Southern Comfort

South Indian micro cuisines are taking over the US—with offerings well beyond the idli-dosa-vada triumvirate

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Indian chefs internationally have taken the global spotlight off butter chicken and naan as representative of Indian food, and have rewritten the narrative that the cuisine is only about hitting high notes on the Scoville scale. In the US, South Indian food rules. In 2014, Rasa opened in California, soon winning a Michelin star for its contemporary take on South Indian food, focused on coastal cuisines. It succumbed to the pressures of Covid-19 in 2022, but was resurrected on popular demand in 2024. Godavari, with a focus on Andhra and Telangana food, opened in Boston in 2015, expanding to 22 outlets today in the US alone. Chef Vijay Kumar's Semma opened in New York in 2021 and earned its Michelin star in 2022. Nathai Pirattal (stir-fried snails with mini Kal Dosas) and Chettinad Maan (venison) are among the top sellers here.

Thattu, in Chicago, specialises in Kerala cuisine and grew from a pop-up to a full-fledged restaurant from 2018 to 2023. And then there is Srijith Gopinathan, executive chef and co-owner of Ettan, Eylan, Little Blue Door and Copra, the last being a tribute to his South Indian roots, in San Francisco. He pioneered the Cal-Indian approach—California's seasonal ingredients meet South Indian spices, masalas and techniques. At Copra, a Meen Polichathu is made with black cod. The Winter Vegetable Masala Uthappam has Swiss chard, squash and heirloom carrots.