Dining Out: Exploring Ottawa's differing dosas

I resolved to update my knowledge of Ottawa’s purveyors of dosas, the South Indian thin and crispy pancakes made from a batter of lentils and rice.

Published Oct 26, 2023 • 5 minute read

Sundari Mohanram poses for a photo at her restaurant Sundari’s Kitchen in Ottawa. Mohanram sits with an order of a ghee masala dosa and masala on the side. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

Dosa King

93 Holland Ave., 613-790-8316
Open: Wednesday to Monday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., closed Tuesday
Prices: Dosas $8.99 to $13.49
Access: Steps to front door, washrooms upstairs

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Mahal Tanjore

108 Third Ave., 613-695-1969, thanjavurottawa.com
Open: Monday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m., Friday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 11 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m, Sunday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Prices: Dosas $13 to $20
Access: Ramp to front door, wheelchair-accessible washroom

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Royal Paan

1943 Baseline Rd., 613-421-9010, royalpaan.com
Open: Sunday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to midnight
Prices: Dosas $13 to $15
Access: No steps to front door or washroom

Sundari’s Kitchen

1487 Merivale Rd., 613-226-2345, sundariskitchen.ca
Open: Tuesday to Sunday 5 to 10 p.m, closed Monday
Prices: Dosas $13.99 to $17.99
Access: Ramp to front door, wheelchair-accessible washroom

To my pleasant surprise, I found myself in late August corresponding with Jacquelin Holzman, Ottawa’s mayor in the 1990s.

Apropos of nothing, Holzman ended one email: “Also, have you done a review of the Royal Paan, Baseline Rd.? They make the crispiest dosa in town… ask for it with the filling on the side!”

I’m delighted by all suggestions from readers, whether or not they once wore Ottawa’s chain of office. I wrote back: “Thanks for the tip re: Royal Paan. I did write about it in 2020. I’ll keep in mind your dosa recommendation.”

And with that, I resolved to update my knowledge of Ottawa’s purveyors of dosas, the South Indian thin and crispy pancakes made from a batter of lentils and rice.

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Two months later, after some occasional dosa meals, I know a bit more about these crepe-like staples and their fillings and accompaniments. My current thinking is written below — it’s far from the last word on Ottawa’s dosas and more rather a contribution to an ongoing conversation.

Dosa at Mahal Tanjore in the Glebe. Photo by Peter Hum /Postmedia

As I’d written to Holzman, earlier this summer I had visited Mahal Tanjore in the Glebe, to check on its dosas and also ask about that Third Avenue restaurant’s apparent name change.

Previously, Mahal Tanjore was called Thanjai, and in mid-2018, I ate there happily, about six months after it opened. Then, Thanjai was an offshoot of a similarly named Montreal restaurant. The switch to Mahal Tanjore, I learned this summer, simply signified that the rebranded restaurant was fully independent.

My dining companions and I were pleased with our respective Mahal Tanjore dosas, which we thought hit the right marks for taste, texture and appearance.

What’s more, we could have returned to Majal Tanjore for days and days to sample different dosas without repeating ourselves. The lengthy menu lists more than 40 kinds of dosas — by and large, but not exclusively, vegetarian — from the old standby masala (spiced potato) dosa to lamb and chicken dosas to rava dosas (made with wheat semolina and rice flour) to the dauntingly named four feet dosa, which the menu said could feed four.

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When I mentioned Mahal Tanjore’s many dosas to Holzman, she stuck to her message: “Dosas could have any number of fillings…the crispiness is what’s very important!” The ex-mayor had spoken.

Dosa at Dosa King on Holland Avenue. Photo by Peter Hum /Postmedia

In September, I was pining again for dosas, having learned of Dosa King, which had just opened on Holland Avenue where the now-relocated Soca Kitchen had been.

Despite its royal name, Dosa King is a no-frills eatery that seats about 30, simple in ambiance and more limited in terms of dosa offerings. But it also may serve the cheapest dosas in town — by several dollars, even. That has to count for something when inflation leaves many of us counting pennies.

Here, the Chettinad masala dosa ($10.49) had an extra spicy zing to it, while lamb masala dosa — at $13.49, the menu’s splurge — could boast about tender, flavourful chunks of meat, as well as a few bones. I thought these dosas were fine, but felt that Mahal Tanjore’s were better.

In a texture-focused report to Holzman, I described these dosas as “crisp, but pillowy inside. Maybe too thick, if you like them constantly crispy….I will have to try Royal Paan dosas, as you have suggested.”

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“But ask for the fillings on the side…very crispy!!” she replied. (Note: if you order dosas for takeout, they will inevitably lose their crispiness, and separating fillings from the crepes is a must.)

Mysore masala dosa at Royal Paan on Baseline Road. Photo by Peter Hum /Postmedia

Last week, I made time for lunch at Royal Paan, which opened in July 2020 and is one of more than 40 franchised locations in Canada.

The vegetarian eatery offers much more than dosas, including Indian street food items. But we stuck with dosas, including a masala dosa and a rava dosa. The latter took a lot longer to make and was deep-fried to extra-crispiness.

Determined to maximize my dosa comparisons, a few hours later I had another dosa at Sundari’s Kitchen, which opened about eight months ago on Merivale Road.

At that mostly vegetarian South Indian eatery, I found the Mysore masala dosa more compelling than my lunch-hour dosa. Sundari Kitchen’s dosa was tangier, if not uber-crispy. I also thought especially highly of the three chutneys and loose vegetable stew called sambar, all provided for dipping, which had more freshness and character than what I recalled sampling elsewhere.

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Ghee masala dosa and masala on the side at Sundari’s Kitchen on Merivale Road. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

I asked chef-owner Sundari Mohanram what was up. “Everything’s made in-house,” she said, including dosas made from flour ground in the kitchen, and those chutneys. Some other eateries might not make things from scratch, she ventured. While my palate for Indian food is definitely still developing, I think I could taste the difference.

On the topic of texture, Mohanram said: “Ninety per cent of my customers are North Indian. They like a crispy texture.” Mohanram, a vegetarian from the South Indian city of Madurai, said she likes her dosas “neither soft nor crispy.”

Echoing Holzman, Mohanram added: “If you like crispy, I’ll put the masala on the side.”

My quest for Ottawa’s best dosas continues. Currently, I think Mahal Tanjore and Sundari’s Kitchen must rank near the top of the heap. Maybe they should prepare for an order or visit from a former Ottawa mayor.

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