I’m constantly looking out for good South Indian food. Now, most people know South Indian food as dosa, utthapam, vada, and idli. Don’t get me wrong, these are great and authentic South Indian foods! But the cuisines of South India are much broader than just these. Because dosa, utthapam, vada, idli—these are breakfast foods. Reducing the entire culinary landscape of South India to these four foods is like reducing the entirety of American cuisine to pancakes, waffles, french toast, and biscuits—they’re great, but they’re only a tiny part of the culinary landscape.
So that’s why I love places like Saravanaa Bhavan, a chain from Chennai, Tamil Nadu in South India that has two locations in Manhattan (and another in Hicksville, the Nassau County center of South Indian population). Even within the world of South Indian breakfasts, Saravanaa Bhavan has variety. This is pongal, a breakfast dish made from rice and lentils. Pongal can be savory or sweet; this one was savory, with a strong ghee flavor, and served with sambar, a lentil soup, and three kinds of chutney: coconut, tomato, and onion(?).
My favorite dish to get here is the South Indian thali, which is a wonderful way to sample the variety of spicy stews, curries, and stir-fried dishes that this restaurant has to offer. These were:
- rasam, a thin, spicy tamarind soup
- kurma, a cashew-thickened curry
- kootu, a thin dal-like soup
- kulambu/kuzhambu, a rich tamarind-based curry
- sambar, a thicker lentil and vegetable soup
- poriyal, a stir-fried vegetable dish (this one made from okra)
- a South Indian-style pickle
- raita, a thin, spiced yogurt
- thick unspiced yogurt, often called curd
- sweet, this one made from semolina I believe
One thing I love about these thalis is that the specific dishes vary by day and time of year, so they’re always changing and always using seasonal produce.
And, of course, the requisite dosa. It was wonderful. Of course.
Saravanaa Bhavan
413 Amsterdam Ave
New York, NY 10024
81 Lexington Ave
New York, NY 10016