Indian Creperie Now Selling Dosas, Uttapams, and Other Carbolicious South Indian Snacks

Lauren Shockey

Vada, a/k/a fried rice doughnuts with curry leaves and chiles, at Indian Creperie

Inexpensive Indian eats are relatively plentiful at the intersection of Bleecker and MacDougal streets, with the Kati Roll Company, Thelewala, and Masala Times offering rolls, chaats, and curries. Yet with the exception of "the Dosa Man," who sells his namesake product on the south side of Washington Square Park, South Indian snacks have been lacking. Until now, that is. Indian Creperie opened last week, selling a variety of dosa (a thin, large lentil-and-rice pancake, often stuffed with potatoes) and uttapam (a thick lentil-and-rice pancake, with fillings cooked into the batter), plus assorted snacks like vada and idli.

We popped in for a quick lunch over the weekend to sample the goods. The narrow shop is sparsely decorated, but gets a flash of vibrancy from a wall of potted plants and bottled lentils and spices.

To begin we opted for the vada ($5, pictured above), fried savory doughnuts made from rice flour, spiced with curry leaves and chili. They arrived piping-hot and accompanied by two spicy chutneys, one coconut-based, the other tomato. Although the vada were a little on the dry side, they were nicely flavored.

Lauren Shockey

Mysore masala dosa

We then tried the Mysore masala dosa ($7.95), which was filled with spiced potatoes and chili paste. The turmeric-hued spuds packed a punch, with lots of curry leaves, mustard seeds, and onions in the mix. We're used to seeing dosas wrapped into long tubes, but this one was triangular. The pancake itself was nice and crispy on the edges and softer in the middle. Although it's more expensive than the nearby Dosa Man's, these versions come with the possibility of meat fillings (shrimp, chicken, or beef), as opposed to being exclusively vegan.