Every Saturday, the aroma of ghee fills the Brooklyn street near the Fort Greene Farmers’ Market, as husband-wife Swetha and Venkat Raju flip crispy dosas and fluffy uttapams at their makeshift food stall, the Brooklyn Curry Project (BCP). “Nostalgia is at the core of what we do,” says the couple, who moved to the US from Bengaluru in 2016. “We missed the food and went searching for home-style dosas, but in vain,” says Venkat, a lawyer by profession. It was this longing for the flavours of home that motivated them to start BCP in 2021. The menu comprises dosas—masala, ghee and vegan cheese—idli, combo lunch platters, including pickled vegetables, khichdi, sprout salad, uttapams, medu vada and more.
There’s also homemade nut butter for sale, made with ashwagandha. Daily specials are announced on their Instagram page (@brooklyncurryproject) and everything on the menu is USD 10 or less. The stall opens around 10:30 AM and continues to do business until everything is sold out.
“The idea struck when my daughter, now seven years old, put up a lemonade stand. We realised that we could do something similar to popularise our cuisine too,” says Swetha, who works as a software engineer.
Dosas are, of course, the star attraction. The Rajus start their preparations for Saturday’s products on Thursday night. The batter is made at home, and the fermentation process alone takes up to 10 hours. “These dosas are then generously filled with flavourful mashed potatoes. Some customers go in for a drizzle of ghee on it,” Swetha says. Adapting to local tastes while preserving authenticity can be challenging, but the couple has found the perfect balance. “Besides using organic oil and locally sourced vegetables, we use family heirloom recipes and source spices directly from India,” says Venkat.
BCP is more than just a food stall; it’s a labour of love, a connection to roots and a culinary journey that’s bound to leave an impression on anyone who visits. To cater to a diverse clientele, the couple adds a dash of creativity to their South Indian staple. They recently hosted a brunch with the unlikely combination of dosas and mimosas. “We also host monthly events featuring family-style meals,” says Swetha. One such is their recent all-vegan four-course tasting menu with typically South Indian dishes like pathrode, akki rotti, ennagyi and donne biriyani. They’ve also organised special events like a three-day pop-up at the Rockaway Film Festival’s open-air theatre. “We are excited for our next ‘South Indian Banana Meal’, featuring kadabu and other delicacies, to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi on September 19,” Venkat says, adding, “These innovative twists and cultural celebrations is what keeps patrons returning for more.”
Receiving tremendous support from the local community, BCP has so far served more than 10,000 customers. “The best compliment is when people tell us that the food reminds them of home,” says the couple, who now want to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant. “Our goal is to introduce South Indian culture and cuisine to Brooklyn’s diverse community. We want to show that Indian cuisine is more than just tikka masala,” they quip.