When I went to India for my brother's wedding, the first thing I asked my Mom was that I wanted to take some Congress Kadlekai back to US. She promptly got me some from Subbamana Angadi in Gandhibazaar. I have eaten them from the famed V.B. Bakery as well near Sajjanrao Circle. Congress Kadale is very popular around Bangalore/Mysore Area and probably around Karnataka as well. But of course it is a know fact that South Bangalore is a good source of them.
There are many interesting stories behind this special little delicacy. One theory is that these roasted groundnuts were distributed in various Congress rallies conducted in Bangalore during the freedom struggle.They became wildly popular, and were thus named.
Another guess is that Gandhi helped to promote them as ‘Badavara Badami’ or the Badams of the poor, as they were rich in nutrients and easily accessible by the poor.
I also read some where that the color of the kadlekai after adding all the masala that makes it Congress Kadlekai was the color that Congress was using at that time and hence the name.
Whatever might be the story behind this interesting snack, it has definitely made to the must eat list of mine.
I was about to end my post here, but then remembered the famous Kadalekai Parishe of Bangalore. We stayed so closed to the Dodda Basava Temple that we attended this annual Groundnut Fair (Literal translation) every year. Apart from heaps and heaps of ground nuts we used to have stalls of Battasu (colored sugar candy), bendu, and what not. Plus stalls for toys and stuff. This used to be the highlight of our childhood days where we collected money so that we can spend at the Parishe. There used to be parades and dances and all the interesting stuff.
History of this Kadalekai Parishe as I got it from Wikipedia,
In the past, Basavanagudi was surrounded by places like Guttahalli, Mavalli, Dasarahalli and other places where groundnut was cultivated. On every full moon day a bull would charge into the groundnut fields and damage the crop. The farmers then offered prayers to Basava (Nandi) to stop this and pledged to offer their first crop.
Subsequently, an Idol of Basava was found close by. It has been said that, the Idol was growing rapidly, and the farmers nailed an iron peg on the head of the idol, which is visible in the form of a trishula even to this date. Later in the year 1537, Kempe Gowda, dedicated a temple to ‘Dodda Basava’ on top of the Basavanagudi hillock and installed the Idol. This temple is known as Bull Temple. Ever since, the farmers from surrounding villages come here every year and offer their annual harvest of groundnut as offering to Lord Basava. This is accompanied by the annual fair, which is known as the Kadlekai Parishe.
