Extreme BUTTER CHICKEN!! 🇮🇳 Best Indian Food You Have to Try! (Original Ghee Roast)

I'm eating the original ghee roast chicken in Mangalore, India. This famous dish attracts food lovers from all over India, just to get a taste of its magical flavor. She's used almost two bowls of ghee already, and that's all just for two chickens. But before we have ghee roast later tonight, we need to warm up our stomachs. It almost tastes like egg, but there's no egg. Mangalore is home to a few other iconic Indian foods that you don't want to miss. India really knows how to do snacks right. Good morning, hey everyone. Hope you're having an amazing day. It's Mark Wiens. Welcome to Mangalore, which is in the state of Karnataka, which is on the west coast of India. So we're beginning bright and early this morning. We actually drove about 30 minutes outside of the city, and we're starting with breakfast. Martin, good morning. Good morning. Where are we at this morning? This place is called Kalladga, and the hotel name is KT Hotel, which means Kalladga Tea Hotel. The tea over here is very much famous. It was started in the year 1952. You would find many KTs around, but this is the original one, Lakshminivas KT Hotel. Okay, great. Good morning, good morning. Nice to meet you. He owns the place. Okay, great. So we met with the owner here. Oh man, this place is already busy, and the aromas coming out of here are incredible. Good morning. Okay, he's preparing it now. Sugar. Milk goes in. Oh, that ring move is incredible. So he's making the tea concentrate now, which then he'll use to make a lot of different cups of tea. That's very strong, extremely strong tea. So something that you have to eat for breakfast in Mangalore are the famous Mangalore buns. So it's a combination of flour, sweetness coming from banana. Oh, it's a kind of a, yeah, it's a sweet bun, but I love how they use the bananas, and you'll see bananas, I mean, all over Mangalore, rich in bananas, and that's part of the bun. So we're just watching the process, how they make it now. We're gonna start with the legendary KTT and the Mangalore bun. I guess you do have to kind of stir it up, so you mix the tea and the milk together. How's the tea? Good? Excellent, yes. Oh, it's so creamy from that milk. Got that foamy froth on top, and that black tea on the, like, it's really strong, very, very strong tea. So good. And it is extremely hot. I mean, he's so careful to keep each component of the tea extremely hot, keeping things in boiled water. Really, he made that perfect temperature so it stays hot, and the cup also remains hot. Martin, it's time. Mangalore buns, the legendary. First bread. Look at how puffy it is. This is how it will be inside. Thank you. Oh, it's really light. Really light and aerated, fried on the outside. Again, it's a combination of flour and banana, so it's sweet, but it's actually served with the savory sambars and the coconut chutney. Even without the chutney or sambar, it will taste good. You can eat it? Yeah. So we should taste it on its own first? The sweetness that comes into it is from the banana. They add ripe bananas to it. And additionally, you immediately taste the flavor of jeera, human seed, right? A bit of human seeds are also added. They put human seeds in it. It's not overly sweet, though. Like, I wouldn't consider it a- A bit of sugar and ripe bananas. And the ripe banana. And even curd goes into it. Oh, okay. They're making it- I think for the fermentation, they're adding curd. I thought it would be more of like a sweet-style bun. Not really, it's more of a- It's kind of balanced. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's not that much sweet to that extent. The hint of sweetness. Yeah. Like how the parotite is. I can see how it will be excellent together with the savory sambars and the coconut chutney. I'll dip it into the sambar. Looks like today the special looks like a pumpkin sambar. You liked it with the sambar or just the buns alone? With the sambar. I love the sambar, yes. Oh, man. Yes. Oh, the coconut chutney, the mustard seed, the curry leaf in there. So aromatic. Oh, it's tasty. Okay, we're moving on to the next dish. What is this, Martin? This is called kottige. Kottige is nothing but idli. Then gets the name kottige because it's prepared in jackfruit leaves. It will absorb the flavors of jackfruit leaf. And you can even see the color has changed a little bit. It's taken on the- From the leaf. From the leaf, yeah. It would have absorbed a little color. It's really bready, it's fluffy. I'll go for the sambar. This will be a little more softer than the usual idlis. It is. To me, what's standing out is this idli is very moist. It's less dry. Yeah. It's not that tight like the other idlis. Yeah. And it has a nice kind of like partness to it as well. Yeah. They know how to do breakfast in South India. This is called avalaki. Avalaki and musaru. Avalaki is nothing but beaten rice. Beaten rice. Yeah. So it's just like flattened out rice. Flattened out rice. And I'll pour the curd over it. Yeah, sure. You can mix it well. Mix it. And then go for it. You see all the spices in there as well. And this is another thing that, is it specifically Mangalorean or