[Meito-ku] Try the Authentic Papado at "South Indian Home Cuisine KARNATAKA"

​"South Indian Home Cuisine KARNATAKA "is located in Meito Ward, Nagoya City. There are many Indian restaurants, but what exactly is "South Indian food"?

This time, we asked Mr. Tsuchiya, the manager of KARNATAKA, about his training in India and his thoughts on South Indian cuisine.

KARNATAKA is located in a quiet residential area, about a 13-minute walk from Fujigaoka Station on the Higashiyama Subway Line. The bamboo canopy and flower decorations on the exterior already give it an Indian feel.

The walls are covered with Indian movie posters, world maps, and Indian flags.

"Dosa is the only way to the success!"
Why South Indian cuisine?

Starting with a mobile sales vehicle, Mr. Tsuchiya opened a physical store in 2012. He is the KARNATAKA store manager, who is celebrating the 10th anniversary this year.

Manager Mr. Tsuchiya

Mr. Tsuchiya originally worked as a chef at a foundation for 14 years. It is said that trainees from overseas gathered there and made dishes from various countries. Mr. Tsuchiya also has the experience of traveling around the world, and during that time he also visited India.

However, due to several reasons, he lost his job one day. When he thought, "I want to do something with ethnic cuisine," the South Indian cuisine of dosa came to his mind.

* What is dosa:
Rice and urad beans are mashed and the fermented dough is stretched thin like a crepe and baked. It is a popular breakfast dish in South India.

KARNATAKA dosa

Mr. Tsuchiya:"I thought, 'If I'm going to do this, I have to make a dosa!' At the time, there was no one in Japan doing South Indian cuisine. I wanted to do something that no one else was doing. I wanted people to know that India is more than just naan."

In 2010, Tsuchiya visited the South Indian city of Bangalore to study South Indian cuisine. He visited the homes of trainees he had met while working for a foundation, learning home cooking and occasionally venturing into restaurants.

Mr. Tsuchiya:"I'd go to a restaurant out of the blue and help peel onions on my own. I even learned from watching them make dosa on the side."

Mr. Tsuchiya learning at a local restaurant

Mr. Tsuchiya trained at the local restaurant. However, he felt that "opening a restaurant right away would be a bad idea".

Mr. Tsuchiya: "Even if I opened a shop with dosa, I thought it would go out of business soon because it was not well known. So I decided to try it first with a mobile vending van. At the time, I did it in the stubborn style of not offering dosa until after explaining it to the customers (laughs)."

I want people to know about dosa and South Indian cuisine. Mr. Tsuchiya has continued to serve them with this in mind. He once traveled across India on a motorcycle to "find the gap between the wheat flour and rice cultures".

bike trip in india

What is South Indian curry?

South Indian cuisine used to be less well known, but 10 years after he first came KARNATAKA, he feels that it has finally become popular among people.

Mr. Tsuchiya: “North India eats flour, while South India eats rice. , I think South Indian curry will suit the tastes of Japanese people."

Dosas, the symbol of KARNATAKA, are handmade in-store.

Machine for making dosa purchased in India

Mr. Tsuchiya: "Rice, urad beans, fenugreek, and water are ground in a special machine. The urad beans ferment, which gives it a slightly sour taste. In it, potatoes seasoned with spices are added to make masala dosa."

Spiced potatoes in dosa

South Indian cuisine also has a variety of dishes that are different from North India, such as sambal, a-soup with a sour taste of beans and tomatoes.

Meaning of store name “KARNATAKA”

Bangalore, where Mr. Tsuchiya trained, is located in the south Indian state of Karnataka. The restaurant is named after that place, but there is another secret.

Mr. Tsuchiya: "I started out with a mobile vending van, so I took the word "ka-" from the word for a car. We don't really extend the end of the word 'karunataka,' but it's a word I coined on our own."

In KARNATAKA, they also use the second floor of our store to occasionally host Indian movie screenings and Indian music concerts.

Mr. Tsuchiya: "I am doing this not only to promote South Indian food first and foremost, but also to spread the word about Indian culture. I hope that through KARNATAKA, people can learn about the charms of India."

Authentic Indian taste!
South Indian curry from KARNATAKA

KARNATAKA does not use chemical seasonings and offers healthy curries that are gluten-free and vegetarian. (Fish and eggs are also available as options.)

Choose your favorite 3 curries from the board in the store.

For lunch, we recommend the A set, which includes rice, sambal (sour bean and vegetable curry), and chai. (Dinner time is closed as of January 2022)

Lunch set A ¥1,200 (tax included)

You can choose 3 types of curry from the signboard of the day. On this day, I chose sambal, mixed vegetable coconut curry, and mung bean curry.

All the curries are well spiced but not spicy, and have a gentle taste. They are easy to eat and go down smoothly in the mouth.

The classic bean curry goes perfectly with rice.

The coconut curry on the left spreads the gentle sweetness of pumpkin and coconut. It is a taste that seems to be popular especially with women and children.

The sambal with the sourness of the tomato on the right contains okra. You can mix it with rice or drink it alone. Sambal is a standard item like miso soup for Japanese people. The acidity that is different from others is a good accent.

Coconut chutney and tomato chutney. If you mix it with curry and eat it, you can enjoy a different taste.

It is also Indian style to provide refills.

Free refills of chai after meals. A mysterious glass that makes a rattling sound when tilted.

There is no other restaurant that recreates India with such authentic flavors and even the style of refills. Coupled with Tsuchiya's character who never stops talking about India, KARNATAKA is home to a core of fans who love India.

Additive-free homemade papado

Mr. Tsuchiya is now also focusing on making papado (bean crackers). He started making papado because he wanted to do something that no one else was doing, and because he could no longer operate at night due to the COVID-19 and because South Indian cuisine was gaining recognition in Japan.

Mr. Tsuchiya:“In India, papado is crushed and sprinkled on curry or eaten as a snack with alcohol. So I decided to make an original papado with less salt.”

3 types of papad. The one on the left is made in India, and the two on the right are homemade in KARNATAKA.

When you compare papads made in India and those made KARNATAKA, the difference is obvious. Homemade papad is rich in flavor and has the aroma of beans. Mr. Tsuchiya has also introduced a special machine for making papad. They were custom-made by a Chinese company based on a gyoza-making machine.

Mr. Tsuchiya:"Papado is made by blending beans, spices, salt, oil, and water. I have been making prototypes for 2 months, and now I'm making 10 types of papad. Not only do we sell our dosa at our own stores, but we are also gradually beginning to distribute it to restaurants and food stores. I will do our best to make as many people aware of our dosa as we did when we first introduced it to the market."

Papado lined up in a store

Finally, we asked how to enjoy South Indian curry.

Mr. Tsuchiya:"It's fine to eat bean curry and sambal separately, but the real pleasure of South Indian cuisine is to mix the ingredients and find your favorite flavor. Mix the curry and enjoy the change in taste."

"I want more people to know about South Indian cuisine and dosa," Mr. Tsuchiya has been doing since the mobile sales days. It seems that the challenges will continue.