Madras Cafe - So What Did we Eat? I Don't Know, But it Tastes Really Good!

*** Madras Cafe has closed ***

This is going to be a bit of a different post. It's mainly because most of the time I had no idea what I was eating at Madras Cafe. But that doesn't mean it wasn't good! Madras Cafe resides in Little India Center, along with Ashoka the Great Cuisine of India, and the Ker-Little India Megastore among others. The difference is that Madras features Southern Indian vegetarian cuisine. I managed to take photos on two separate visits. The first with the Missus, the second with Ed from Yuma.

The only thing I really knew about Southern Indian were Dosas:

A thin crepe-like pancake made from rice and lentil flour. The regular menu features Dosas "stuffed" with a variety of items. Since we were eating from the buffet, we were served plain Dosas, nice and warm, and very much crepe-like in texture.

We were also served piping hot Idli with our meal:

Idli is a steamed rice and lentil "cake". It almost reminded me of Chinese steamed rice cakes but with a mildly grainy texture, and I enjoyed these.

On the visit with the Missus we were served this:

It was a "balloon" of crust! I have no idea what is was; and as the restaurant was quite busy, I really have no idea what this was!

Here's a photo of the Onion Chutney:

Very loose, but very tasty, especially with the Idli.

As the Missus and I discussed the food we noticed that the same North-South dichotomy that existed in China, certainly existed in India. The North part of the Country featured many wheat products; while it seemed that South Indian dishes seemed to be rice based.

We also appreciated the metal plates and compartments that separated the individual dishes, so they would not mix together; allowing for us to taste each dish individually.

On the visit with the Missus we enjoyed the Eggplant dish, nice and mildly spicy, with a slightly sweet and somewhat "earthy taste". We also enjoyed the Okra dish(on the right of the Eggplant dish above), which at first tasted very sour, yet very "clean". But as we kept eating, the sour taste kept getting stronger until it started tasting almost bitter. Funny thing  was that I mentioned how much we enjoyed the Eggplant while paying and asked what the name of it was, and was told, "It's Eggplant with sauce". Oohhhkay, I'll have no problem with that one!

My next visit was with Ed, and we enjoyed the buffet as well. What was interesting was that the items served where completely different from my previous visit!

Here are a few:

The two rice dishes were good. I enjoyed the version on the right which was a bit spicy, over the mild basmati rice with beans on the left.

My favorite dish was this version of "peas and carrots" with curry:

The melding of textures, in addition to the curry flavor and spice, made this so delici-yoso!!! Among the best peas and carrots I've ever had, and I hate peas and carrots. This changes any preconceptions of peas and carrots I've ever had.

Ed's favorite of the day was this spicy, tangy "Sambhar"(sambal):

At least that's what the Gentleman serving us called it. Basically a spicy, slightly sweet, and tangy stew. I found that most of the dishes at Madras were alot "looser" then the Indian food I've eaten before; and alot less "rich". While Ed was visiting the "facilities" our Server told me that the tangy flavor was imparted by the use of lemon and tamarind.

Here are a few of the other items served in the buffet.

A nice lentil and vegetable fritter.

I remember that I kept asking Ed "what are we eating?"

And Ed responding, "I don't know, but it's really good isn't it?"

Madras Cafe is worth a try. Even though the dishes are vegetarian, they are all very well flavored, and it seems that the dishes change from day to day. Regular menu items feature various Dosas and Idli, but the small (14-16 items) lunch buffet is priced right($6.95), and worth your attention. I've been told that the food is so hot as to be unbearable, but I didn't think so. But remember, I love spicy food. I'm sure that someone will provide some information as to what we were eating........

So what did we eat? I don't know, but some of it tasted really good!

