Exploring the Veggie Food Trail to India Delhi, Mumbai and Bhuj A trip to India…
Browsing: dosa
Creative Rajni brings the flavors of Kerala cooking to American food – so you can say it’s as American as Dosa Pie! Check out the novel recipes which bring East and West together.
Is it a restaurant or is it God’s Abode? Down in the basement of the Hindu Temple Society is a hidden gem where you can get the most amazing South Indian food and sumptuous dosas and vadas you will see in your dreams.
If there’s only one thing you do today to make yourself happy, watch this excellent video! For all those who love the street foods of India this is the ultimate experience, traveling state by state and eating the delicious eats right on the road. The tears sting your eyes, your nose runs, your tongue burns – and you’re in foodie heaven!
It is amazing how everything is available in the open – be it spicy chat papri, ragra patice, alu tikki, chole bature or seekh kebab. You’ll see foods you’ve never eaten!
Bombay Duck? Chote Nawab? Thelewala? No, you are not lost on a Mumbai street nor are you watching a Bollywood movie – these happen to be the names of new casual restaurants which have sprung up in New York City.
Not fancy like the Michelin Star rated Indian restaurants like Tamarind, Junoon and Tulsi, nor no-frills like the many small eateries in Curry Hill, there’s a new breed of Indian restaurants, offering authentic Indian eats in a fun atmosphere with low prices. Many of them have come up in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village and West Village, a gathering spot for students and tourists.
We all know that Christopher Columbus was looking for India and its tangy spices when he took a wrong turn and stumbled into America instead. Now some enterprising Indians have brought India and its cache of cardamom, cloves and peppers right into America. These immigrants have brought not only spices but entire kitchens, cooking pots and chefs along, opening hundreds of restaurants, takeaway joints, mithai shops and Indian supermarkets. Americans are now eating spicier food, ‘samosa’ is an English word now and right in the middle of Manhattan there are ‘dosa’ carts!
Yes, the Big Apple is fast becoming the Big Mango! So how has this big change come about in American food habits?
Who would have thought Tribeca would turn into an outpost of Southern cooking – dosa, uttapam and sambhar, that is! For those who thought they have to go to Chennai or at least to Jackson Heights or Curry Hill for their sambhar and dosa hankerings, the place to head to is – Whole Foods Market.
Early immigrants would have just about fainted if they had heard that America’s tres chic Whole Foods supermarket has now got their finger-lickin’ fiery sambhar and choice of dosas and uttapams too.
Hari Nayak’s Semolina Dosa with Pulled Butter Chicken with Brie Cheese – recipe!
Sacrilege or a seduction? Chocolate Dosa!
The other day wandering in the pleasurable desi by-lanes of Jackson Heights, admiring the mounds of mangoes, lychees and papayas, I stopped at Dosa Delight, a small family-type vegetarian eatery. There along with the traditional idli, medhu vada and Pondicherry Dosa was – Chocolate Dosa!
Now this is not a gourmet city restaurant but a tried and tested homey Southern outpost. So how did something as contrary as Chocolate Dosa find its way here? And could I have a taste?
If someone had told me that by lunch time I’d be sitting in a houseboat on the backwaters of Kerala, eating from a banana leaf, I’d have been highly skeptical. After all, I was right in the middle of Delhi’s buzzing mall culture. Well, that’s where Zambar is located, landlocked in the middle of retail heaven. It is one of the fun and innovative eating spots in the burgeoning mall culture of Indian cities.
And if you thought that food from the South means just dosa, idli, and sambar, Zambar is a delicious eye-opener. This fine dining spot celebrates the Southern coastal cuisine of four states – Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.
Zambar, a restaurant in Vasant Kunj in New Delhi, is an exploration into South Indian coastal cuisine, highlighting the catch of the seas – prawns, fish and crab with authentic recipes from the four southern states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka. The dishes are a union between fresh seafood and pungent spices and ingredients including lime, tamarind, chilies, peppers and coconut milk. So till you can get to go and try Zambar yourself, here are two recipes for you from the chef to try at home.
Ten years down, who knows what we’ll find. Dosas being served in American schools and college campuses? Dosas in vending machines? Dosas-to-Go at fast food outlets?