Karnataka? No, in Karnataka it's available in almost all places. Okay, okay. But something, this is gonna be my first time to try this as well. The rice has a crunch to it and a little bit of a chewiness to it. And when curd goes into it, it will become more soft. Yeah, that kind of immediately makes it softer. Yeah. Easier to eat. And then the actual pounded rice is not, I think it's savory. I don't think it's sweet. But the curd is a little sweet. Yeah. You feel that combination, like the spiciness down your throat. But the curd kind of like calming you at the same time. Incredible combination of salty, savory, sweet and spicy all together. The next up. This is sprouted moong dal beans. Nice. And it's called haesaru over here. The healthiest option, sprouted mung beans, coconut, chili. Here they have it with beet and rice also. They mix it with beet and rice. And it has a little bit of a sweetness as well. Oh, I love that crunch of the coconut, the freshness of the green chili. Try this cake. And again, it's a mix of savory and sweet because it's a cake, but with onions on top. Whoa, it's dense. It's a bit thick. It's better to hold it with hand. Yeah, yeah. It's really dense. Otherwise it might get off the plate. It might slide, yes. Oh, that caramelized onion flavor you're getting more, I guess. That is what you immediately taste. I'm glad we started in the back for those onions, but that's actually not that sweet of a cake again. It's just mildly sweet. Almost like the bun, yeah. It's really good as well. And again, the caramelized onions really is powering it, giving it that flavor. This is a special order. Tomato omelet. It's like an omelet pancake. Tomatoes in here, peppers. Maybe this time I'll go for the coconut. And this was specifically recommended by the wife of the owner here. She recommended it. Does it, it almost tastes like egg. But no egg. But there's no egg. Is that in my head? I think Micah would like it. I literally, I literally almost taste egg. I think it's a combination of bell peppers, onions, tomatoes. So you think you're eating an omelet and yet it's rice flour, batter, dough. Oh, it's delicious. It is exactly as oily and as soft as you think an omelet is gonna be. And then because there are those onions, I actually can't believe that there's no eggs in it. This can be a lesson to like humans' expectations. When you have such expectations, it actually can override other senses. Because I'm tasting that it's just an egg omelet. Yeah, I literally taste, I really tasted egg in there. It's incredible. And it's, I mean, it's so delicious. It is. Mr. Damana. He's here from Egypt. Mr. Damana. Okay. All the Aleutians will know him. Oh yeah. And so it's right by the university, right? I did my degree here. Oh, so that's your university? Yeah. So everybody knows him. He's the man. He has such a cool, it's not even, I mean, it's a food stall, a food truck. It's more than a food truck. 1960s van that looks like it hasn't moved in years. And he's cooking out of that. So we're gonna try a local Mangalore style street food, And he's invited us in to see the cooking process. Oh, so onions go in. Coriander goes in. Green mango. Yes. Chili powder. Salt. Oh, peanuts. Coconut oil. Tomatoes he's been chopping up. Hard boiled egg. Oh, he mashes up that hard boiled egg. Amazing move. This is the puffy rice. A whole handful of puffy rice goes in. That smells incredible. Thank you. Oh, I can't wait to try it. I love, I love combinations of chaat, combinations of flavors. Snacks in India are just so tasty. Oh, the egg is completely mashed up. Oh, peanuts in there too. Delicious. The flavor of the chili powder. I love the onions. Coriander. The peanuts are great. The crispiness of the rice. It's like juicy, crispy, a little bit spicy and refreshing all at the same time. So good. Wonderful textures and flavors. And you're telling me that the egg is something that's unique to Mangalore. Otherwise you won't find an egg. Usually they don't add egg into this thing. I think this person, Dhawan only popular. Oh, with him. Him specifically adds the egg. Oh. I think he started the thing. I mean, you could tell he was a master from just watching him cook it. And that's really genius because it adds this creaminess from the yolk. Yeah, the yolk gives it a different taste to it. Definitely. What a mixture. And what a setting too. Underneath the tree, it's really breezy and cool here. He has a tent, a tarp set up. Just so great atmosphere. Tasty snacks. India really knows how to do snacks right. And it's so fresh and refreshing. I mean, if you compare this to like a bag of chips or something, oh, char muri would win every time. That was great. Again, he's in the bright blue Mahindra. You can't miss it. But yeah, some fantastic char muri. And especially the Mangalorean style char muri. It's the middle of the afternoon in Mangalore. So we're stopping for something cold and refreshing. And many people say, well, from what I've heard, it's one of the most famous places to eat ice cream in all of India. So there's a, yeah, very, very popular place. This place made Mangalore the ice cream capital of India. This is there from long and every day, the crowd will be same. Every single