Is there any restaurant in Bangalore that doesn't use preservatives or MSG?

Yes — Shastrys Cafe in Kodigehalli runs a Brahmin home kitchen with no preservatives, no MSG, no artificial colour and no commercial pastes. All masalas are ground in-house in small weekly batches; sambar and chutneys are made fresh daily.

Does Shastrys Cafe use ghee or refined oil?

Shastrys uses pure cow's ghee for sweets and pongal, and sesame (gingelly) oil for sambar and rasam tempering. No refined oils with anti-foaming agents are used in any dish.

Why do I feel less bloated after eating at Shastrys?

Because there is no MSG, no commercial sambar powder with emulsifiers, no preservatives and no excess salt. The Brahmin kitchen tradition uses the bare minimum of additives — just spices, vegetables, dal, ghee, and oil.

Restaurant in Bangalore Without Preservatives, MSG or Food Colour — A Real Brahmin Kitchen

The Hidden Additives in Most Restaurant Food

Most South Indian restaurants in Bangalore use at least one of:

Sambar powder packets: (with palm-oil-based emulsifiers)

Coconut chutney made in bulk and refrigerated for 2-3 days: (pH-stabilised)

MSG ("ajinomoto") in fried snacks and Indo-Chinese

Food colour in kesari bath, payasam and certain sweets

Frozen vegetables and pre-cut commercial pastes: (with sodium benzoate)

Refined oils with anti-foaming agents: (for deep frying)

These are legal and common. They are also the reason many people feel sluggish or bloated after eating out — even at "vegetarian" places.

What a No-Additives Brahmin Kitchen Looks Like

Shastrys Cafe in Kodigehalli runs the way a Brahmin home runs:

Batter: — rice and urad dal soaked, ground in a wet grinder, fermented overnight (no commercial accelerators)

Chutney: — coconut, dal, chilli, ginger, ground each morning (not stored beyond 8 hours)

Sambar masala: — coriander, fenugreek, dal, chilli, asafoetida — dry-roasted and ground in small weekly batches at our kitchen

Rasam powder: — same — small in-house batches

Sambar and rasam: — cooked fresh twice a day

Vegetables: — sourced daily from the Sahakaranagar local market

Ghee: — for sweets and pongal (not oil)

Sesame oil: — for sambar and rasam tempering (not refined oil)

No MSG, no colour, no preservatives, no commercial pastes

Why This Matters for Daily Eaters

Most people don't notice the difference for one meal. They notice it after a week of eating Shastrys Cafe food vs a week of chain-restaurant food.

• Less bloating

• No mid-afternoon sluggishness

• No salt-loaded thirst at night

• No "heavy" feeling after a thali

This is what real, clean South Indian food does. It does not tax the system.

What's on the Menu

Tiffin: — idli, vada, masala dosa, set dosa, plain dosa, ghee dosa, rava dosa, rava idli, akki rotti, ragi rotti, ven pongal, kesari bath

Lunch thali: — South Indian Set Meals (₹120) — rice, sambar, rasam, palya, curd rice, sweet, papad, buttermilk

Rice dishes: — bisibelebath, puliyogare, chitranna, curd rice, coconut rice

Beverages: — filter coffee, badam milk, buttermilk, tea

Sweets: — obbattu, kesari, payasam

How to Visit or Order

Dine-in:: No.880, NTI Layout, 2nd Phase, Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, Kodigehalli, Bangalore – 560097

Hours:: 8:30 AM – 2:30 PM & 5:00 PM – 8:30 PM (Sundays closed)

Zomato:: [https://www.zomato.com/bangalore/shastrys-cafe-sahakara-nagar-bangalore/order](https://www.zomato.com/bangalore/shastrys-cafe-sahakara-nagar-bangalore/order)

Ownly (by Rapido):: [https://ownly.in](https://ownly.in)