The wonderful and very important world of Indian Food Blogging.

I discovered the blogging world though my relentless search for authentic recipes to satisfy my obsession with vegetarian Indian food. I was introduced to Indian food back in the fall of 1983, when I was a student at the New School for Social Research. A friend of mine, who grew up on the Upper East Side, wanted me to expand my food horizons as I was, at that time, a hick straight from the sticks of Nassau County Long Island. He said “you need to try it”! I was afraid thinking, “well isn’t it too hot”? He assured me I shouldn’t worry. Well, I think my friend was playing a bit of a trick because the next thing he suggested was to get a lamb Vindaloo. I did, and for the next hour or so tried to finish the chili pepper infused bowl of death. I was sweating into my bowl of stewed lamb. He sat there and said, “That’s not even hot”! The thing is -- I was hooked. I loved the taste and the papadum lentil wafers before the food came and the lassi. He was right about it all; he just was having a little fun with me telling me to get Vindaloo instead of a nice Tikka Masala. That was well before I heard of ahimsa or anything remotely resembling a doctrine of non-harmfulness regarding our fellow beings.

Udipi Cafe

This it the maiden voyage of the Hungry Vegetarian a blog dedicated to the enjoyment of vegetarianism and all things related. I just returned from a trip to New York City and had some wonderful vegetarian meals and in the coming days I will share my experiences with you, but my first review of sorts will be of one of my favorite veg restaurants in the Tampa Bay area called Udipi Café. Udipi Café is located in Tampa at 14422 North Dale Mabry Hwy and serves a pure vegetarian menu based on the cuisines of South India. I have been here a number of times and each time practically sinking into a feeding frenzy unable to communicate, eyes rolled back into my head, in ecstasy.
The weekly lunch buffet is a fantastic way to sample many of the curries and accompaniments that are available on the menu. An additional bonus for the lunch guest is that everyone gets their own small sized Masala Dosai as part of the lunch buffet price! YUM! I would definitely go hungry to Udipi Café at lunch time. I always say get there early for any lunch buffet when the food is the hottest and freshest.
On this particular occasion my wife and I sampled the Masala Dosai and the Coconut Rava Masala Dosai. Dosai are a thin crepe-type pancake made from a slightly fermented batter of ground rice or a combination of ground rice, lentil or cream of wheat. The rice or other materials, depending on the recipe and the style being made, are ground and soaked for a number of hours or overnight and the slightly product is spread in a circular pattern on a very hot griddle or special dosa pan. The dosai are served most often with sambar, a spicy and tangy lentil based vegetable soup that is flavored wonderfully with tamarind water and a complex mix of roasted and ground spices. Some people like to dip pieces of the place mat sized crepe into the sambar. I have no problem with that! Coconut chutney is ubiquitously served with dosa as a condiment and is cool and a wonderful dipper for your dosa.

Masala Dosai with Sambar and Coconut Chutney

The dosa at the Udipi are wonderfully light and come out rolled and are larger than the plate they are served on. The presentation is exciting and is accompanied with coconut chutney and sambar as I described above. My wife ordered the Masala Dosai which is thin and slightly crisp on the margin and filled with a healthy portion of potato masala. The potato masala is lightly spiced with mustard seed and turmeric, but beware of the odd red chili hidden in the mix if you can’t handle the heat.
I ordered the Coconut Rava Masala Dosai which is a slightly different variety. The batter is made up of, not only rice, but cream of wheat. This dosa was filled with the same potato masala and was also massive though it came out folded rather than rolled. The consistency is a bit thicker than the Masala Dosai but light and airy as well. Fresh coconut was grated in the folds of the crepe which lent a delectable nuance to the dish. My only complaint was that the potato filling may be a bit too oily and can make the portion of the dosa in sits on somewhat soggy. My wife left that behind but I, ehem….didn’t let anything go to waste. It just tastes too good.

Coconut Rava Masala Dosai with Sambar and Coconut Chutney

I am sure I will be back at Udipi Café and will report back to HQ about any new experiences.
Dosai or Dosa are popular snack or tiffin in south India and are becoming quite well known in the USA as more and more restaurants are offering them. In fact, there is one person in New York City that makes a living selling fresh to order dosai from a cart in Washington Square Park, I have unfortunately not gotten down there for it but he is very well known and they say his dosai are great.