2379 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley
11:00 AM - 2:30 PM & 4:30 - 10:00 PM
Mon-Fri
11:00 AM - 2:30 PM & 4:30 - 7:00 PM
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B.T.S.
Thayir Sadam
Everyone knows dosa, the typical Indian pancake. Yet no one knows dosa.
A debate between two friends about the global perception of Indian food became a journey to discover “authentic Indian cuisine”.
They discovered that “authentic Indian cuisine” is a misnomer. The tapestry of various cultures woven into the Indian fabric, meant that every region has it’s own dialect, often its own language, and very often, it’s own unique food that is distinctly different from anywhere else.
Take, for example, a simple dish like Thayir Sadam, a dish made from yogurt and rice. Made daily in millions of South Indian homes, it becomes much more than one dish - varying in ingredients, preparation, texture and taste, the dish can take on over a 100 forms within a 100 miles.
Every variant of the dish needs validation from a hyperlocal audience to meet the requirements of being “right and authentic”.
True Indian food, then, is food that originates in India, but assimilates bits of various cultures that it is exposed to, taking on varying forms that combine global and local elements. Every Indian dish has the potential to assimilate global tastes, and build its own unique character.
This is the founding principle of Thayir Sadam. A “comfort” dish known in every Indian household, which can be customized to appeal to a wide variety of palates, yet rarely headlines an Indian menu due to its simplistic roots.
For us, it’s a dish that feels like home. On an international plate.