Paper Dosa is one of my favorite restaurants in Santa Fe. I had never been exposed to Southern Indian food before I went to Paper Dosa. Little did I know what I was missing.
We always get the tasing menu($35) with the wine pairing (an extra $15). I think this is a great bargain for the money. There are four courses, for each course you have a choice of four options. Many of the options are vegetarian or vegan and many are also gluten free. For the wine pairing, you get two choices a white or a red.
To start, I had the peach and avocado salad. I wanted to try the peach cilantro dressing which was so delicious. I also thought the combination of peaches and avocado was inventive. This dish was gluten free and vegan. It tasted great! I was very impressed with the flavor combination. My better half had the curry leaf corn soup which tasted like fresh corn. The soup was made with corn and coconut milk, Thai chiles, leeks, and some delicious spices. The soup was also gluten free and vegan. I got a taste! I am always amazed at how good vegan and gluten free foods taste. Sorry, I used to have this preconceived notion that gluten free and vegan foods would have no taste or be very bland. Not so. The wine pairing was a white Cline Viognier. It was a wonderful beginning. The pairing was delicious and each complimented the other.
Next I had the farmers market uttapam. An uttapam is like a thick pancake. This particular uttapam had red pepper, corn, and onion. It was a taste of summer in a mouthful. The uttapam came with a sambar (a lentil based vegetable soup) and tomato and mint chutneys. It is gluten free and if you ask it can be made without ghee to be vegan as well. My partner had the spicy basil dosa (like a crepe). A dosa is gluten free and like the uttapam can be made as a vegan dish. Next time I’ll know this. We both had the Chateau Bela Riesling. This was another wonderful pairing that complimented the food. The Riesling was refreshing.
For our last course of the tasting menu, I had the Prawn Moilee which was flash fried prawns cooked in a yellow curry with fenugreek, ginger, and garlic. The prawns were very balanced. I really enjoyed the yellow curry. My better half had the summer vegetable curry, which had yellow summer squash, potato, cauliflower, carrots, and green beans in a coconut-tomato curry. This dish was gluten free and vegan. A word of warning if you ask to have your meal hotter, remember that Indian spices can be very hot. These spices are very flavorful but they can also be very hot.
We had an Hungarian white to compliment the meal. Paper Dosa was out of the listed Pierre Chainier 1749 Sauvignon Blanc on the tasting menu.
To cool down our taste buds, we had dessert which were paletas. Paletas are Mexican popsicles. Paletas are not as sweet as American popsicles but they do have an intense flavor. Paper Dosa has teamed up with Paletaria Oasis to have these tasty treats. We got a cardomon and avocado, and a palm sugar paleta. This was an ideal dessert. It was light and creamy. We liked it so much that we decided to find the local store that makes these delicious popsicles. So here we go Paleteria Oasis. By the way, these popsicles are also gluten free.
Paper Dosa is open Tuesday through Sunday from 5pm to 9pm. They do not take reservations for parties smaller than 6 people. But if you come early, you can get a table without a wait. If you get caught in a line, believe me it is worth the wait. There was a set of chairs for people to wait. Also the website has an informative YouTube Video about the history of Paper Dosa and how to make Amma’s Rasam Soup at the bottom of the page.This is a very cool place!
Santa Fe City Different Foodie 