When a dosa arrives at a table at Masalaa, newcomers gasp over the huge savory crepe. Regulars at the Aurora restaurant audibly sigh and smile broadly as if seeing an old friend. Chances are that neither table is thinking about the fact that the dish happens to be vegetarian.
In the restaurant world where keeping a café open for two years is applauded, Masalaa has been serving customers for 11 remarkable years. Unlike other long-lived eateries which evolve to meet diners’ changing and sometimes fickle tastes, this South Indian establishment has thrived by serving virtually the same menu as when it opened. It’s the customers who have come around to Masalaa’s way of cooking.
It was those steaming dosas filled with spiced mashed potatoes — masala dosa — that drew Ashok Dugini to the restaurant. “I love this food. I couldn’t find it anywhere else in the area,” he said. In fact, Dugini grew so fond of the fare that he bought the eatery with two partners in 2005.
Dugini grew up in Hyderabad, a major urban center in southern India, and moved to Denver in 1998. Although trained as a software engineer, “I always had a plan to get into business,” he said. When Masalaa’s then-owner told him he was looking for someone to take over the restaurant, Dugini was immediately interested. These days Dugini still has a full-time day job as senior software engineer for Comcast, and the father of two is at the restaurant at night and on the weekend.
Many of Masalaa’s signature dishes including the dosa, vada (a savory deep-fried doughnut), and uthappam (vegetable pancakes) are unfamiliar to Americans, even those who frequent northern Indian eateries. “These are everyday dishes at home (in southern India) and are popular all over India,” Dugini said. “I make dosas as home, just not as big as these,” he said with a smile, indicating the crispy crepe hanging over the edges of a large plate on a nearby table.
Vegetarian fare often earns its boring reputation with virtuously bland tofu-beans-and-brown rice cuisine or dishes that attempt to mimic meat. South Indian cuisine is a carnival of brightly spiced flavors, textures and preparations that just happens to be meatless. So taste-driven foodies and health-focused vegetarians, vegans and gluten-free diners alike delight in preparations like bhel puri which combines puffed rice, potatoes, onions, tomatoes and cilantro chutney. The restaurant likely has the lengthiest menu of gluten-free dishes in Colorado.
Masalaa — which translates as “spices” — makes it easy for newbies to be introduced to the menu with a lunch buffet daily, a popular Thursday dinner buffet, and an all-you-can-eat dosa dinner on Wednesdays. On a recent weekday, chef Ashok Rajamoorthy’s noontime spread boasted uthappams, vadas, paneer masala, papadao crackers with tamarind, mint, tomato and coconut chutneys, puri breads, zesty pickled chile, and various vegetable and bean curries. For dessert, there is rice pudding and fruit. There is a kids’ section but don’t look for chicken fingers or mac ’n’ cheese. One junior meal combines an idly and a mini dosa.
The oddities are the Indo-Chinese entrees such as Szechuan fried rice and egg rolls. It goes to show that no matter the culture and its traditional cuisine, everybody also loves Chinese take-out for a change of pace.
Masalaa has survived the recent economy’s blows because of its expanding base of fans who spread the news and the restaurant’s devotion to authentic, high quality food. Many of Masalaa’s regular customers come with their families every week, Dugini said. Many are Indian, but even more are vegetarians and healthy eaters from various cultures. “We have customers who come in all the way from Telluride and Laramie, Wyoming,” he said.
“One great thing about Americans is that if they find food they love they’ll come no matter how far they have to drive.
Masalaa Indian Vegetarian Cuisine
3140 S. Parker Rd., Aurora
303-755-6272; masalaausa.com
Hours: 11 a.m. -2 pm, 5:30-10 p.m. Monday to Friday; Noon-3 p.m., 5:30-10 p.m. Saturday-Sunday:
South Indian cuisine 101: What’s a vada?
The menu at Masalaa includes familiar menu items like samosas, mango lassi, naan and saag paneer as well as vegetarian dishes many diners may not have encountered even at other Indian restaurants including:
• dosa: A large griddled crepe made with rice and lentil flour or semolina and filled with spiced potatoes, onions, and other fillings
• idly: Steamed rice and lentil flour cake served with with soup or chutneys
• uthappam: A savory lentil and rice pancake with added vegetables, onions or chopped roasted chiles and cheese
• vada: Deep-fried savory lentil flour doughnuts served with curries and chutneys
• mulaga bajji: Sliced jalapenos deep-fried in chickpea batter
• cheese chile paratha: Wheat bread stuffed with cheese and chiles and served with pickle and yogurt
• baghara baigan: Eggplant cooked with peanuts and sesame seed sauce
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