Happy Friday! Although it is National Dessert Day, I have been fascinated about the popular Indian street food – Dosa. When I first saw this dish, I was overwhelmed by the how big it is. It is mostly served as a meal for a good part of the day. Personally I have consumed it as an early dinner.
Dosas also known as Dosai is an ancient Tamil dish. This gluten free, vegetarian street food dish is made up of rice and lentils. Therefore, there are health benefits in its consumption. Dosas are a good source of carbohydrates and protein that will last the whole day. It is a lengthy process to make dosas and I don’t think that I will be making one anytime soon. Therefore, I will be leaving this up to the pros.
Recently, I have had the experience of consuming this vegetarian dish at two places in New York City. One famous spot world is Saravana Bhavan. There are two locations in New York City (Manhattan). This restaurant does not need an introduction because it is well known throughout India; the establishment of this franchise was made a controversial person who is banned from leaving India because he was convicted of murder. This is to show that as long the food is good it does not matter where it originated from. But if you don’t want to be traumatized, I visited another spot, which is located in Queens called Hillside Dosa Hutt. This neighborhood spot is in the heart of the Indian community. The cashier that served us was hospitable and knowledgeable about Dosas. Hillside Dosa Hutt was recently listed on the Eater list of the top 60 cheap eats places in NYC.

Hillside Dosa Hutt – Marsala Dosa $5.50 (Top Left) and Paneer Bhurji Masala Dosa $9.00 (Bottom left) Saravana Bhavan $9.99- Marsala Dosa (Top right) and Onion Chili Rava Dosa $10.99 (Bottom right)
Portions of each dosa were huge. I have not been able to finish a whole dosa in one sitting. If you want more variety then Saravan Bhavan is the place to go, but for a quick meal on a budget then Hillside Dosa Hutt will suffice.