day. Yeah. Wow, it's a really nice place too. Hello. It's a really nice and modern ice cream parlor. And yet it definitely has a lot of character. Yes. Yes, hello. So we're here and it's an honor to meet you, the owner here at Pabas. And will you tell us a little bit about the history here? Ideal ice cream, which was started by my father, as Prabhakar Thakur in 1975. In 1996, we opened Pabas. Why the name Pabas? Because my father's name is Prabhakar, his nickname is Pabas. Pabas, that's the name, Pabas. Okay, great. And recently, about a few months back, our Garbad ice cream was chosen to be the top 100 iconic ice cream of the world by Taste Atlas. And last month, we were chosen to be the world's seventh best ice cream parlors of the world. First taste of the famous Garbad, what so many people come here, come to Mangalore for. I wanna get all those layers. There's a jelly. Oh, there's jellies, and that might be too much, though. All right. Really love those cashews in there. And even that jelly makes it. Oh yeah, that kind of like raspberry jelly. It's definitely very sweet, but also I like the fruits and the nuts in there. Really creamy and milky. And I think they probably make their own ice creams here? All of their own ice creams? Yeah, they make their own. Ideal ice creams, right? This ideal brand is owned by Pabas. Okay. Yeah, all the different jams in there. The cashews. And you get more and more goodies down below there. Ooh. Okay, that's okay. Ice cream pan. One of their signatures here. We couldn't leave without trying the ice cream pan. It's not really a pan, but it's all made from candies and jellies and ice creams. It tastes like pan only. It does taste like pan. Yeah, it's minty and like all those spices. Flavor of the pan. Yes. Okay, that's genius. That is amazing. Has all those floral flavors of the pan. That's actually incredible. Yeah, and that right there was worth coming to Pabas for. Yeah. Oh, we just finished our ice cream at Pabas. It's so popular, but the people eating there are so friendly. I mean, that's something I have to mention. The people of Mangalore are extremely friendly. From here, this afternoon, we're planning to maybe just go around a little bit, eat a few more snacks, try some street food, and then have dinner. Yeah, this is the place. Next up, we're trying a very popular street food stall on the side of the road in the evening. And so they're well known for their milchi bhaji, which is she takes the green chilies, puts them into the batter, and then deep fries them. And that's what everyone is here for. That's their top seller. Although they have a few other things as well, but fried crispy green chilies. That smells so good. Okay, and the chutney. So onions. Hold on real fast, okay. Oh, thank you. Oh, here we are. The milchi bhaji. Milchi bhaji? Milchi bhaji. With chutney, with onions, served with onions. Oh, this is what everybody's enjoying here. I'm gonna dip it into that chutney. Green chutney. Mm. Fried hot and fresh. Really bready with that batter. And crispy. And then the flavor of the spicy green chilies in the center. Not too spicy, but have a really beautiful green flavor to them. Mm. And you can taste with onions. Dip it in more of that chutney. Oh, the chutney is amazing. The green chili chutney as well. Very tasty. A very good snack. Very popular as well. And she just makes it fresh here on the side of the street. Swipe up that green chili chutney. It's green chili on green chili. Yeah, then grab an onion. Put it all onto your bite. That is a world-class street food. Mm. That was really good. There's a lot of dishes, foods, that you absolutely don't want to miss when you come to Mangalore. But there's one dish, the ghee-roast chicken, that's maybe the most legendary, the greatest of them all. And it's finally time. We're at the original location. We're gonna learn about its unique history, and we're gonna see the process of it being made before we eat it. Okay, so I'm here with Harish Edi. Very nice to meet you. Yeah, pleasant meeting you, sir. And can you share with us a little bit about the history of this restaurant, and also how chicken ghee-roast was invented? Yes, yes. Our restaurant, Shetty Luncheon, started in the year 1957 by our grandparents. Since then, we are running the restaurant. We are the third generation at the moment. The ghee-roast recipe was founded by our grandparent only. So we have a different recipe for that. But now, everybody is having the ghee-roast in the entire world, in their own manner. But the original is still here only, the recipe. That's a secret masala, what we do. So that is done here only in Mangalore. And we're stepping into the kitchen, nice. That's okay, no problem, no problem. Hello. Immediately greeting upon you as you enter the kitchen is the masala for the ghee-roast. They grind over 25 kilos of chilies per day. The aroma of the red chilies is, oh, it smells so good. That's the ghee-roast masala. Okay. That's the fish fry masala. That's our secret masala, what we add to the ghee-roast. Oh, so that's another masala that you add to the ghee-roast? And then this is the ghee? We melt the butter, and we do the ghee. Okay. So the color is slightly different. First