From growing up hungry to feeding Toronto: Beloved Banjara Indian opens third location

Spices linger in the open air – venturing to the furthest edges of Christie Pits Park – where Banjara Indian Cuisine sits on the south-west corner.

And now, that aroma touches the eastern side of the city, too. This week, owner Rajesh Veerella opened a third Banjara location at 777 Danforth Road in Scarborough. While his spot at Bloor and Christie streets serves traditional South Indian eats, the new location will explore Indian-Chinese dishes.

To own one restaurant, let alone three – the third is located in midtown Toronto – would have seemed inconceivable for Veerella when he was growing up in Andhra Pradesh, the south-east coastal region of India.

“I know what hungry feels like,” Veerella told CTV News Toronto. “I’m from a very poor family.”

Growing up, his parents worked in rice fields spanning the southern side of the country. “If they bring the money, we can eat. If they don't, we can't eat.”

When his family ate, it was always “curry, curry, curry,” Veerella said, “only rice and curries.” Sometimes, flavored with tamarind, other times, fried or deep fried.

“When you come from no food and all of a sudden you have a lot of food…that makes me so happy,” Veerella said. For him, sending his staff home with lunch or dinner the next day is an act of pure joy. “That’s the best thing that happened in my life.”

Banjara Indian Cuisine serves traditional South Indian eats. (Corey Baird/CTV news Toronto)

His culinary education began in 1981 as a dishwasher at a Hilton hotel on the island of Bahrain, 25 kilometres east of Saudi Arabia.

When Veerella saw the wealth of cakes and pastries on display at his new workplace, “I jumped into the heavens,” Veerella said. “I never imagined I could eat these kinds of things.” Eight years later, he was running the kitchen.

Though Veerella was nervous to leave the successful life he built at the Hilton, in 1997 he immigrated to Canada and started working at Sassafraz in Yorkville and an Indian restaurant on the lakeshore.

When he opened his own restaurant in the fall of 2000 – at first, naming it Mr. Maharajah before transitioning to Banjara – his butter chicken was praised as one of the best in the city.

According to Veerella, his butter chicken has maintained its top ranked status because he doesn't use sugar or flour. Instead, the focal point of his recipe is the spices – specifically, chili powder, garlic, ginger and dry fenugreek leaves. “That gives a lot of flavour to the food.”

Rajesh Veerella's butter chicken was praised as one of the best in the city. (Corey Baird/CTV News Toronto)

It’s those spices that marinate the neighbourhood and keep Veerella committed to the kitchen, more than 40 years later.

“I love it,” Veerella said. “Especially when the guests compliment the food.”

“The whole day, morning to evening, we work 10 to 12 hours, but when we get compliments, that’s what keeps me going on.”