Madras Cafe 
9484 Black Mountain Road
San Diego, CA 92126

Lunch: Tue-Fri 11:00 am-2:30 pm
Sat-Sun 11:30 am-4 pm
Dinner: Tue-Sun: 5:30-9:30 pm
Closed on Mondays

Comments

[milgwimper]

Oh Inidian food...*swoon* LOL Everything looks so very good. :) I think the bread is called a poori. I will have to take some pictures of some of the local chaat houses. :)

[mizducky]

Oooh! Yum! Another reason to head back up to that Little India Center!

Lessee...consulting my copy of Madhur Jaffrey's World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking ... I agree, that puffed-up bread looks like it's a poori. I sorta thought they eventually deflated--either I've had bad ones, or you got a good one fresh out of the fryer. And I think the tempura-looking vegetables with the lacy batter coating must be some variety of pakoris--the batter is made out of chickpea flour. Oh, and I love those metal trays with the little individual dishes--the tray-and-dishes set is known as a thali, or at least that's what I've seen it called. Other than that, well, I know that eggplant and okra are big faves around India, but beyond that I'm clueless too. I think it's possible that in some cases the chef just went and applied South Indian-style cooking techniques to whatever vegetables were available, Western or otherwise. :-)

[Kirk]

Hi Mills - Lot's of good eats here.

Hi mizducky - Some of the dishes are surprisingly good in the buffet. Though I've been told the food is really spicy; it(at least for me) wasn't.

[clare eats]

Food looks great :)

YUM!!

[Rachel]

I'm glad that your wifey decided that she liked indian food again. Lots of variety in it ! Even though, you might not have known many of the names of the dishes, your description helped me to imagine what it tastes like :) Everything looked good ! Glad you had such a good find here Kirk :)
P/S you kept referring to the food as "loose" I hope they weren't offended ;) I think they had no intention of being tarty

[Reid]

Kirk,

Sorry for my not visiting in a while. It's been quite busy at work...and I will continue to get busier during the next two or three months. *sigh*

In any case, you're lucky to have a selection of Indian restaurants that serve buffets. The only places that I can think of here are Zaffron (horrible) and India Cafe (on select nights only). Because of this, Indian food can be an expensive proposition here and one that I don't get to indulge in often enough.

[Kirk]

Hi Clare - Double YUM!!!

Hi Rachel - I thought loose sounds better then watery, or liquidy....LOL!

Hi Reid - We're very lucky to have Little India Center with it's concentration of Restaurants and Markets. Never really had Indian food back home.

[elmomonster]

Wow! That food looks so colorful! As long as its all vegetarian, I wouldn't mind not knowing what I was eating. Just imagine if it wasn't a vegetarian place!

[Kathy]

The balloon of crust is called poori - my favorite and probably most unhealthy of Indian breads. $6.95 is such a good deal for all the variety and food you get - and it appears to be good quality. Thank Kirk, I'm supposed to be doing my accounting homework and now all I want is some poori with curry.

[Rachel]

mmm I see what you mean now kirk lol I should have kind of guessed it was loose as in 'Stools' but that word should never be mentioned in the same blog as food... oops I did it now! ack!
I think the curry is "thin" or "less creamy" or even like you said "watery" so that it is absorbed better by the rice and bread mmm I could use some roti prata (Singaporean/ Malaysian adaptation of south indian fried flat bread, served at indian restaurants there) dipped in curry now ... a favourite Singaporean breakfast!

[Jack]

Kirk, glad you liked Madras Cafe. It doesn't get the traffic like Ashoka's but it's very good. Could be because it's a veg. restaurant, or more likely it because it's south indian. It's actually one of my favs. I'm going to have to get my dosa fix soon.

[MEalcnetric]

You know I dont like Indian, but that sure did look GOOD! I gotta get my hand on some Dosas. hmm...carbs...

[Kirk]

Hi Elmo - The food is very tasty, and not heavy as Indian food is sometimes. And you can identify, most of the ingredients.

Hi Kathy - Thanks for the info! The prices really can't be beat.

Hi Rachel - Ummm 'nuff said! :o)

Hi Jack - The flavors at Madras are much more assertive and the tastes are very "clean".

