Semma, the ‘unapologetically Indian’ restaurant in Manhattan’s West Village, is currently the only Indian restaurant in New York City, and one of only a handful in the US, to hold a Michelin star. It could be seen as a great validation, if that’s a criterion by which you judge, for chef Vijay Kumar (pictured) and the team at Unapologetic Foods (in which he’s a partner) who noticed a gap in the market in one of the world’s great food cities for authentic Southern Indian cuisine.
At Semma, opened in 2021, Kumar, originally from the southernmost Indian state of Tamil Nadu, cooks the food of his childhood—fiery Southern Indian home cooking that hasn’t been toned down or tampered with for the American palate. The kind of dishes he used to help his mother and grandmother prepare, often with foraged ingredients, including snails.
It’s with said gastropod that we kick off one of two recipes that Kumar has very kindly shared with Fine Dining Lovers. For the dish nathai pirattal, snails are cooked with ginger and tamarind in a spicy gravy and served alongside mini kal dosas, while a fall vegetable poriyal makes use of the season’s best produce.
Click through to get the recipes below. Both work as satisfying appetizers, but could also be bulked up to mains. Either way, you’re in for a treat: an authentic taste of Semma and its Michelin-starred Southern Indian cuisine.
