Mavalli Tiffin Room facts for kids
Official logo of MTR
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| Private | |
| Industry | Food |
| Fate | Managed by members of the founding family |
| Predecessor | Brahmin Coffee Club |
| Founded | 1924 |
| Founder | Parampalli Yagnanarayana Maiya |
| Headquarters |
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India
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Number of locations
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17 |
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Area served
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Statewide, Singapore, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, London |
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Key people
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| Products | Food |
| Services | Food |
| Parent | Orkla ASA |
| Subsidiaries |
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The Mavalli Tiffin Rooms (often called MTR) is a famous food company from India. It started as a small restaurant in Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore) and has grown a lot! MTR is known for its delicious South Indian food. It even invented a popular breakfast dish called Rava Idli. Today, MTR has two main parts: the well-known MTR restaurants, still run by the founding family, and MTR Foods, which sells packaged food products.
MTR has many branches. You can find them in Bengaluru, Udupi, and Mysore in India. They also have restaurants in other countries like Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, London, Bellevue, and Dubai.
Contents
The Story of MTR
MTR was started in 1924 by Parampalli Yagnanarayana Maiya and his brothers. It began as a simple restaurant.
MTR During the Emergency
In the 1970s, India went through a tough time called "The Emergency." During this period, a new law was made in 1975. This law said that restaurants had to sell food at very low prices.
This made it hard for MTR to keep its high quality. To survive, MTR decided to try something new. They started making and selling instant food items. These included ready-to-eat snacks like chutneys and rasams.
MTR's Growth and Two Businesses
Since then, MTR has grown and changed a lot. They even opened MTR Department Stores next to their restaurant.
Now, the MTR brand is actually two separate businesses:
- The MTR restaurant business, which serves fresh food.
- MTR Foods, which sells pre-packaged food items.
MTR Restaurants
The very first MTR restaurant is a vegetarian restaurant located on Lalbagh Road in Bangalore, India. It opened its doors in 1924. This famous restaurant has even been featured on the global travel show Globe Trekker.
The restaurant building has two floors. For many years, customers would walk right through the kitchen to enter the dining area!
Special Food and Inventions
MTR serves traditional Karnataka Brahmin food. The restaurant's look is quite old-fashioned, but that's part of its charm.
During World War II, it was difficult to get enough rice. Rice is a key ingredient for idlis. MTR experimented with semolina (a type of wheat grain) instead of rice. This is how they invented the popular breakfast dish, Rava Idli!
MTR was once known for serving a huge number of customers very quickly. They claimed to serve 21,000 people in just seven hours!
Family Leadership and Challenges
Today, the MTR restaurants are led by Hemamalini Maiya, Vikram Maiya, and Arvind Maiya. They are the grandchildren of the founder, Yagnanarayana Maiya.
At MTR, they serve drinks in special silver tumblers. The restaurant had to close in 1975 because of the Food Control Act during the Indian Emergency. It became impossible to make a profit.
To keep their staff employed, MTR started selling spices and roasted flour mixes. This was a smart move! It marked the beginning of MTR's journey into the packaged and instant food business. The restaurant later reopened in 1981.
MTR Foods
MTR Foods is the part of the company that makes packaged food. It was led by Sadananda Maiya (Yagnanarayana Maiya's son) for a long time. In March 2007, MTR Foods was sold to Orkla, a company from Norway, for about US$80 million.
Products and Quality
MTR Foods makes many different types of packaged foods. These include:
- Spices
- Instant mixes (for quick meals)
- Ready-to-eat foods
- Vermicelli
- Beverages
- Ready-to-cook gravies
- Frozen products
- Papads, pickles, chips, and snacks
- Ice creams
After the Kargil War, there were many changes in how packaged ready-to-eat food was made. MTR bought special packaging technology from the Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) in Mysore. This technology helps them package food without adding any preservatives.
MTR was the first Indian processed foods company to get Hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) certification. This means they follow very high standards for food safety and cleanliness.
Marketing and Innovation
MTR Foods has also sponsored fun events like magic shows and theater performances. They often give free samples to the audience to show off their products.
They even created a frozen dosa. You can just heat it up and eat it right away! MTR Food products are sold online and sent to countries in the Persian Gulf, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Images for kids
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Founder of the restaurant, Parampalli Yagnanarayana Maiya
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Idli served with pure ghee and sambar
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The MTR coffee served hot in silver coffee cugs
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An art on the staircase of the restaurant.jpg
An art on the staircase of the restaurant
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See also
- Cuisine of Karnataka
- Udupi cuisine
- Tiffin
- Rava idli
