Last updated: January 23, 2024

In the Weeds

by Travis Mullis

The proliferation of above-average South Asian restaurants in Mecklenburg County in the last ten years has been pretty astounding. While places like Persi’s, Maharani’s, and Curry Gate have gained loyal followings, South Asian cuisine is not yet as popular as sushi, Italian, or Tex-Mex. I can foresee a future, however, where the cuisines of Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh are leading take out options across America. I nominate masala Mondays as a new American culinary tradition.

Helping to lead that popularization is Sri Balaji Kitchen in Davidson. The fact that Sri Balaji Kitchen is strictly vegetarian and vegan makes what they are doing that much more impressive. The brainchild of owner Manikandan Raghavan, the original Sri Balaji Caffe is located in Pineville and serves virtually the same menu as its counterpart in Davidson, which opened quietly in 2023. Nonplussed by the lack of South Indian restaurants in the Charlotte dining landscape, Raghavan decided to orient his restaurant against the grain of westernized and Punjabi-heavy menu items. Instead, the menu focuses heavily on dosas, uttapams, popular street food dishes, and tasting platters.

Stepping into the restaurant’s dining room, your eyes are drawn to the navy blue walls adorned with painted flowers and geometric patterns in gold paint. The centerpiece of the long back wall is a painting of the Buddha sitting beneath the tree of life surrounded by blooming lotus flowers. Flanking the painting on both sides are illuminated niches filled with art that lends them the look of curated museum pieces. The lights hanging from the ceiling are shaded to resemble shattered stones or modern art. All in all, the restaurant has a sophisticated, thoughtful feel that sidesteps the rushed, unadorned, or even kitschy feel of some South Asian restaurants.

Service is formal and efficient, but a touch hurried and impersonal. I sometimes get the distinct feeling that the staff would like for diners to eat quickly, ask for the check, and head for the door. In contrast to that sense of urgency, a complimentary cup of chaas, or spiced Indian buttermilk, is brought to each diner as they peruse the menu and ease into their meal. Its blend of tang, aromatics, and creaminess help to prime the palate for the flavors to come. Other beverages worth an order are the perennially popular mango lassi, the madras coffee that reminded me of a milder Vietnamese coffee, and the masala milk, which is flavored with warming spices and crushed nuts.

Sri Balaji  Kitchen’s special fried rice is far more flavorful than what you get from your favorite Chinese take-out joint. This ghee-fried basmati rice is loaded up with sichuan-sauced cauliflower, pungent paneer, chunks of crispy parotta, and large quantities of onion, scallion, and cilantro. They’ll make it as spicy as you can stand, though it’s best enjoyed at a level that doesn’t overwhelm the aromatic herb blend that makes the dish so enjoyable. To complement the fried rice and balance out its spicier renditions, it comes with a large cup of raita, a soothing, thin yogurt condiment for dipping or smothering the dish. 

The mini tiffin is one of the best ways to taste what Sri Balaji Kitchen does best. Tiffin is a word that dates back to the time of the British Raj and usually refers to a small meal enjoyed around traditional teatime. It’s also the name given to the tiered metal lunch boxes that wallahs on scooters zip around New Delhi and Mumbai delivering to hungry office workers. 

Sri Balaji Kitchen’s tiffin is mini in name only and comes served on a large divided tray — a smorgasbord of South Asian flavors and textures. Usually consisting of one idly, one vada, a scoop of pongal, and the dessert of the day, alongside chutneys and a curry for spooning or dipping, Sri Balaji’s tiffin can vary depending on availability and kitchen preference. If you’re lucky, it will come with a masala dosa, a crispy rice-lentil crepe the size of a golf cart tire l wrap around generous mounds of curried potatoes. 

The idly, a steamed, fermented rice disk, and the vada, a deep fried lentil and spice donut, should be nibbled at first for a taste of their essential flavors before dabbing them in the chutneys and curry that come with the mini tiffin. The pongal, usually a breakfast food, is best eaten second to last. It’s a rice dish boiled in milk and variously topped with cashews and other nuts, with an array of spices including turmeric, curry leaves, and ginger. It reminds me of cream of wheat or porridge and has a rib-sticking quality that can quickly fill you up. I usually avoid South Asian desserts, finding them cloyingly sweet; however, Sri Balaji Kitchen’s jamun halwa is an exception to the rule. If you get the chance, request it by name, and enjoy the subtle taste of almond, cooked milk, and sugar, in addition to the warming qualities of ginger and cardamom. 

Most people, even those who have never eaten it, think of curries when they think of Indian food, and Sri Balaji Kitchen, in a nod to their popularity, does include a selection of curry bowls. There’s the ubiquitous korma, butter, and tikka masala, in addition to Gobi and vegetable Manchurian, but my favorite of them all is the sambar. This South Indian stew is made of puréed lentils and veggies, tamarind extract and broth, and a blend of aromatic spices, garlic, and onion.Whole curry leaves are blended into the stew to lend both extra flavor and texture. Served with basmati rice, Sri Balaji Kithcen’s sambar has a comforting warmth and subtle but undeniable home-cooked taste that reminds me of  high-quality vegetable soup and various Mexican caldos. 

As I get older, I think more and more about what food I put in my body and what that food is doing to our planet. Meat, or at least the American meat industrial complex, is contributing to  the acceleration of climate change, so I take any opportunity to eat less of it. Sri Balaji Kitchen makes living with less meat easy.