Bengaluru’s Avare Mela marked 25th edition with 125 dishes

Geetha Shivakumar began buying surplus peeled avare beans from Magadi farmers in 2000 and turning them into savouries. The effort grew into Bengaluru’s Avare Mela.

Shivakumar started the mela with four farmers and about 10 dishes, including avare nippattu, chikki, mixture and avarekaalu saaru. Its 25th edition ran at National College Grounds from December 27, 2024, to January 5, 2025, and offered 125 dishes.

Organiser Swathi K. S. said the anniversary menu included 25 new items, such as avarekaalu mayonnaise, pasta and chocolate, as well as bakery preparations using the bean.

Vasanna, one of the four original suppliers from Magadi, said avare bele sold for ₹20-25 a kg in the 2000s and now fetches ₹250-300 a kg. He said the festival’s requirement had grown from 300-500 kg to tonnes. More than 500 farmers supplied avare beans for the previous edition, which drew about four lakh visitors.

The mela moved from the V. V. Puram food-street area to National College Grounds in 2023 as attendance grew. Workers still peel the beans by hand, often in their homes, before the produce reaches the market.