Prems Graama Bhojanam is one the newly opened restaurant in Jayanagar which seems has gained popularity in short period.  The owner themselves are overwhelmed by the love shown for their food.  But then it was bound to happen because they are serving typical South Indian food and most of all they are using the Millet, which is the talk of the town.  I have heard/been-in multiple conversations with people – talking about the health benefits of using it, time taken to grow it in the fields, how it takes lesser water, how it is beneficial for farmers and many more.  The awareness has resulted in people loving Millet based food items.    

History

The idea for the restaurant came from Mr.N.S.Krishnamoorthi who was a villager who consumed a lot of millet during his growing years.  He has worked for 30+ years for various food companies, latest one being Hindustan Unilever.  This enabled him to understand food as a product and as a business.  He says that people love tasty food but then there is the need for healthy food.

He shot to fame by opening the first restaurant in Chennai, which has the same name – Prem’s Graama Bhojanam @ Adyar, which is very popular.  All the recipes are specially curated by Mr.N.S.Krishnamoorthi. 

The restaurant in Bangalore is being run as a franchise by 3 people Yuvajith, Smitha and Avinash.  Yuvajith has as a Hotel Management degree from Switzerland and owns the ‘The Brew Room’ café at The Savera Hotel, Chennai. 

Ambiance

This is house converted to restaurant.  But soon after you enter, it has a calming effect.  It looks like a typical mess.  There are plenty of posters on millets, varieties and their health-benefits in every room.

There are 3-4 chutneys placed on every table that can be served along with the food.  All the plates have the banana leaf which again adds to the taste.

Food

I want to highlight a very important concept that was shared by Mr.N.S.Krishnamoorthi.  If we treat food as a triangle, base is good ingredients, one side is good recipe and the other side is good procedure.  If all three are right, we can get good food.  And if we can add some more of the love and care, it can become an extraordinary food. 

The base ingredient for all the items served in the restaurant are millets.  Some of the items that I tried at the restaurant.

Tatte Idli – This was made with millets and served with Groundnut chutney, Tomato Chutney and Sambar.  Idlis were soft and the tasted good with chutney.  But it sure does taste different compared to the rice idli.

Saranna made with Odalu (Barnyard Millet) tasted quite awesome as I could feel multiple flavours on the tongue and it had the perfect spice level.

Benne Dosa made with Harka (Koda) & Samae (Litte Millet) which looked like the normal dosa made with rice & black letnils.  It had the typical colour outside but softer instead of being crispy.  It tasted different compared to the normal dosa and I did not enjoy it that much.

Pongal made with Harka (Koda Millet) with Moong Daal/Green gram tasted pretty good and I enjoyed eating multiple bites.

Masaranna made with Samae and A2 Desi Cow milk curd was quite tasty.  It seemed to taste so much better than many of the curd-rice that I have had outside.  But I would have wanted it to be a little creamier.

Sajje Roti is another item that is quite popular in North Karnataka.  It is typically made hard and served with Brinjol curry.  In this place, the Roti was soft and it was served with chutney & sambar.  Typically, I missed the brinjol/eggplant but still it did taste good with items that they served.

Panniyaram/Paddu served with chutney and sambar was the last item that I tried which was one of the my favourites.

The only other dish I missed was Sambhar Anna – Made with Navane (Kodi Millet).

Deserts

Halwa made from Organic Jaggery was simply superb.  It tasted like the paaysa/kheer made at home with jaggery.

Natural Kulfi in mataka was the last item that I tried for the day.  It was made with Palm Jaggery and no colour or flour or chemical were added while making.  It contained plenty of dry fruits.   It’s a tasty desert but to be able to enjoy the flavours easily, you will need to keep it aside for 5mts before consuming, otherwise it would be quite hard.

Overall Experience

It was a great experience of eating food at the new Millet Restaurant in Jayanagar. I got to try most of the items that is served at the outlet and it was good fun spend time with old foodie friend.  There was quite a bit of crowd inside the restaurant even though it was a weekday.  It shows that people have loved the food and want to come back again.

I rate my current experience at 4.0/5.  I need to visit the place couple of more times, try out the dishes in leisure but a big thumbs up to the restaurant.