Bidar Tourism and Travel Guide
History of The City: The city of Bidar rose to prominence when it became the Bahmani capital during the reign of Ahmad Shah Bahman (1423-1436 A.D) inBidar 1429. Ahmed Shah was awestruck by the scenic beauty and climate of the place and he decided to build a new city near its ancient fortress and called it Ahmadabad-Bidar. Ahmad Shah also laid the foundations of the Bidar fort.
When the Bahmani dynasty eventually collapsed in 1538, the sultanate broke up into five independent sultanates, known as the Deccan sultanates. Bidar became a part of the Barid Shahi dynasty. In 1543 Ali Barid assumed royal appellation of Shah. The Bidar Sultanate was absorbed by the Bijapur Sultanate to the west in 1619, which was in turn conquered by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in 1686.
From 1724 to 1948, Bidar remained a territory of the Nizam of Hyderabad’s dominions. It became a part of the erstwhile Hyderabad state, when Hyderabad was annexed to India. In 1956, Hyderabad was partitioned along linguistic lines and Bidar district became part of Mysore state, later renamed
Karnataka. Travel to Bidar and soak in the history of this ancient capital. Over the years Bidar tourism has increased by leaps and bounds.
How to Reach Bidar?
Bidar district lies in the northern-most part of Karnataka. You can get to Bidar by using road, rail or air services.
How to Reach Bidar by Road: Bidari is connected by road to most places in south India. Some of these are: Gulbarga (112km), Hyderabad (136 km), Bangalore (669 km), Bijapur (280 km) and Basavakalyan (73 km). KSRTC Buses ply from Bidar at Bangalore, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Raichur and Sholapur.
How to Reach Bidar by Rail: Bidar is connected by rail with Bangalore, Bombay and Hyderabad. From Gulbarga you can get fast-trains to Mumbai and Bangalore.
How to Reach Bidar by Air: The nearest airport is Hyderabad (136 km).
SHOPPING: The town of Bidar has lent its name to a form of metal damascening called Bidriware, which is created by the local craftsmen. Bidriware is easily identified by its blackened surface, on which highly intricate floral and geometric silver Bidarinlay work has been done. Bidri articles can be obtained by the tourist from the local shops in Bidar.
Cuisine of Karnataka – Inside The Kitchen of Karnataka
South India as a whole, is hugely popular for its cuisine. Although the styles preparation and serving are quite similar in the four states of southern India, but the dishes differ a lot. Karnataka cuisine mainly consists of vegetarian dishes and only few non-vegetarian dishes. Here also, the meal is served on a banana leaf, which starts with serving of Ghee. There are mainly three stable foods of Karnataka, rice, raggi and jowar. Every region of Karnataka has its own specialty and has been divided into different parts accordingly. It is said that the delicious dosa too originated in Karnataka, precisely Udupi cuisine. Non vegetarian food too, though less than its vegetarian, has a lot of varieties. Coastal regions of Karnataka take pride in their numerous and delectable varieties of sea food. And it has been found that dishes of Karnataka are not only rich in taste, they are highly nutritious as well.
North Karnataka Cuisine: Bidar, Kalburgi, Vijayapura, Ballari and Belagaavi are the main districts of northern Karnataka where this cuisine is found. Main dishes of the region are rotis made of jowar and wheat. The rotis (breads) are served with different curries, which are mostly spicy. Rice too, like in other regions, is consumed highly with different side dishes like Saaru, Majjige and Huli.
South Karnataka Cuisine: Main dish of Southern Karnataka is ragi mudde which is taken with almost all three meals of the day. It is a round ball prepared by boiling millet in water. With rice, number of spicy soups like hurali saaru, bas saaru are taken. Hurali saaru is made up from horse grams mixed with various Indian spices whereas bas saaru is made from broth of lentils and spring beans. The rice here too is of different kinds. Kempanna is a different kind of rice red in color.
Udupi Cuisine: This is probably the most renowned cuisine to come out of South India. Dishes in Udupi cuisine are generally prepared from fruits, vegetables, grains and beans. The best dish of Udupi cuisine is without a doubt Masala Dosa that made it big not only in India but in other countries as well. Even today, Udupi cuisine follows the ingredients
and method of preparation mentioned in the Vedas. No onion or garlic are in the dishes. Neither is any dish made from meat or fish. Sajjige, bajiil, Saaru, Sambhar, different types of rices and Uddinahittu are few of the major dishes in Udupi cuisine.
Common Dishes Throughout Karnataka Bidar
Various rice dishes like Bisi bele bath, Vaangi baath and chitrana are used in all regions of Karnataka. Other dishes of main course that are common through out Karnataka are ragi rotti, akki roti, Kosambari, and numerous saarus. Non vegetarian dishes in Karnataka are common to all places of the state. Koli bas saaru, Mutton chop curry, Meatball curry, Chicken pulao and Mutton pulao are the most favored non-veg dishes here. You can have a taste of this anywhere in the state. Although, to get the best of Seafood, one should visit the coastal regions of Karnataka. Fish curry and liver fry are the dishes that will make your mouth water.
When talking about the cuisine of a state, one just cannot ignore the sweet dishes. Specially if the list is gigantic. Karnataka is one state that has as many sweet dishes as other dishes. Paayasa is the main sweet dish of Karnataka, which is famous all over India. There are different types of paayasas. All are made of milk and differ in the ingredient added in the milk. Most used items are jeerige, shavige, rice and sabbakki. Other sweet delicacies of Karnataka are Balushahi, sakkare acchuhaala-puri, ladoo and dharwad pedha.
It won’t be wrong to say that cuisine can easily be among the greatest attraction of Karnataka. So many are the dishes and such is the taste of each one of them that it is hard to decide which is the best. Other attractions might have the appeal to allure you to Karnataka, but it is the cuisine that has the magic to make you stay in Karnataka. Just get the taste of Karnataka cuisine and feel that special feeling that your tongue craved for so long.
