A Lunch Feast at Saravanaa Bhavan in NYC
Recently, my niece, Sophie Herbert, asked me to join her for lunch at one of her favorite restaurants, Saravanaa Bhavan, located at 81 Lexington Avenue in Manhattan. This area of the city is known as Curry Hill, for the abundance of Indian restaurants and markets found there. Saravanaa Bhavan specializes in South Indian vegetarian cuisine and is actually a chain of fifty-seven restaurants located across the globe. Sophie first discovered Saravanaa Bhavan when visiting New Delhi, India several years ago and was very happy to learn of the New York City location. Unfortunately, I was involved with a photo shoot and could not meet her, but I asked Sophie to take photographs for my blog and after seeing them, I plan on eating there with her soon. No matter what region of India, aromatic spices are the essence of its cuisine. Some tend to be spicy, but the majority are just extremely flavorful. Here are some Indian food terms you may not be familiar with.
Chapati – an unleavened flat bread, also known as roti
Chutney – a condiment made from fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices
Dosa – a savory crepe or pancake made from fermented rice and lentil batter
Idli – a savory steamed cake made from fermented rice and lentil batter
Masala – a mixture of spices
Sambar – a vegetable stew or chowder
Thali – a selection of dishes, usually served in small bowls on a round tray
Tiffin – a lunch or any light meal
1 Saravanaa Bhavan is located at 81 Lexington Avenue - at the corner of 26th Street in Manhattan.
2 This corner restaurant is airy and spacious! These photos were taken towards the end of the lunch rush. During peak hours, this place is always bustling and there's often a wait to get in!
3 Saravana Bhavan is a chain of restaurants from Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, South India.
4 Sophie is always excited to eat at Saravanaa Bhavan and she does so on a regular basis.
5 The menu - Sophie first discovered Saravanaa Bhavan on one of her excursions to New Delhi.
6 There is a wide selection of food, mainly all South Indian fare. However, recently, a few dishes from North India were added to the menu.
7 In India, stainless steel dinner ware is commonly used. And, in South India, food is also often served on a banana leaf.
8 This is Thali, a fantastic lunch special including chapati, basmati rice, and various curries and chutneys - sambar, rasam, kurma, poriyal, kootu, special kulambu, yogurt, papad, pickle, and sweet payasam and fruit salad. Yum!!!
9 Another view of this delicious medley
10 Scrumptious idli - steamed breads made from a fermented rice and lentil flour batter, served with sambar, a tomato curry, and coconut and cilantro chutneys.
11 One of Sophie's favorite choices - the Mini Tiffin, consisting of a mini masala dosa, mini idli in sambar, rava kichidi (made with sooji or farina and veggies), rava kesari (made also with farina), and chutneys.
12 Inside the masala dosa is a wonderful potato masala filling!
13 The mini idlis are served in the vegetable sambar.
14 A close up of rava kesari - A popular sweet in South India laced with cardamom - really good!!!
15 Also on the mini tiffin plate - the more savory rava kichidi
16 Rakes, one of the waiters, bringing out the impressive full-size masala dosa!
17 The masala dosa is accompanied with flavorful chutneys.
18 Inside that masala dosa are mildly spiced mashed potatoes with onion and peas.
19 This is a South Indian parotta, a specialty of Tamil Nadu. It is a griddle bread that is flaky, fluffy, and soft.
20 Look how the ribbons of parotta pull apart!
21 The parotta is served with a flavorful, mildly spiced vegetable curry.
22 And the same potato masala found inside the masala dosa.
23 It's challenging to fit all of these delicious servings on such small tables.
24 The traditional way to eat South Indian fare is with the hand - Dipping a piece of wafer-thin dosa into the sambar.
25 Mango lassi - a great yogurt-based drink flavored with mango pulp.
26 The gentlemen at the next table were visiting from New Delhi and they each ordered the masala dosa.
27 They were very impressed to see how thrilled Sophie and her lunch companions were over the food.
28 Sophie wanted to show you how a dosa is made and she asked the Tamil chef to demonstrate. A scoop of batter is quickly spread onto a hot griddle.
29 The thin layer of batter cooks very quickly.
30 It is then skillfully rolled up.
31 Look at the gorgeous color and the shine!
32 The hot dosa is carefully lifted and placed on a serving platter.
33 As you can see, it looks so large, but, because it's quite thin, a dosa is actually very small in volume.
34 Sophie also has a taste for South Indian coffee.
35 The coffee is brewed by pouring hot milk over a dense coffee decoction.
36 After sweetening according to taste, the coffee is mixed by pouring the drinking cup into the base cup.
37 This is done three or four times to get a very flavorful mixed coffee!
38 And also a nice coffee-flavored froth!
Photos By Martha Stewart @marthastewart and Eliad Laskin @joemartha
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The dosa looks like a piece of beautiful wood laminant.
The pictures looking at the inside of the masala dosa are very interesting.
I thought chutney was an old southern condiment.
Gloria G!!
Posted by: Gloria | April 20th, 2011 at 12:16 am
Delicious food one of my favorite!
Posted by: Rowaida Flayhan | April 20th, 2011 at 1:09 am
I can come and cook all those South Indian dishes and more on your show, Martha.
Posted by: Komali Nunna | April 20th, 2011 at 1:32 am
Great pictures by Sophie. The food looks wonderful, I can see why she would want to eat there on a regular basis!
Posted by: Sara | April 20th, 2011 at 6:43 am
The restaurant looks fantastic, the decor... beautiful. I will have to stop in to check it out soon, The food is presented in an appetizing way too. Thanks for this delicious post. Have a wonderful day.
