Mavalli Tiffin Room
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The Mavalli Tiffin Rooms ( kn, ಮಾವಳ್ಳಿ ಟಿಫನ್ ರೂಂ) (commonly known as MTR) is the brand name of a food-related enterprise in India. Having its origin as a humble mess located on Lalbagh Road in Bangalore, it has ten other branches in Bangalore, as well as one in each of Udupi, Mysore, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, London and Dubai. MTR created the South Indian breakfast item, Rava Idli. While the packaged foods division was acquired by Orkla of Norway, the MTR chain of restaurants continues to be run by the original family that started it.


History

The Mavalli Tiffin Room was founded as a restaurant by Parampalli Yagnanarayana Maiya and his brothers in the year 1924.A very brief history of MTR is provided by In the 1970s, when India was under
emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...
, a Food Control Act was introduced in 1975 which mandated that food was to be sold at very low prices. This move made it difficult for MTR to maintain high standards in its restaurant business and forced it to diversify into the instant food business, selling ready-to-eat snacks such as
chutney A chutney is a spread in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, such as a tomato relish, a ground peanut garnish, yogurt or curd, cucumber, spicy coconut, spicy onion or mint dipping sa ...
s and rasams.A history of MTR is provided by Since then, MTR has expanded and diversified, with MTR Department Stores opened next to the restaurant.Opening of the MTR outlet in
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
is mentioned by
Currently the MTR brand represents two separate entities; the ''MTR'' restaurant business and ''MTR Foods'', the pre-packaged food business.


MTR restaurants

The original MTR restaurant is a
vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...
restaurant located on Lalbagh Road in
Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
founded in 1924. It has been shown on television in the global travel-related series '' Globe Trekker''. The restaurant building comprises two floors. MTR serves
Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...
food. The decor is outdated. For many years, customers entered the restaurant through the kitchen.MTR's history and its success in creating a frozen dosa is mentioned by During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, MTR found it difficult to make
idli Idli or idly () is a type of savoury rice cake, originating from the South India,popular as breakfast foods in Southern India and in Sri Lanka. The cakes are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented black lentils (de-husked) and ric ...
s since rice was in short supply. According to MTR, they experimented with
semolina Semolina is coarsely milled durum wheat mainly used in making couscous, and sweet puddings. The term semolina is also used to designate coarse millings of other varieties of wheat, and sometimes other grains (such as rice or corn) as well. Ety ...
instead of rice and thus invented the breakfast item of Rava Idli. MTR was the first fast-food restaurant in the world to serve 21,000 customers in seven hours. As of today, the MTR restaurants are headed by Hemamalini Maiya, Vikram Maiya, and Arvind Maiya, the grandchildren of Yagnanarayana Maiya. Silver tumblers are used to serve beverages. This restaurant was closed in the 1975 Indian emergency when the Food Control Act made it unprofitable to serve food items; It reopened in 1981.A detailed article on MTR is provided by To save the jobs during the time it was closed, MTR started selling spices and roasted flour mixes. That was the beginning of its entry into the convenience and instant food business.


MTR Foods

MTR Foods MTR Foods is a food products company based in Bengaluru, India. The company manufactures a range of packaged foods including breakfast mixes, ready to eat meals, masalas and spices, snacks and beverages. MTR Foods Pvt. Ltd. is a subsidiary of N ...
was headed by
Sadanand Maiya Sadanand is an Indian name. It may refer to *Sadanand Bakre, Indian painter and sculptor * Sadanand Chavan, Indian politician * Sadanand Date, Indian Police Service officer * Sadanand Deshmukh, Marathi language author * Sadanand Dhume, American wr ...
(son of Yagnanarayana Maiya) until it was sold to
Orkla Orkla may refer to: Places * Orkla (river), a river in Trøndelag county, Norway Business * Orkla Group (or ''Orkla ASA''), a large Norwegian company * Orkla Mining Company, a historic company in Norway * Orkla Metall, a former smelting company ...
, a Norwegian company for
US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
80 Million in March 2007.Sale of MTR Foods to Orkla is mentioned by It produces packaged foods in different ranges - spices, instant mixes, ready-to-eat foods, vermicelli, beverages, ready-to-cook gravies, range of frozen products, papads, pickles, chips, snacks and ice creams.An article on the changes in the MTR Foods division is provided by After the
Kargil War The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referr ...
, a lot of changes happened in the packaged ready to eat food segment due to
Defence Food Research Laboratory The Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) is an Indian defence laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Located in Mysore, Karnataka, it conducts research and development of technologies and products in the area ...
(DFRL). It bought the packaging technology from the same DFRL in
Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
and there are no preservatives added to the food while packaging. MTR is the first Indian processed foods company to be
Hazard analysis and critical control points Hazard analysis and critical control points, or HACCP (), is a systematic preventive approach to food safety from biological, chemical, and physical hazards in production processes that can cause the finished product to be unsafe and designs mea ...
(HACCP)-certified, a standard of food safety and hygiene. It has also sponsored magic shows and theatre performances and given free samples to the audience, as a means of demonstrating their products.Marketing strategy of MTR Foods is mentioned by MTR Foods created a frozen dosa, which can be heated and eaten right away. MTR Food products are sold online and exported to the countries in the Persian Gulf, United States, and United Kingdom.


See also

*
Cuisine of Karnataka Karnataka cuisine includes the cuisines of the different regions and communities of the Indian state of Karnataka, namely, Uttara Karnataka cuisine, Dakshina Karnataka cuisine, Udupi cuisine, Mangalurean cuisine, Kodava cuisine, Saraswat cu ...
*
Udupi cuisine Udupi cuisine is a cuisine of South India. It forms an important part of Tuluva cuisine and takes its name from Udupi, a city on the southwest coast of India in the Tulunadu region. Udupi cuisine is strictly vegetarian and has its origin in th ...
*
Tiffin Tiffin is an Indian English word for a type of meal. It refers to a light breakfast or a light tea-time meal at about 3 p.m., consisting of typical tea-time foods. In certain parts of India, it can also refer to the midday luncheon or, in s ...
* Rava idli


References


Further reading

* * *
MTR Opens in Dubai After Singapore


External links


Webpage of MTR Restaurants

Webpage of MTR Foods Ltd.

MTR restaurants in Bangalore
{{coord missing, Karnataka Restaurants in Bangalore South Indian cuisine Restaurants established in 1924 Catering and food service companies of India Orkla ASA Restaurant chains in India Indian companies established in 1924