A disc of crispness, plain otherwise filled with a spicy onion-potato masala, dipped in piping hot flavoursome sambar or freshly ground coconut chutney is a national crowd pleaser. Benne or butter-drenched dosa happens to be the current top-pick. Explore dosa stops that go beyond sada dosa.
Benne in Girgaon Chowpatty, Bandra & Juhu
Akhil Iyer and Shriya Narayan launched Benne in Bandra as Bangalore’s darshini-style (QSR) eatery with a filter coffee kiosk. Benne or white butter-oozing dosas and hot podi idlis became soul satisfying markers. Spurred by its success, it expanded from Bandra with stand-and-eat facility to limited seating capacity in Juhu, and today has a third bigger outlet in Chowpatty with standing and seating sections serving Thatte idlis, Filter coffee soft serve, Iced filter coffee, and Mysorepak for dessert.
Malgudi South Indian Resto-Café in Borivali, Chembur, Lower Parel
Music Icon Shankar Mahadevan’s café serves south Indian snacks breaking new ground. Inventive reimagining of Southern dishes is the USP. Must-try Davangere Benne and Mulbagal Legacy Dosa, the 100-year-old Kannadiga recipe — thick and fluffy, ghee-crisped on the outside with pillowy inner texture. Enjoy your pick from plain, masala, cheese and other variations. Get adventurous with Truffle oil, mushroom and edamame for that international twist in dosai. Sip on signature Malgudi Picante or Filter Kaapi. Idli lovers have a variety to choose from. Venturesome foodies can dig into Sri Lankan Tamil curry with Idiyappam or Bisibele Bibimpap and Filter Kaapi Pannacotta. Essentially, the menu combines ancestral practices with creative flair.
The Rameshwaram Café, Churchgate
Co-founder Raghavendra Rao’s iconic café sports Darshini-style format in the lower level while the upper level has seating system. Use of fresh ingredients engaging traditional methods to dish out Ghee podi/Benne masala dosa, Garlic roast dosa, cotton-soft idlis, medu vada and Kempu chutney dosa with a layer of chutney has made this café famous. Start with complimentary rasam, proceed to ghee-loaded dosas, ghee podi idlis accompanied by tangy sambar, their signature chutneys, wind up with kesari (sheera), creamy Filter coffee softy or hot Filter kaapi.
Anand Bhavan, Matunga
This hash house’s dosa menu comprises a long list ranging from sada dosa to ghee, masala, rava, onion rava, Mysore masala, Bengaluru benne and many more combos. Besides dosas idlis, bhajji, pakoda, pessaratu, pongal, sevai and uttapam are also available in a variety of options. Served with chutneys and sambar, it is a great breakfast and tiffin place for south Indian snack seekers.
Ram Ashraya, Matunga
Famous for its array of dosas, this more than seven-decade old Udupi eatery draws huge crowds especially for breakfast. A simple, non-fussy menu sports crisp sada, masala, onion, rava to Mysore dosas besides upma, vada, idlis, and goli bhajji. Their neer dosa is also worth a try.
Banana Leaf – Malad, Nerul, Mulund, and all other outlets
Come for Benne Masala dosa with spiced potato stuffing, stay for healthy and desserty Choco dosas. Benne Open Masala comes with a flavoursome alu mix and dollops of butter. Apart from classic Mysore masala/Kara rava, fusion dosas like Pav Bhaji, and Rajni dosa with bold spicy flavours with cheese are a draw. Health conscious can settle for Ragi/ragi masala or Podi Onion dosa. Kozhukattai Bombs, Thair/Rasam wadas, Uttappams, Upma are the additional palate tempters.
