Medha Imam: If you'rein New York looking for
an authentic South India dosa,
venture out to theGanesh Temple in Queens.
In the basement of this Hindu temple,
they're dishing out three meals every day,
and a total of about20 varieties of dosas.
New York Magazine, Zagat,and The New York Times
have all dubbed the Temple Canteen's dosas
some of the best in the city,
and some esteemed visitors,like Anthony Bourdain
and Padma Lakshmi, havestopped by to savor the dish.
Urvashi Urti: This is a 40-minuteride for us to the temple,
and I do it every Tuesdaybecause I love the food.
And visiting God is theexcuse I give my family.
(laughs)
Customer: Everybody from India, they like
this South Indian food.
Medha: Hey guys, I'm Medha.
Abby Narishkin: And I'm Abby.
Medha: And we're here atthe Hindu Temple Society
of North America in Queens,
and we're about to try some dosas.
Abby: I'm pumped, I have neverhad dosas before in my life,
and I've seen these on Instagramand they look delicious.
Medha: So, which one areyou excited to try out?
Abby: I'm excited to tryout the one that's, like,
the length of the arm, thatI've seen all over the internet.
Medha: And what's so coolabout this temple canteen
is that there are a variety of dosas,
they sell so many kinds,
and it's hidden inside a basement.
Abby: So let's go find it!
Medha: The Hindu TempleSociety of North America,
also known as the GaneshTemple, was founded in 1970.
The Temple Canteen soon followed
in the basement of the temple, in 1993.
At first, the Canteenprepared only Naivedyam,
or food offerings, to Hindu deities.
Medha: Eventually, it begandishing out its iconic dosas
for temple-goers and visitors alike.
Dr. Uma Mysorekar: Even in the temple,
everybody is invited to come,
so why would wedifferentiate in the Canteen?
I'll tell you, food anywherewill bring people together.
(laughs)
Medha: The Canteen caters
to a strict Hindu vegetarian diet,
so the dosas are filledwith ingredients like
potatoes, onions, andIndian spices called masala.
The origins of Indian food in America
are complicated.
But many agree thecuisine likely showed up
on the West Coast in the early 1900s.
According to NYU professor Krishnendu Ray,
who's been studying the cuisine's rise
for almost two decades,
advertisements for Indianrestaurants appeared
in New York City's whitenewspapers in about the 1920s.
But it wasn't until the 1980s
that foods like naan and tikka masala
became more common.
South Indian food, however,didn't often show up on menus.
Today, of the roughly400 Indian restaurants
in New York City,
Ray says only about 50 of themserve South Indian cuisine.
And the one dish that's keepingSouth Indian food alive?
The dosa.
Dr. Mysorekar: Oh, everybodyknows what dosa is,
what idli is, what vada is, everything.
But, in the beginning,going back 20, 30 years ago,
it was almost unknown,practically unknown.
And it was only beingmade in the homes, really,
and maybe in some big restaurants
if you go down to the city,
where you pay arm and a leg for that.
So here, when we started this,
and it's not only for our community,
and the local people started coming.
So once they come, they have a taste,
it just brings them back here again.
Medha: The Temple Canteenstill sits humbly,
as it always has, in the temple basement,
complete with foldingchairs, paper plates,
and some really good dosas.
Urvashi: This gets as close to Mom's food
back in India as it can.
Medha: Dosas are traditionally vegetarian,
made from rice flour and lentils.
Chefs ladle the batter onto the grill,
spread on vegetarian toppings,
and fold the dosas into a triangle,
cone, or cylinder shape.
We decided to try the threemost popular dosa varieties:
the Pondicherry masala, a triangular dosa
stuffed with onions, green chilies,
a spicy mixture, and a potato masala;
the rava dosa, made with cream of wheat,
as well as onions, green chilies,
and coriander mixed right in the batter;
and the paper dosa, agiant, crispy version
of the dosa that is just the batter
cooked up with ghee.
All of the dosas comewith two dipping sauces:
sambar, a spicy lentil-and-vegetable gravy
cooked with a special curry powder;
and a green chutney madefrom ground coconut,
ginger, and green chilies.
Abby: Ay-oh!
Medha: Thank you.
Abby: When you're eatinga really good dosa,
what does it taste like?
What does it feel like?
Medha: There's so muchthat's involved in a dosa,
and, coming together, all the flavors just
really pop in your mouth.
It's super, super flavorful.
So that's what you haveto look forward to.
Mm.
Abby: Mm.
Medha: This definitely has a kick to it.
So, on a scale of one to 10,
I would say this is
a five?Abby: Five, yeah.
Medha: Yeah, a five inspice level, which is good
because it's notoverpowering the dosa at all.
Abby: No, yeah.
Medha: You can still tastethe interior of the dosa,
which consists of onions, corn, potatoes,
so many differentvegetables inside of here.
Now that I've done asecond dip into the sambar,
the spice level has definitelykicked in to, like, a seven.
Abby: Now it's in the back of my mouth.
Medha: Yep.
Abby: Yeah, but itdissipated pretty quickly.
Medha: If you do not like spices,
then chutney is the way to go
because it will definitely,like, soften it up,
make it easier,
if you don't have a spice-tolerancelevel that's very high.
Abby: So you alwayseat it with your hands?
Medha: Yeah, because most Indian food
you don't really need forks or spoons.
Like, it's very traditionalto eat it with your hands
and just dip it into the sauce.
Abby: How lucky am I that this is my
first experience with dosas?
Medha: You're pretty lucky, Abby,
because I don't think anyone has
these many dosas when theyAbby: Really?
try it out the first time.
'Cause what if you are someone who likes
the Pondicherry masaladosa, and you wanted
a filling dosa, you know, adosa with a lot of filling,
and you ordered the paper dosa?
It's very different.
So, each one of theseitems is very different.
Abby: And you wouldthink, eating this food
and how good it is,
that this is all this place does.
But this is, this is not even why
this building is here.Medha: Mm-hmm.
Abby: And that's amazing.
Urvashi: It gives you a feel of nostalgia.
Like, it's almost likevisiting Mom every Tuesday.
We head out to Queens to try some of the best South Indian food in New York. And guess what? It’s hidden in the basement of a Hindu temple. We meet with temple-goers and chefs to talk about their legendary dosas and see how the Temple Canteen has cultivated a community for South Indians and Queens folk alike. For more, visit: https://nyganeshtemple.org/ MORE NYC EATS CONTENT: How Ray's Candy Store Became The Most Legendary Shop In NYC For Late-Night Munchies | Legendary Eats https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS743bA4O-o How Fay Da Bakery Became NYC's Most Iconic Chinese Bakery | Legendary Eats https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTg8qRWXM6M How The Lemon Ice King Of Corona Became The Most Legendary Italian-Ice Shop In NYC | Legendary Eats https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiWeMyIB2q8 ------------------------------------------------------ #Dosa #NYC #FoodInsider Insider is great journalism about what passionate people actually want to know. That’s everything from news to food, celebrity to science, politics to sports and all the rest. It’s smart. It’s fearless. It’s fun. We push the boundaries of digital storytelling. Our mission is to inform and inspire. Subscribe to our channel and visit us at: https://www.insider.com Food Insider on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foodinsider/ Food Insider on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisisinsiderfood/ Food Insider on Twitter: https://twitter.com/InsiderFood Insider on Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/discover/Insider/4020934530 Insider on Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.com/v/thisisinsider Insider on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@insider Food Insider on Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/foodinsider NYC’s Best South Indian Food Is Hidden In A Temple Basement