Every day is a learning day.” This phrase was repeatedly spoken to me by my first employer, usually after I pretended to be an expert on something I truly wasn’t. Funny how those early lessons still ring true. Today I learned Southern Indian cuisine, which is Mylapore’s focus, differs dramatically from the Indian cuisine most of us are used to having. 

The eatery is also strictly vegetarian, so you won’t find many of the regular suspects. No tikka, butter chicken, vindaloo, kabobs or tandoori. The all-you-can-eat buffet table is also absent—and for good reason, according to Owner Jay Jayaraman. “Our philosophy is fresh every day. We start at 6 a.m. preparing just enough food for the day.”

So what can you expect to see on the menu? There are some easily recognizable items for the novice: samosas, channa and paratha, for example. I asked Jay to make me dishes he thought I should try. First to come out was medhu vada—savory, cake-like, fried lentil donuts with tomato-onion, spiced yogurt and chutney dipping sauces. The tantalizing flavor combinations made me forget I was eating donuts for lunch. Talk about a great party appetizer! 

Next was vegetable pakoras, which featured deep-fried julienne vegetables, cut so thinly they were hard to distinguish from each other. I believe it was eggplant, sweet potato and onion—hey, they’re deep-fried and delicious, and that’s about all you need to know!—again served with more addicting sauces (this time a brown sugar tamarind and spicy mint offering). 

Mylapore’s signature dish is the dosa, and they make at least 20 different varieties of these gigantic, thin, crispy “crepes.” I had the onion rava masala dosa, which had to be served tri-folded to fit on the plate. Red onion grilled into the almost potato chip-like omelet left me wishing I hadn’t already obliterated my carb limit on the first dish. 

I still had to try the ravi kesari dessert of broken wheat, sugar, cardamom, cashews and raisins. What the heck, carb limits are silly anyway! Fresh vegetarian Indian dining in a casual atmosphere…what’s not to like?

by Lorn Randall  //  photos by Dante Fontana

Mylapore Indian Cuisine, 1760 Prairie City Road, Suite 160, Folsom, 916-985-3500