Alik W.
Yelp
Context: my family's from India, and going out for South Indian (mainly dosa) was always one of our big treats growing up. It was almost impossible to find without driving 2 hours. This brings all that goodness and then some, conveniently to the southwest Metro. This chunk of Eden Prairie is turning into foodie central for the Indian diaspora. Not only do we have full-on authentic goodness from Godavari, but there's two Indian pizza places, plus India Market in the same shopping plaza (the only grocery store where I've actually seen hand-scooped kulfi ice cream).
First off: if you see a dish that you're used to seeing on most Indian menus (butter chicken, tandoori stuff) -- skip it. Theirs actually does look decent, but that is not what you're here for. The "South Indian" and "specialties" section of the menu is where their real strength lies. Things you really want to try if you're new to this branch of Indian cuisine:
- Vada, a sort of lentil-flour savory donut that you dip in various chutneys.
- Dosa, a big ol' crispy pancake. Get it with the potato masala inside, do the dipping thing again.
- Idli, a steamed rice-flour bun-bread that is mild enough that even my kids will eat it. You know what to do by now.
All of the above, by the way, is proper back-home spicy, not Minnesota spicy. (As in, I was hitting the antacid cabinet that night.) But, the spice is all in the sauce and the vegetable-lentil sambar soup that comes with it, hence why these are great starting points.
From there, branch out to a panoply of curries, biryanis (which I haven't tried yet but soooo on my list), uttapam (a totally different kind of veggie pancake), and the Indo-Chinese section. If you're up for something completely different, try out Kotha Paratha, a dish of chopped-up and stir fried flatbread with either egg or chicken. I've never seen it on a menu in the US before, but damn is it good.
If you're getting takeout to go with beer, look no further than the "appetizers" section, either veg or not. Anything "chili" or "65" is going to have you reaching for the suds. (Which, BTW, this place is marked "no alcohol", but I've seen cold beer on their social media, so that might be off.)
100% a new go-to place for us.