we add the ghee. Oh, the ghee goes in. I mean, when you hear just ghee-roast, roasting we often think of like maybe fire, grilling, but actually it's not a fire-grilling technique at all. It's more of like a roasting in a pan with a slow heat. And the ghee just kind of roasts that paste. And so what we're seeing now is, I mean, she started with a lot of ghee and then put on that entire bowl of that ghee-roast masala paste. And now she's just slowly working it. You can see it's starting to brown, starting to caramelize. That aroma's coming out of that masala. I mean, I think the way, the technique that she's roasting it it's really gonna just fully bring out the flavor potential of all the ingredients in that masala. Oh, some more ghee goes on. Oh, and she keeps just feeding it ghee as it starts to dry out and as it starts to thicken, absorb into that masala. And next up, that next masala goes in. The green masala goes in. Oh, more ghee goes on. Oh, she just keeps adding ghee, feeding the ghee in. Oh man, it just keeps absorbing into the masala paste. So it's been about 10 or 15 minutes now and she just continually feeds it with ghee and just slowly roast that paste. Now the aromas are starting to even change. I mean, as she keeps on roasting it and I continually stir it, continually keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn. 25 minutes to make the paste, the masala. And then you add the chicken and another 20 minutes. 45 minutes to make it. Wow. She's used two bowls, almost two bowls of ghee already. And that's all just for two chickens. The quantity, the ratio. Yeah, that's some experience. That's a well-proven recipe. I'd say we're about 20 minutes in now and it went from a watery paste to like a lava paste. How do you know when it's ready? Whatever the ghee has been absorbed, it starts leaving at the sides. And you can see now that the ghee is starting to kind of bubble out of it or the ghee is starting to kind of break. The chicken is boiled with salt and little turmeric powder. Okay. So I add the chicken. She adds in two chickens which have been precooked already. She's had to stir it the entire time. And it's not just like a gentle stir. It's like scraping off the plastered caramelized masala. And now you can see that the masala is starting to really harden and thicken. You would be hard to search for anywhere with a more mouthwatering dish ever. This is one of the most saliva-inducing dishes you could possibly have. Joel and I are over here just drooling. Yeah, now the masala is really starting to harden. It's starting to almost crumble. Crumble and thicken. That ghee roast is ready after 45 minutes. That's an unbelievable process. But before we eat it, we're gonna learn how to make the special type of neer dosa that is the best combination to eat with it. So it's not like the regular thick dosa batter. It's water. So neer means water. We soak the rice for one to two hours. And then we grind it into a smooth paste. And then add the required amount of water before making the dosa. Yeah, because it's so liquidy, it just kind of really spreads out across the skillet. And then immediately kind of bubbles up. Martin, we're sitting down. This is an unbelievable meal. Martin, how should we go in? We'll start with having one ghee roast and neer dosa first. Okay. Just taste the nugget of the ghee roast. Oh, look, it just immediately, the ghee roast just colors your fingers. Oh, look it. That is something truly spectacularly beautiful. You're getting that ghee and even the masala. Oh! Oh, man! It has a flavor unlike anything you'll ever taste. It's so toasty and roasted flavor. The ghee is just so condensed. And what the ghee has done also is caramelized and browned all of that masala to the point where it's just absorbed and thickened and created almost like solidified. Like it's just hardened into this. I mean, that paste is really, really soft, but it's just like caked. And it just coats everything in that flavor that's just unbelievable. And as you, it's kind of like a, the masala is just, once you take a bite, it just coats your entire mouth. That is just an incredible flavor. Yeah. Oh, yeah. It's everything I thought it was gonna be and more. Because the water is so battery and you can see how bubbly it is. It's really light, really fluffy. And take a little of masala, like a piece of chicken, fold it. So I'll break a piece of that. Oh, man, that dosa is, it's so spongy. So spongy. And I'm going right into that piece that's just plastered in the roast. Oh, man. That is unbelievable flavor. Oh, man. And the, with that dosa, it's really like sticky and fluffy. Now this is double delight. Yeah. Yes. It pairs perfectly together. Everything just melts in your mouth. The richness of that ghee roast, it is so rich. Oh, that is absolute sensation in your mouth. Oh, man. That's life-changing. That might be the most ghee that you'll ever have like condensed in a single bite. It's just like plastered. It's a plaster of masala and ghee. The richness of the flavor is almost like a mature cheese. It's that powerful, but it's even better because it's like super spicy. Okay. So he's going to prepare another dish, which is called ladyfish, the ladyfish. We're