Tag: pancakes

India’s answer to flapjacks, hold the bacon.

It’s breakfast time, but those golden brown disks above aren’t pancakes. They’re dosa, specifically set dosa ($4.50) as served at Flushing’s Ganesh Temple Canteen. Typically the South Indian rice and black lentil flour creation doesn’t take the form of a pancake. It’s usually a comically huge crepe that resembles a megaphone, often stuffed with potatoes and other veggies.

Upon spotting this odd pancake looking version of dosa on the canteen’s vast dosa menu, I immediately ordered it. Set dosa are so named because they come in a set. The trio of South Indian griddle cakes comes out of the kitchen crowned with a pat of butter, just like a short stack. It’s pure dosa though, possessed of the sour tanginess of its lighter, larger cousins.

I had it for lunch, but it would make for a fine breakfast. A strong cup of Madras coffee and the accompanying vegetable sambar, a spicy soup, and the slightly less spicy coconut chutney will awaken  both palate and mind. There’s no chance of having bacon or breakfast sausage with these pancakes at the all veggie canteen though. Afterwards pay your respects to Ganesh and his pals at the temple upstairs.

Ganesh Temple Canteen, 45-57 Bowne St., New York City, NY 11355