There are food combinations that make immediate sense, and then there are combinations that sound like someone lost a bet in the kitchen. Butter gulkand with idiyappam belongs firmly in the second category until you eat it at the legendary Selvi Dairy Farm.
Bengaluru Shop Turns Idiyappam Into A Sweet Butter Delight
Tucked inside Shivaji Nagar, Bengaluru, Selvi Dairy Farm has been around for roughly 120 years and has earned a reputation that goes beyond anything ordinary. This old shop is often spoken of as the city’s oldest butter and gulkand gem, and one visit explains why people still queue up for something so wonderfully strange.
Starting with idiyappam, these are delicate nests of steamed rice noodles, pressed into thin strands and piled lightly on a plate. Across South India, idiyappam is usually paired with coconut milk, vegetable stew, kurma, sugar and coconut, or spicy gravies. It is gentle in flavour and soft, and it is made to carry whatever sits on top of it. At Selvi Dairy Farm, what sits on top is a thick slab of fresh butter and a spoonful of gulkand.
Butter gives salt, richness, and that slow melt seeps into every strand. Gulkand, made from preserved rose petals and sugar, tastes floral, fragrant, and sweet without being childish. When the warmth of the idiyappam meets the chill of butter and the perfume of gulkand, the whole thing turns into something impossible to classify.
People here often tear it into pieces with their hands, mixing as they go, which makes the experience feel more satisfying than using a spoon ever could.
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Inside Bengaluru’s Legendary 120-Year-Old Food Spot
The menu does not stop there; the shop also serves seviyan and semiya. Seviyan commonly refers to vermicelli used widely in North Indian cooking, often in desserts like kheer. ‘Semiya’ is the South Indian name more regularly used for similar fine noodles, sometimes slightly thinner depending on the maker. At Selvi Dairy Farm, both can arrive dressed in butter and gulkand or be pushed into soft buns for a rich yet sweet bite that tastes marvellous.
The shop itself has no interest in impressing anyone. It’s just a simple room, straightforward service, and food that has outlived trends by decades. You sit down, eat well, and leave feeling like you found a secret the city has known all along.
Where: #18, HKP Road, Swamy Shivanandapuram, Shivaji Nagar, Bengaluru
When: 6 am–12 pm, 5 pm–9 pm
Cost: ₹50–₹150 per person approx.
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So, will you try this combination? Let us know in the comments.
Cover Image Courtesy: Internal
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