All about B's- Bangalore bakeries

For many Bangaloreans(Bengalureans?) the word "bakery"- predominantly associated with Iyengars- will invariably propel them into nostalgic journeys where the baggage claim conveyor belt delivers myriad varieties of puffs, buns, biscuits, masala toasts and so on and so forth. If one lived in South Bangalore in the vicinity of any of these locally famous bakeries like VB Bakery and Butter Sponge, like I did, one can only wax poetic about the aroma of freshly baked bread and buns and puffs that emanates from these baking havens around 2 in the afternoon- right when college or school is out. It would be a superhuman feat to not stop at one of these bakeries and gobble a quick snack like an onion puff or a masala bun. I have spent hours in front of the cash counter trying to decide what to eat.

And yes, this is what scrimping and saving is for. There have been many afternoons where a group of buddies have pooled in their meagre financial resources to be able to indulge in such simple pleasures. I guess the term "venture capital" made its humble beginnings right here.

Recently, having stumbled upon a spate of such passengers like this blog or even this one, I was reminded of an old recipe that a friend of mine had given me. One of making j-e-e-r-a biscuits akin to those that these wonderful bakeries dish out. After making multiple batches of these jeera delicacies(yours truly not being a big fan of this spice), I tried a variation which produced amazing results.

Edited to add : As of March 2008, the number of people googling for this term(k-h-a-r-a biscuit) is roughly two per day. Its amazing to know how many people get nostalgic about this great bakery item and google for the recipe. Hence all references to this item and its recipe have been removed. While it helps my ego to see so many hits for this post, I do not see any feedback on whether anyone has used this recipe or how it turned out. So if you need the recipe for this bakery item, please do email me at the address provided in the profile and I will send the recipe out or leave a comment with your email id. Thanks for understanding.