Posted by: Al | April 20th, 2011 at 7:41 am
When my parents toured Europe, Mom was so excited to eat authentic French cuisine. But while in Paris they dined at an Indian restaurant and she said that was the very best food she'd ever eaten, bar none!
Posted by: Judy | April 20th, 2011 at 8:54 am
Hi Martha,
I am feeling so proud now!You have featured many articles but this now is very close to my heart.South Indian food on your blog!!!I am south Indian too & cook all these dishes regularly at home.This is what I prepare for breakfast everyday .I live in GTA & recently went to Saravanna Bhavan in Mississauga.This place is a must visit & this article shows that there is more in Indian food other than butter chicken.The pictures are beautifully taken & the food looks more appitising.
Posted by: Shweta Gupta | April 20th, 2011 at 9:03 am
Hi Martha,
Everything looks so tasty – I think you missed out on a great lunch! We have one of those restaurants in Orlando but I probably won’t be up that way for awhile so I guess I’ll be missing out too. The coffee pouring technique looks the same as pictured when you were in Thailand. Come to think of it, I think Sophie happened to come across that restaurant too so it might have been Indian cuisine. We had some great neighbors from India who moved away years ago and we still miss them. I will always remember their tasty food too. They were vegans and grew their own herbs to use and were always bringing us samples of special dishes. I was amazed at what they could prepare with just a few ingredients and without meat. Thanks Sophie for your pictures and for introducing us to Saravanaa Bhavan. Now I’m hungry for Indian food, a Dosa maybe! Trish
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I can’t wait to see the 1000th show in a few minutes – I hope everyone here plans to watch too!
Posted by: Trish | April 20th, 2011 at 9:31 am
Hi Martha, Your delightful niece Sophie is a fantastic, beautiful, intelligent young lady who does so many terrific things and it's fun to have her share them with us! I remember her wonderful blog posts about being in India and traveling with you to other fabulous places around the world. She is one lucky gal who is very much like you! Her photos and comments are terrific! Please thank her for sharing this with us. Can't wait to see her on your show again. Yesterday's TV Show was wonderful and can't wait to see the special 1000th episode in about 2 hours and 40 minutes! On my way to The Daily Wag to see what Sharkey does with your cute sheep. I'm sure you will have a fantastic day today! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | April 20th, 2011 at 10:22 am
Martha, I teach Indian cooking in California. Dosa is one of my all-time favorite foods. I taught dosa in one of my classes. It was a great hit. I wrote and published a book called Eetertaining From an Ethnic Indian Kitchen. Your first book, Entertaining, was the inspiration for my book. What could be more remarthable than that? My book features a Dosa Party with all the recipes and entertaining ideas. I am very happy that you decided to blog about the food that I grew up with. Please check out my book at komalinunna.com
Posted by: Komali Nunna | April 20th, 2011 at 10:30 am
Beautiful array of Indian cuisine...i'd say lunch was yummy!
Thank you Sophie for the lovely photos of a charming place.
Posted by: sherey | April 20th, 2011 at 10:58 am
Food looks pretty good! I've never tried South Indian food before, maybe it should make its way on my to do list!
Posted by: Kristina | April 20th, 2011 at 11:09 am
Martha, this restaurant looks like a very tastey place to eat, I think you will enjoy it when you go. Thanks for sharing this blog.
Posted by: KLBrown | April 20th, 2011 at 12:20 pm
I'd love to know what dish you most enjoyed there
Posted by: Pmr | April 20th, 2011 at 12:35 pm
Mmmm that food sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing - you're blog is always so informative!
Posted by: www.StarHughes.com | April 20th, 2011 at 2:20 pm
Saravanaa is my favorite! So glad you covered it. Although it is South Indian, Saravanaa's actually makes one of the beat chole bhaturas - fried thick bread with chickpea curry.
Posted by: Chitra | April 20th, 2011 at 2:22 pm
Happy for you on your 1,000 tv program. I love watching and reading your books.
Posted by: roma brown | April 20th, 2011 at 4:30 pm
Wow! I need to go get Indian food now! Sophie is really pretty.. I wonder if she is single? I wonder if she is my age (30):). I have been Vegetarian for over 11 years, And I love it when vegetarian food is featured on your program! Thanks for sharing Martha!
Posted by: Jordan | April 21st, 2011 at 12:19 am
I love Sophie's blogs. And, even more so, her appearances on the show. You can't fake that kind of warmth and decency.
Posted by: Debra | April 21st, 2011 at 9:15 am
I love Saravanaas. I used to work at a company nearby and we would go there for lunch all the time. I would mostly order the mini tiffin (which is not mini!), or try a different dosa each time. It's not the greatest ambiance, but the food is delicious!
Posted by: Sharon @ Red Poppy | Pink Peony | April 21st, 2011 at 11:58 am
I thoroughly enjoy your blog whether you're on a field trip, in your homes, or moving about your gardens. My only disappointment is that too often the captions are missing from pictures or the second or third lines have dropped off. Your latest blog has those issues. Your blog is such a great inspiration and a teaching tool, I hope the webmaster will make the corrections. Thank you.
P.S. - I really appreciate your book on Martha's Rules and hope you'll update it. I think of it as: "Entrepreneur: Martha's Way!"
Posted by: Bobbie Benton | April 21st, 2011 at 3:35 pm
Always interesting , I find food from other cultures feeds my mind, thanks for sharing,
Posted by: Maria Paige | April 21st, 2011 at 7:39 pm
Sophie, thanks for sharing@! There's an Indian restaurant here in Kansas that advertises their fresh ingredients & unique dishes. You've inspired me to give them a try.
Martha in KS
Posted by: Martha E | April 23rd, 2011 at 9:17 am