Of distinct flavours & textures: Pork and knife nights are taking over Bengaluru

BENGALURU: Rahul Naimpally, 31, a programme manager at sports company Gamedayarts, has started an offbeat monthly ritual with his friends. He organises informal “pork meet-ups” at his home.

“Pork is different from other meats. It has distinct flavours and textures depending on the cooking style and cuisine it is prepared in,” said Naimpally.

With Kodagu falling in the same region and lingering influences of the Anglo-Indian culture, Bengaluru has been partial to pork. But now, the world’s most commonly consumed meat is seeing a resurgence in the city. Consumption has increased by almost four times in as many years, say restaurateurs.


Chef Manish Uniyal curated a just-pork dinner recently at Hyatt Centric for a community table of 30 guests. About 50 kg of pork was locally procured to make 15 varieties of grilled and roasted dishes from across cuisines, including American, Southeast Asian and Latvian.

“Pork effortlessly fits into any meal of the day. It is consumed as bacon for breakfast, ham-and cheese sandwich and quiche at high tea and pork ribs for lunch and dinner. The meat is undergoing a revival and rediscovery by chefs now,” said Uniyal. His next all-pork menu will pay tribute to Indian styles like Kodagu’s pandhi curry, Khasi pork and Goan pork churros.

Smoke House Deli is reintroducing its swine-dine series soon. Chef Saurabh Arora is planning a breakfast-to-brunch pork fare that will take guests from bacon omelette and bacon butter at breakfast time to charcoal pork and pork salad over the winter afternoon.

“Pork is a zero-waste meat to work with as it makes for a tail-to-nose dining experience. Pig-ear crispies, for instance, are a hit. Compared to Delhi and Mumbai, Bengaluru is more open to experimenting with pork,” said Arora.

The Bangalore Pork Lovers Club, launched a year ago, has about 900 members. Founder Kalyan Gopalakrishna, a qualified breeder and food consultant, said, “The consumption of pork in Bengaluru has increased by 400% in the last four years. In three years, organised pork sales have increased from 300 kilos to 1,500 kilos per day. Mumbai and Delhi sell only about 300-500 kilos.” Bengaluru is the number one city in India in both consumption and variety of pork dishes created. He attributes pork’s success in Bengaluru to its well-travelled techies and culinary innovators.

Independent cuisinière Natasha Hinshaw has been seeing an increase in the number of people who want to learn to cook pork delicacies like bacon-wrapped chicken and spaghetti carbonara. She says pork is becoming a white meat. “Bengaluru’s historic connect with the Anglo-Indian community, proximity to Kodagu, recent Asian eatery boom and increasing number of piggeries have pushed pork to the forefront,” she says.