In August of 2019, I took the trip of a lifetime to Uzbekistan. But in order to get there, I had to fly to New York first, where I would hop a flight to the capital of Tashkent. While I was in New York, I linked up with my cousin Alex to head over to Temple Canteen in Queens to have the best southern Indian breakfast in New York! Come along with me on my southern Indian dosa breakfast!
We headed to the restaurant. They have so many different options as far as dosas are concerned. I couldn’t wait to try the chili dosa! We passed through Flushing, which has a huge Indian and Chinese population. You can get lots of amazing food there.
Inside the temple, you see some Ganesha statues. The Temple Canteen is in the basement. There are lots of tables and a gift shop. It felt a lot like a cafeteria. They had some jalebi there and a massive menu. In addition to the dosas, they also had vada, idli, pongal, and so much more! They also had mango lassi and kulfi! I couldn’t wait to start eating the best southern Indian breakfast in New York City!
We ordered the vada, idli, ghee roast dosa, Mysore dosa, and the Pondicherry dosa. The Mysore dosa had red chili chutney inside it! We also had some coconut chutney and sambar.
We started the best southern Indian breakfast in NYC with the vada and coconut chutney. I could taste the lentils. The chutney had a little bit of spice and was so savory! I loved it. It took me right back to India!
We also got some masala chai, which is similar to cafe con leche. It contained cardamom, but no ginger, and was piping hot!
Then, we dove into the idli and coconut chutney. It was super soft. Then, we tried it with the tomato-based sambar, which was amazing. It was good enough to drink!
Next, we went for the Mysore dosa and dipped it into the coconut chutney. It was flaky and savory and so amazing! I could eat it all day! You eat it with one hand. It was nice, spicy, and wasn’t too crispy or too doughy. My cousin really liked it. It was a new flavor for him!
We continued the best southern Indian breakfast in NYC with the Pondicherry dosa, which contained red chili chutney, onion, and a chaat. It was really nice, but wasn’t my favorite. It was denser and had more layers than the mysore dosa. The onions and chaat gave it some spice and savoriness. The chaat felt like dry corn! It was harder to tear, but it was OK to get a little messy!
In India, people won’t look down on you for eating their food. They love it when you try and enjoy their cuisine, and they love it when you clean your plate! My nose was starting to drip from the spice of the coconut chutney!
I was starting to get full and we still had the ghee roast dosa left! It was a plain dosa with clarified butter on it, and was rolled into a cone shape. It was almost paper-like in texture and was more like a crispy cracker! I could not get over how amazing the coconut chutney was. This was a full-on Southern Indian experience and I was loving it!
I was full, but I kept on going! It’s so much better than American or Dutch pancakes or crepes. We cleaned up our table after we finished and then chatted with the guys working there. This is how you should start every day!
We both loved the Mysore dosa the best! If you’re ever in Flushing, Queens, you have to come to Temple Canteen to have the best southern Indian breakfast in New York!
I hope you enjoyed coming with me and Alex on our southern Indian breakfast in NYC! If you did, please give it a thumbs up and leave a comment. Also, please subscribe to my YouTube channel so you don’t miss any of my upcoming travel/food adventures!
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