New Strip spot serves more than 30 types of dosas — even a 4-foot one

Lovers of South Indian cuisine, rejoice! South Indian favorites such as dosas — along with dishes that characterize the more commonly found North Indian cuisine — are among the specialties at the recently opened Divine Dosa & Biryani on the Strip.

For the uninitiated, a dosa is a thick crepe-like bread, made with rice batter, that’s native to South India. Divine Dosas & Biryanis serves more than 30 types of dosas, such as plain, masala, butter, onion, butter-onion and paper dosas, which are particularly thin and crisp. They’re served in the traditional manner, with chutneys and sambhar, a spicy lentil curry.

Not so traditional are Divine Dosa & Biryani’s 4-foot dosas. Owner Kris Parikh, who also owns Mint Indian Bistro and the Rotifix Indian meal-delivery service, challenged his cooks to prepare the gargantuan dosas and devise a method of serving them intact. The restaurant also serves uttapams, which are similar to dosas, but thicker.

Parikh also took his chef on a tour of India for inspiration and information on authentic Indian cuisine. Among the kitchens where the chef trained was one that specialized in Indo-Chinese food, which Parikh said was popularized by Chinese immigrants in Kolkata.

“Simply put, Indo-Chinese is the style of Chinese cuisine you probably haven’t tried,” he said in a statement. Divine Dosa’s menu lists a number of the dishes, including several varieties of Schezwan Fried Rice.

And of course biryani, with five varieties of the rice dishes including mutton. And samosas, curries, kebabs, naan and more.

Continuing a Mint Indian Bistro tradition, Divine Dosa also has a lassi bar, serving cocktails inspired by the yogurt drinks, as well as other adult beverages. It also continues the Mint tradition of the Inferno Menu for hard-core lovers of spicy heat, and the Inferno Curry Challenge.

Divine Dosa & Biryani had a soft opening a few weeks ago; the grand opening Friday night is sold out, with 480 invitations claimed. The restaurant is at 3049 Las Vegas Blvd. South, in the Gold Key Shops next to Encore. Call 702-987-1500 or visit divinedosa.com.

Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at Hrinella@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474. Follow @HKRinella on Twitter.