When Sri Lankan Thiru “Dosa Man” Kumar set up his dosa cart on Washington Square South in 2001, it was because he “wanted to do something different.” Thiru was a vegetarian then (now a vegan), who had almost immediately noticed the lack of food carts with great vegetarian options upon immigrating in 1995. It took three and a half years after applying for his license for him to finally receive it, and the first location he chose was right outside of Washington Square Park, smack in the middle of the New York University campus. “This way, people can eat good food while sitting in the park.” Within the first few weeks of being open, journalists from both the New York Daily News and New York magazine stopped by to interview this former restaurant manager and motorcycle racer. It was during his motorcycle racing tours back home in Sri Lanka that he had partly learned how to cook while having cook-outs on the beach. He also learned “from the best, my grandmother,” whose influence inspired Thiru’s favorite menu item, the Jaffna Lunch: four small pancakes topped with a dried coconut chutney that comes with a samosa on the side.
Walk up to N.Y. Dosa any day, and you’ll find Thiru smiling and chatting with customers, especially his regulars. “You can see their faces—they’re so happy,” he says of his customers. It’s this interaction with his customers that makes Thiru happy, himself.—“I don’t want to be inside the kitchen.” Some have been stopping by his cart regularly since the very beginning. Now all they have to do is pop their head in his window, and he knows exactly what to give them, if he has it. Ask him “what’s the best thing on your menu?” and he’ll set you up with a crisp dosa filled with roasted vegetables, lentils, and potatoes, along with some samosas. To make dosas, Thiru first ladles his batter onto the flat hot grill, letting it bubble and puff up from steam before turning a golden brown on the bottom. Once that happens, it’s time to place the filling inside and quickly fold the dosa similar to a burrito. A flick of his wrist, and your dosa has landed into its container and is ready to be eaten by hand or with a fork and knife.
“It’s always busy—4:00 to 4:30 is a dangerous time to come,” because everything has usually run out by then. Even during the massive, multiyear remodeling of Washington Square Park by the New York City Parks Department, who actually controls Thiru’s vending license, the cart’s lines only grew. Waits for lunch today can easily stretch into a half hour. Thiru was nominated for a Vendy three years in a row but had to watch fellow NYU-area cart Sammy’s Halal and the meat-riffic Hallo Berlin win the cup before it was finally his turn in 2007, which helped with his popularity. “I was very excited when I won,” he says. It was also a win for New York’s oft-overlooked vegan community.
“The customers are happy when they see the food on the grill right here, everything’s cooked right in front of them, it makes everyone so happy.”
Adapted from Thiru Kumar’s recipe
Dosas are a pancake dish made from fermented rice and lentils popular throughout south Asia. Thiru makes his on the spicy side with the addition of dried chiles and chili powder, but feel free to cut back on both if you can’t handle the heat. Soaking and blending the rice and lentils separately leads to a thinner batter—the consistency should end up similar to pancake batter. Thiru’s trick to spreading out the batter is to use a metal measuring cup to pour the batter onto your griddle or pan, and then use the bottom of the cup to spread it out in concentric circles, ultimately forming a paper thin circle. Due to the heat of the pan setting the batter, try to do the spreading within the first thirty seconds. Traditionally dosa are served with a vegetable stew called sambar and coconut chutney. You can buy pre-made sambar and chutney at Indian specialty shops like Patel Grocery (see page 277).
1 cup uncooked rice (any type, according to your preference)
1 cup Urad Dal (lentils), split and shelled
Kosher salt
3 whole medium potatoes
2 carrots
2 large whole green lettuce leaves
2 bell peppers (mixture of red, green, yellow, orange), seeded
1 two ounce piece of ginger, peeled
2 tablespoons turmeric powder
2 medium onions (any type), finely chopped
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Indian spices:
1 tablespoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons ajwain seeds
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 to 4 curry leaves
1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds
3 red dried chiles
Cooking spray
3 cups sambar, for serving
2 cups coconut chutney, for serving
Place the rice and lentils in separate large bowls and cover generously with water. Cover the bowls to encourage fermenting and soak the rice and lentils in water for at least 6 hours, until hydrated.