going to see how that's made as well. This time it's not ghee, but coconut oil. Oh, so you already like marinated it in some of that masala. Okay. Oh, man. This is just yet another unbelievable recipe. And this one smells totally different because of coconut oil instead of ghee. And that gives it a totally different aromatic scent. But again, just that masala sizzling, the coconut oil starting to break and he just keeps lightly basting the fish in that masala coconut oil mixture. It's truly unbelievable Mangalorean cooking. And you can see at this stage, the masala starts to dry out. The liquid starts to dry out. So you're left with the coconut oil and the paste, which is thickened and condensed. That's another unbelievable recipe. And he finishes off once the fish is cooked. Don't want to overcook the fish. So he scoots the fish to the side. He finishes off that masala, gives it the final roast until it darkens and then scrapes it off and then plasters it onto your fish and done. Oh man, it's getting to be almost unbearable. All right, let's move in for the fish. Yeah. Thank you. I'm gonna go in for some of this. The lady fish. Oh, oh man. It is so soft. And again, the roasting process, but with coconut oil instead of- This will taste even better when it's hot. Like on the pan. I'm sure, I'm sure. How's this? Outstanding, again. And the texture is really nice. Yeah. It's really silky. Really buttery. You feel the difference with the coconut oil and even the ghee, right? Definitely. It's not quite as rich or heavy. But this will give the flavors of all the coconut oil flavor. You really taste the coconut oil, yeah. You can taste the masala in the fish. Has a little bit more of a tanginess. Ginger, garlic, tamarind water. Man, and the texture of that fish. Yeah, and the aroma of the coconut oil. I mean, it's absolutely stunning, yet again. I'm really impressed with the water dosa as well. Just goes so well together. I mean, if you want anything to melt in your mouth, just eat it with the neer dosa. Okay, let's try the prawns ghee roast. Martin, you wanna try a prawn? Yeah, I have. Oh, wow. And this is something different. Oh, that's equally stunning. With the flavor of the prawn, and it's bouncy in your mouth with all that same ghee roast masala. Words can hardly describe how tasty that is. And we've got one more special dish coming up. What is it called? Koli roti? Koli means chicken. Chicken in our Tulu language, yeah. And so this is like crispy wafer, almost like wafer thin. Yeah, it's like wafer only. A wafer thin roti. So we've got a bowl of chicken curry. Oh, and you just put that over it. And the curry will be poured on top of the roti. Ah, so then it's just gonna just start to absorb, rehydrate. Oh, what a dish. So now it almost immediately just absorbed, and then you can go at, oh, so many layers. You gotta really mix it. Oh, you gotta, you can feel the crispiness. You can either mix it or just have it like that. Ah, okay. It's crispy. If you mix it well, you'll get the whole curry will be absorbed. Crispy, okay. So, or if you let it sit longer, I'm sure it's gonna absorb more and kind of get a little soggy, or you can eat it now, and it's kind of like, still remains crispy. And now it's okay to eat it? Like this? Yeah? Oh, man. This is the one dish I miss every day once I leave Mangal. Oh, man. That is, like, it has this little wafer, paper-thin crispiness to it, like phyllo dough almost, except totally different. And then it just starts to absorb with that incredible chicken curry, all the flavors of that chicken curry, the spices, the cinnamony flavors, the, just absorbs into every layer of that bread, and you just break it apart with your fingers and just, yeah. I mean, really cannot compare it to anything, but imagine that crunch you get from baklava with all those different layers, yet in curry form. It's like, and it's totally Mangalorean, its own thing. That's incredible. Just so addictive, I think, the textures, the textures that you have of that. Oh. I love how it absorbs the gravy. Thank you. Chicken curry is stunning. What a legendary restaurant, and something that I love about it. I mean, the recipe, the dish, is a flavor overdose, but it's also a part of family history in Mangalore, and actually in an adjacent town not far away, but it's part of their family history, and it's now a dish, I mean, that originates with them, but that you'll find all over India, even at Indian restaurants all over the world. Ghee roast from Karnataka from Mangalore. What an incredible dish. Mangalore has been incredible. The hospitality, the delicious food. I'll have all the information in the description box below, and I wanna say a huge thank you to Martin for arranging everything, and great to hang out with my friend Joel, and thank you for watching this video. Please remember to give it a thumbs up if you enjoyed it, and also remember to subscribe, and also watch this entire Karnataka India series, where we're going around the state, and eating some of the best Indian food. It's truly been just a flavor overdose that you're not gonna wanna miss any of it. Thanks again for watching. Good night from Mangalore, and I will see you on the next video.