Maha Latchmi Indian Sweets

A simple shop front with a dozen laminex tables and chairs, a hot box and a chiller cabinet belies the delicious meals being turned out every lunchtime. A brief and vague hand written menu is perched atop the servery. Typically there is a sambhar, one or two curries, perhaps a palak paneer as well as samosas on offer. You can order one or more items in a combination with rice to eat in or takeaway. The best thing to do is point and order. The thali plate is popular, comprising a selection of curries along with a sambal, achar and rice, served in various compartments on a stainless steel plate. These are the curries of southern India and are generally simpler using a ingredients such as coconut and rice. They are often thin and can be sour from the use of flavourings such as tamarind and mustard rather than the sweet complex, creamy Moghul and northern curries that many are familiar with.
Rice is used to make huge and wonderfully crisp rice pancakes called dosa or dosai. To order a Masala Dosa (potato stuffed pancake), simply ask for a dosai or rice pancake at the counter and they will prepare it fresh for you. The wait is only a few minutes and they are unbelievably addictive. To say the serve is enormous is an understatement. The pancake is crisp and crunchy on the outside and slightly spongy on the inside. It has a faintly sour tang to it and you can see the hundreds of small fermentation bubbles that are cooked into the batter. It arrived rolled around a curried potato stuffing, accompanied by a sambhar and an innocent looking but extremely spicy coconut chutney. And how much for this unusual and filling lunch? $ 7. Can’t complain about that! This is no fuss, no frills eating.
Ask for the Masala Dosa — a huge, freshly made to order rice pancake filled with spiced potato. Even if you can’t see it on the menu, it’s always available.