Drain the rice and lentils separately reserving their soaking liquid. Add the rice to a blender or food processor with approximately ¼ to ½ cup of the soaking water, blend until smooth, about a minute. Return the rice mixture to its bowl, then repeat with the lentils. Once the lentils are smooth combine the rice and lentils then blend together, adding salt to taste. As you’re blending, add additional soaking water in order produce a batter about the consistency of pancake batter—not too watery or too thick. Transfer the batter to a large bowl, cover and let it rest at room temperature or in a warm spot in your kitchen for at least 6 hours so that it can ferment naturally.
Meanwhile, to make the curry, peel and cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Boil them until fork-tender. Roughly chop the carrots, lettuce, and peppers mixing them together, like you would for a salad, and set aside.
Sauté the onions with olive oil over low heat. Once the onions are translucent and tender, about three minutes, mix the Indian spices in with them and continue sautéing. Once the onions are fully coated and the spices have become aromatic, remove from heat and mix the cooled potatoes in to make the curry.
After the batter has finished fermenting—it will double in size and begin to give off a sour aroma—you are ready to make the dosa. Using a long-handled metal ladle, pour a ladleful of batter onto a heated grill or large non-stick pan prepared with cooking spray, trying to make circle. Working quickly use the back of your ladle to spread out the batter to create a large circle. Cook the dosa until the bottom is golden brown, and the top is dry. Once golden brown spots begin to appear on the top, add a heaping serving of the potato curry and the fresh veggies on top, roll up the dosa and put it on a plate. Serve with coconut chutney and sambar to dip the dosa in.
Thiru’s Jaffna Dosa is named after his home-town in Sri Lanka and the recipe is inspired by his grandmother. The Jaffna Dosas are softer and spongier than the paper-thin Pondicherry Dosa (page 48) and are served with a homemade dried coconut chutney.
1 cup uncooked rice (any type, according to your preference)
1 cup Urad Dal (lentils)
Kosher Salt
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus oil to coat cooking surface
Indian spices
1 tablespoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons ajwain seeds
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
handful of curry leaves
1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
3 red dried chiles
½ cup of frozen, fresh grated coconut
1 teaspoon chili powder
3 cups sambar, for serving
2 cups coconut chutney, for serving
Place the rice and lentils in separate large bowls and cover generously with water. Cover the bowls to encourage fermenting and soak the rice and lentils for at least 6 hours, until hydrated.
Sauté the onion with 1 tablespoon olive oil on low heat, for about five minutes. Once the onion is translucent and tender, mix the Indian spices in and continue sautéing until the onion is fully coated and the spices become aromatic. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
To prepare the dried coconut chutney: Defrost fresh grated coconut, then mix with 1 teaspoon chili powder. In a medium skillet or frying pan, toast mixture over medium heat, stirring frequently for a few minutes until lightly browned. Set aside.
Drain the rice and lentils separately reserving their soaking liquid. Add the rice to a blender or food processor with approximately ¼ to ½ cup of the soaking water, blend until smooth, about a minute. Return the rice mixture to its bowl, then repeat with the lentils. Once the lentils are smooth combine the rice and lentils then blend together, adding salt to taste. As you’re blending, add additional soaking water in order produce a batter about the consistency of pancake batter—not too watery or too thick. Add cooled onion mixture and blend until smooth. Transfer the batter to a large bowl, cover and let it rest at room temperature or in a warm spot in your kitchen for at least 4 hours so that it can ferment naturally. The batter has finished fermenting when it’s doubled in volume and gives off a sour aroma.
When the batter is ready, heat the grill and spread olive oil all over a flat-top grill or large non-stick pan. Then, using a long-handled ladle, mix the batter well and take a ladleful of the batter and spread on the grill into a circle, using the back of the ladle to smooth out and distribute the batter. Drizzle some olive oil onto the dosa. After 2 minutes, flip the dosa so the other side can cook. Cook until the surface of both sides of the dosa are dry and lightly golden brown. Carefully recoat your cooking surface with oil before each dosa. Top with dried coconut chutney and serve warm sambar and coconut chutney for dipping.
