✦ Key Takeaways
Every Mangalorean living in Bengaluru knows the craving. It hits on a quiet Sunday, or after a long week, or sometimes for no reason at all — a sudden, specific need for the taste of home. Banana chips fried in coconut oil. A pickle that's properly red and properly sour. Kori Rotti waiting in the kitchen for a curry to be poured over it.
So you walk into a supermarket, see a packet labelled "Mangalorean," and buy it. Then you open it at home and something's off. It's not bad, exactly. It's just not right.
This keeps happening for a specific reason. Here's what's going on — and where to actually find the real thing in Bengaluru.
India has roughly 1.8 million native Tulu speakers, with a significant share living in Bengaluru — enough to make "Mangalorean" a valuable marketing label on any food shelf (Wikipedia, Census 2011). The problem is that label attracts mass producers who've never lived on the coast.
Most products you'll find in a chain supermarket were made to a price point, not a recipe. The manufacturer optimised for shelf life and margin, not for the taste a family from Udupi or Mangaluru would recognise. Nobody involved in making them grew up eating the real version — so nobody notices what's missing.
The packaging says Mangalorean. The contents don't agree. It's a labelling problem, not a production problem, and it's hard to fix by reading ingredient lists at the shelf.
India has roughly 1.8 million native Tulu speakers, with a significant share residing in Bengaluru, making "Mangalorean" a high-value marketing label. Most supermarket products carrying that label are mass-produced to a price point rather than a recipe — using ingredient substitutions that Coastal Karnataka families consistently identify as wrong.
Once you know the markers, the difference is obvious — even before you taste anything. Authentic Coastal Karnataka food uses specific regional ingredients that mass producers consistently substitute out.
Authentic Mangalorean banana chips are fried exclusively in coconut oil. Thin-sliced, golden, light, and genuinely crisp. Open the packet and it should smell like coconut oil — distinct, faintly sweet, clean.
If it smells like palm oil or generic vegetable oil, or if the chips are thick and feel greasy rather than light, it isn't the real thing. The coconut oil isn't a preference — it's what makes the flavour what it is.
A real Mangalorean pickle is fiery, tangy, and a deep specific red. That colour and heat come from Byadagi chilli — a variety grown in Northern Karnataka that gives intense colour and richness without the sharp burning quality of standard red chilli powder. The sourness comes from actual raw mango or tamarind, never vinegar.
If a pickle tastes sweet, generically sharp, or faintly vinegary — or if it's made with mustard oil — it's not authentic Mangalorean, whatever the label says. Mustard oil is a North Indian base; it doesn't belong in a Coastal Karnataka pickle.
Real Mangalorean masalas — the kind used for Sukka or Ghee Roast — are coarse in texture and a vibrant crimson-red. They smell like dry-roasted Byadagi chillies, curry leaves, fennel, and pepper together. That smell is unmistakable.
A fine, free-flowing powder that smells mostly of coriander or generic garam masala is not the same product, regardless of what's printed on the front. If it's brown rather than red, and it flows like talcum powder, it wasn't made for Mangalorean cooking.
Authentic Mangalorean banana chips are fried exclusively in coconut oil. The test is sensory: open the packet and it should smell faintly sweet and clean. Byadagi chilli — not standard red chilli powder — gives authentic pickles their deep crimson colour and complex heat without the sharp burn of generic spice blends.
Banana Chips
ಬಾಳೆಕಾಯಿ ಚಿಪ್ಸ್
Thin crispy chips — the snack every Mangalorean household never runs out of
Karavali Mangalore Store has been stocking authentic Coastal Karnataka products since 2007 — well before "authentic Mangalorean" was something people searched for online. It's a small, family-run shop, not a chain, which is exactly why the products inside are sourced the way they should be.
Come in, ask about a product, smell the masala before you buy it. That's the whole point of a shop like this.
RT Nagar is well-connected — the 108B bus stops directly opposite the shop. If you're driving, parking is available on 6th Main Rd. The store carries products you won't find in any Bengaluru chain: BVK boiled rice, Ideal masalas, kori rotti, a range of coastal pickles, and seasonal items that vary depending on what's available from the coast. If you're not sure what to pick, ask — the staff grew up eating this food.
Karavali Mangalore Store Shop No. 94/1, N S N Complex, 1st Cross, R T Nagar Post, 6th Main Rd, opposite 108B Bus Stop, AK Colony, Ganganagar, Bengaluru – 560032 Open all days, 9 AM to 9 PM.
Everything in the shop is also available at karavalimangalorestore.com, delivered across all of Bengaluru — not just the RT Nagar area.
Delivery is ₹70 flat, free above ₹799. Cash on delivery available for an additional ₹45. If you're stocking up before a festival or ordering for the week, it's worth crossing the free delivery threshold.
The online store carries the same range as the physical shop — over a hundred Coastal Karnataka products. Seasonal items like fresh jackfruit chips or festival sweets aren't always listed permanently, so it's worth checking around Ganesh Chaturthi, Navratri, or any coastal festival. If you're ordering for a gathering, placing the order a couple of days early avoids the pre-festival rush.
If you're new to Karavali Mangalore Store, these five are the fastest way to understand what authentic Mangalorean food actually tastes like.
Banana Chips — the benchmark. Fried in coconut oil, thin, golden, genuinely crisp. If you try one thing from this list, try this.
Ideal Ghee Roast Masala — for the Mangalorean ghee roast everyone talks about. Coarse, deep red, built on Byadagi chilli.
BVK Boiled Rice — the rice variety most Coastal Karnataka households actually cook with, not the polished white rice sold everywhere else.
Kori Rotti — thin, brittle rice wafers eaten traditionally with Kori Gassi. Worth understanding what it is before you buy it.
Presto Mango Pickle — properly red, properly sour, made the way a Mangalorean pickle is supposed to be made.
The five fastest entry points into authentic Mangalorean food at Karavali: banana chips (coconut oil-fried), Ideal Ghee Roast Masala (Byadagi chilli-based), BVK Boiled Rice (coastal variety), Kori Rotti (rice wafers for Kori Gassi), and Presto Mango Pickle (raw mango, no vinegar).
Ideal Ghee Roast Paste
ಐಡಿಯಲ್ ತುಪ್ಪ ಹುರಿದ ಪೇಸ್ಟ್
Ready-to-use ghee roast paste from a legendary Mangalore name — restaurant quality at home
Karavali Mangalore Store in RT Nagar has stocked authentic Coastal Karnataka food since 2007. You can visit the physical store at 6th Main Rd, RT Nagar Post, Ganganagar, or order online at karavalimangalorestore.com for delivery across Bengaluru.
Yes. Karavali Mangalore Store delivers across all of Bengaluru. Delivery starts at ₹70 flat, free on orders above ₹799. Cash on delivery is also available for an additional ₹45.
Look for deep red colour from Byadagi chilli, real sourness from raw mango or tamarind, and no vinegar or mustard oil in the ingredients. A sweet taste or sharp vinegary smell usually means it isn't authentic Coastal Karnataka pickle.
Orders above ₹799 get free delivery anywhere in Bengaluru. Below that, delivery is a flat ₹70.
Shop No. 94/1, N S N Complex, 1st Cross, R T Nagar Post, 6th Main Rd, opposite 108B Bus Stop, AK Colony, Ganganagar, Bengaluru – 560032. Open all days from 9 AM to 9 PM.
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