Hotelier Ravindranath Shetty, whose family created ghee roast recipe, passes away

Famed hotelier and Mangalorean cuisine expert, 56-year-old K Ravindranath Shetty passed away at a private hospital in Mangaluru on Tuesday. The Kundapur-born entrepreneur, who also began the popular sea food joint 'Coast to Coast' at MG Road in Bengaluru, was suffering from renal related ailments, hospital sources said.

Born in Kundapur in 1962, Shetty is widely attributed for putting his family's secret recipe of 'ghee roast', a spciy and tangy masala that is added to chicken or crab or egg, on the global food map.

He was the son of Tejappa Shetty and Padmavathi. Back in 1958, the family started and operated Shetty Lunch Home in Kundapur. Later in 1973, when the family opened another outlet Anupama Restaurant at Balmatta road Mangalore, Ravi along with his late brother K Mohandas Shetty started looking after the business.

It was during this stint, it is said that Ravi, who had the habit of bringing the prized catch of day from the fish market, earned the moniker 'Kane Ravi', kane meaning ladyfish. It was around 1997, that Ravi moved to the Middle East to run a shipping business.

In about 2004, upon his return to India, Ravi began his own venture ‘Coast to Coast’ - a popular sea food joint in the heart of Bengaluru city. Ravi's knowledge of the exact mixture and proportion of spices and flavours - comes from his family. He attributed his culinary skills and secret to his mother Padmavathi saying that it gave him an edge over others in the business.

The family's closely guarded secret of the famed ghee roast eventually generated a lot of interest among the hungry patrons at their restaurant. The spicy and tangy mixture including red chilly and a generous dash of ghee (clarified butter) gives a unique flavour. Ghee Roast dishes can be prepared using chicken, egg, fish, crab and even paneer.

Though over the years, other restaurants have come up with their own versions or have tried to imitate the dish, the one at Ravindranath's hotel is unparalleled. In an earlier interview to the media, Ravindranath Shetty said that besides himself, his late brother Mohandas, their sister Hemalatha Rai, and only his sister-in-law were privy to the family's secret recipe.

Family sources claim that three-years ago, Ravindranath's elder brother Mohandas Shetty also succumbed to renal issues. Shetty is survived by his wife and two children.

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