighbourhood.
Not usually in the habit of rating food, but there’s a tea-time snack that does nudge out all of this gloriously, unhealthy competition. The khova naan stands slightly taller than the others. First, there was the coconut naan, think: the coastal sweet dish where freshly grated coconut is toasted with jaggery, cardamom and a pinch of salt to bind all the flavours and rolled into a rice flour crepe. Except here, the yummy filling is enhanced with colourful bits of tutti-frutti and stuffed into a flaky pastry. One would think that this was already the peak of the mountain, but like the bit hidden behind the clouds, the khova naan appeared.
It’s commonly agreed that the 123-year-old Albert Bakery on Mosque Road was the first to offer it on its menu. Nawab Jan, third-generation proprietor of this bakery, is credited with dialling up the excellence of the coconut naan. Khova is made from slow simmering milk till it thickens into a granular, textured paste, usually reserved for enriching other sweet dishes like gajar ka halwa, gulab jamuns, badushahs and more. But in the khova naan, Nawab Jan recast it from its supporting role to the main character. Deservedly so. Still a thick, sweet paste punched up with a dash of cardamom when placed into the centre of the puff pastry, on being ordered, it is popped into the oven for re-awakening. On the first bite, there’s a dance of textures. Gooey, hot, sweetness bursts out between flakes of buttery pastry. On the next bite, one might get more liquidy goodness; then it might be a mouthful with more pastry shards. With each bite, the waltz between these two disparate elements continues till one has eaten a whole khova naan. It is no wonder, it is more colloquially called the ‘dilpasand’ or ‘loved from the heart’.
Khova naan has a similar joy to biting into fried ice cream or dunking one’s spoon into molten chocolate cake. The thrill of one state of matter being contained within another; the promise that their coming together is always tantalising and thrilling. One might think it is impossible, but pro-tip: just order two or more at the counter. The extras can be parcelled for later, but you can’t get another if it is all sold out. And rest assured, by 4 pm, the khova naan at Albert Bakery sells out; within an hour of it opening its shutters.
While Albert Bakery makes the best version of it, in second place is Kausar Bakery in Shivaji Nagar. Started in 1973, this ‘younger’ bakery has also decided to focus on this tea-time snack at the top of the pyramid. If the stocks run out at Albert’s, one can book a ride to this nearby bakery to get a hit.
Albert Bakery, 93, Mosque Road, Frazer Town, call 98861 65349. Every day, 3-9 pm.
Kausar Bakery, 126, HKP Road, Shivaji Nagar, call 99452 38513. Every day, 7 am-1 am.