Annapurna Gardens [RESTAURANT REVIEW]

restaurant annapurnaFor many years I’ve enjoyed trips to Little Bombay, the area in north Orange County that boasts a huge South Asian community. A few minutes off the 91 freeway is a world where saris are everyday wear, jewelry shops are stacked with intricately worked gold, and men in turbans and gorgeously patterned silk share the sidewalk with modern and stylish teens who listen to pulsating bhangra music. And of course there’s the food – fantastically scented spice shops, dessert emporia, and both modest and elegant restaurants offering the delights of South India. (Most early immigrants to the US came from the north, land of a tasty but very different cuisine.) I searched in vain for places on the West Side serving the crepes called dosas or the moist steamed buns called idli. The South Bay would never have these, I was told, because they only flourish where there is an Indian community big enough to support them. As years have gone by the Indian spice and sweet shops have started showing up in mini-malls here, but I have still headed east for my fix of South Indian delights.

I’ll still visit Little Bombay just to enjoy the streetlife and exotic shops, but nowadays I can satisfy my dosa craving without leaving the South Bay. Annapurna Garden is the first restaurant in the South Bay to specialize in South Indian dishes, and it’s a whole different experience from most Indian restaurants. This extends to the dinnerware; instead of ceramic plates, your selections arrive on the stainless steel tray used for Indian “thali” meals. (Though Indians traditionally eat with their fingers, forks and spoons are provided for those who aren’t ready to be quite that authentic.)

Many familiar items are offered for starters, such as crunchy onion pakoras and the vegetable turnovers called somosas, but I always choose dosas and an uttapam. Dosas are crisp, incredibly thin pancakes that come in two types: “paper” dosas, which are hollow and served with a dipping sauce or side of soup, and versions stuffed with various combinations of vegetables. Paper dosas are huge, a foot long at least, but so light that one can easily be enjoyed as an appetizer for two or three persons. The lightly fermented batter is as delicate as any European pastry, and whether you eat it with a cup of spicy lentil soup or dip it into one of the curries, it’s a delightful experience. The filled dosas arrive at your table as a triangular crepe very much in the style of the traditional French version, but filled with vegetable curry rather than ratatouille or beef Bourguignon. Whichever type of dosa you order, you will also get a small cup of a soup called sambar, which you may use for dipping or drink separately. Sambar has a spicy, fruity kick thanks to a broth based on tamarind and flavored with chili, mustard, and various herbs. Though the menu doesn’t mention it, you get sambar with almost anything you order; it’s one of the staples of South Indian cuisine.

When it comes to main courses at Annapurna, you can get tandoori chicken and other standard items, and they’re very competently done. I prefer exploring the South Indian dishes and the Indo-Chinese items, the latter a style that is popular in India but very rarely seen here. China and India share a border (though an uneasy one), and there have been cultural contacts for thousands of years, so the Chinese techniques of stir-frying is well known. The difference is the spicing, which is bold and complex. Cauliflower is quickly wok-fried with a sauce that has a cumulative peppery flavor – it’s probably the hottest thing I’ve had in the South Bay, and certainly among the most flavorful. I’ve also had the Andhra chili chicken, an innocent-looking stir-fry that packs a wallop. I looked up Andhra cooking and found that it’s regarded as the spiciest in India, and based on this dish I’m very ready to believe that statement. Still, as hot as it is, it isn’t just hot – there are plenty of other flavors in the mix. Even though I was sweating by the time I finished my portion of the chicken, I was still trying to figure out just what herbs had been used to create that big, hearty flavor.

Not all the food at Annapurna is this spicy – many curries are soothed by a dash of coconut milk, and dishes like the rice with lemon and peanuts or yoghurt rice with cream take the sting out of the hotter items. Rice dishes called biryanis are a staple, Southern India being the rice growing capital of the subcontinent. The grain is also used in the puffy steamed idli bread, which has a delicate and pleasant sour flavor, and is good for mopping up the sauce from almost any item, or with a cup of the ubiquitous sambar.

There are also cooling drinks such as lassi, a thick yoghurt-based milkshake made with rose water, that moderate the fire. While the mango-flavored lassi seems to be most popular, it’s too sweet for me; I ask for lightly salted lassi, which I find more refreshing. There are also several fruit juices and tea offered, and though alcohol is not served, you can bring your own.

Newcomers to South Indian cuisine might best experiment at either the excellent lunch buffet or on one of the evenings when special menus are offered – vegetarian samplers on Wednesday, Indo-Chinese on Friday, Indian Fusion on Saturday. Whenever you go, Annapurna offers a unique chance to taste South India without leaving the South Bay.

Annapurna is located at 15651 Hawthorne Boulevard, in the shopping center just north of Manhattan Beach Boulevard. Ample off-street parking, wheelchair access good. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Call 310-675-1100 for reservations or take-out.

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