Hi MEalcentric - How're you doing? We've missed you, hope all is well. The Indian food at Madras is not as butter or cream laden. And rice is the starch of choice...and who doesn't like rice?

[MEalcnetric]

Kirk...been feeling lazy and not much good eats going on...I'll be back soon...

[Kirk]

Hi MEalcentric - Look forward to your return.

[Leese]

Hi Kirk,

As a South Indian, I'd figure I'd enlighten you as to what you ate. :)

Yes, the bread was definitely "poori", as someone said. Basically, it's just a dough made of wheat flour and water, flattened, then deep fried. Sometimes they poof up, sometimes they don't. ("Chapathi" is the same exact thing, but it's cooked on a hot skillet or open flame instead of deep fried.)

If the onion chutney you referred to was eaten with the idli, then it's actually called "chumunthi", and only has a little bit of onion in it. The main base of the chumunthi is grated coconut that's blended with hot dried red chillies, then sauteed with a tiny bit of onions, ginger and black mustard seeds in an oil & water base.

The item in the center of your thali meal picture looks to me like an *attempt* at making "uzhunnu vada". (I say 'attempt' because the shape is supposed to be that of a small donut.) Basically, it's made from urud dal (a lentil); it's the same base as in idli, minus the rice flour. The uzhunnu vada is also different in that it's prepared as a thicker batter, combined with chopped onions, green chilis, ginger, curry leaves, and then deep fried.

As for the bitter element in the eggplant curry, my guess would be the addition of the vegetable known as "pavikya" (a bitter gourd), popular in the state of Kerala. That's the only bitter thing I can think of which would make it stand out so much. Now that I think about it, it might have been a "pavikya thiel" which is basically a peppery, watery sauce with this bitter veggie and other veggies in it. But that's just my guess.

The peas & carrots with curry is basically just that, but we call it a "thoren curry". 'Thoren' in general means a vegetable side dish, and 'curry' refers to any side dish. It's just peas, carrots, grated coconut, and onions lightly sauteed with a tiny bit of tumeric powder and black mustard seeds in oil.

The "sambhar" is a vegetable stew (anything veggie goes, really), but the key ingredient is asafoetida powder which gives it it's unique flavor and smell. The veggies are stewed with dal lentils, asaf. powder, and water. After it's cooked, you quick-saute it in hot oil that contains onions and black mustard seeds. (Note: not sure if the asaf. powder is stewed first, or sauteed in at the end; my hubby makes this dish, not me...hehe).

The last picture you posted is "aviyal". Basically, it's the same thing as sambar, but with grated coconut, and without the dal and just enough water to cook everything down. It's supposed to have a thicker consistency. Unlike sambar, you don't need to saute this in oil after the veggies are cooked; the oil is added while cooking.

As for the rice dishes, they're just pulaos, or what we call 'vegetable fried rice'. Instead of the rice being pre-sauteed in oil as it is in biriyanis, the veggies and spices are sauteed, and then tossed with the cooked basmati rice. Nothing fancy... simple stuff.

A few notes about South Indian cooking: nearly all curries (veg. and non-veg) use curry leaves in them, as well as tumeric powder. Also, depending on the region of the state you're in, coconut (grated or diced) is often used in curries.

Hope that solves the mystery about what you ate! :) Enjoy.

[Kirk]

Hi Leese - thanks for taking the time out to explain what we were eating (and enjoying)! I appreciate your time and effort.

[Leese]

Not a problem, Kirk! I always enjoyed sharing knowledge about my culture, be it about food or traditions. :)

[chi]

i love south indian food - I had the giant pillow, bhatura cholle.

If you're ever in Berkeley, go to Vik Chaat Corner on the weekend. It'd awesome.

Personally I didn't like Madras service because the waiter was very very persitent on what I would like... and forced me to get a crappy paper dosa instead of masala dosa... =(

[Ed]

I second chi's recommendation for Vik's Chaat Corner in Berkeley - good stuff!