Mavalli Tiffin Room facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Mavalli Tiffin Rooms (MTR)

Official logo of MTR
Formerly	Brahmin Coffee Club
Type	Private
Industry	Food
Fate	Managed by members of the founding family
Founded	1924
Founder	Parampalli Yagnanarayana Maiya and Brothers
Headquarters	Bengaluru, Karnataka , India
Number of locations	17
Area served	Statewide, Singapore, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, London
Key people	Parameshwara Maiya Ganappayya Maiya Parampalli Yagnanarayana Maiya Parampalli Sadananda Maiya Harishchandra Maiya
Products	Food
Services	Food
Subsidiaries	MTR Foods

MTR (Mavalli Tiffin Rooms) is a famous food company from India. It started as a small restaurant on Lalbagh Road in Bangalore. Today, MTR has many restaurants in Bangalore, other Indian cities, and even in other countries. MTR is also well-known for making the South Indian breakfast dish called Rava Idli very popular.

History of MTR

MTR began as the 'Brahmin Coffee Club' in Bangalore, India, in 1924. It was started by Parampalli Yagnanarayana Maiya and his brothers. In 1960, the restaurant moved and changed its name to 'Mavalli Tiffin Room'.

In 1975, the restaurant faced a challenge. A new law made it hard to sell food and still make a profit. Because of this, MTR had to close for a while. To help their employees keep their jobs, MTR started selling spices and roasted flour mixes. This was the beginning of their packaged food business, which later became MTR Foods. The restaurant reopened in 1981.

Further information: MTR Foods

Food and New Ideas

MTR serves traditional Karnataka Hindu food. For many years, customers would even walk through the kitchen to enter the restaurant.

During World War II, it was hard for MTR to get enough rice to make idlis. So, they tried using semolina (a type of wheat flour) instead of rice. This experiment led to the invention of the popular breakfast item, Rava Idli.

How MTR Grew

The Maiya family still owns and manages the MTR restaurants. The grandchildren of Yagnanarayana Maiya, including Hemamalini Maiya, Vikram Maiya, and Arvind Maiya, are now in charge.

You can find MTR restaurants outside Bangalore in places like Udupi, Mysore, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, London, Bellevue, Mississauga, and Dubai. The restaurant has even been featured on the global travel show Globe Trekker.

MTR Foods

In the 1970s, a law was introduced that made food prices very low. This made it difficult for MTR to keep its high standards in the restaurant business. So, they started making and selling packaged foods. These included ready-to-eat snacks like chutneys and rasams.

Since then, MTR Foods has grown a lot. The MTR brand now includes two separate parts: the MTR restaurant business and MTR Foods, which sells packaged food.

Sadananda Maiya, son of Yagnanarayana Maiya, led MTR Foods for a long time. In 2007, a Norwegian company called Orkla bought MTR Foods.

MTR Foods makes many different packaged products. These include spices, instant mixes, ready-to-eat meals, and even frozen dosas that you can heat and eat right away. MTR Foods was the first Indian company to get the HACCP certification. This means they follow strict rules for food safety and cleanliness. Their products are sold online and sent to countries in the Persian Gulf, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

See also

• Cuisine of Karnataka
• Udupi cuisine
• Tiffin
• Rava idli