For years, fast-casual Indian concepts have emerged across the country. Some have promised to be “the Chipotle of Indian food.” Others shy away from that comparison. But no chain has emerged as a national brand.
Madras Dosa Co., however, has promise.
Co-founded in 2021 in Boston by Koushik “Babu” Koganti, a veteran restaurant operator with about 30 full-service restaurants under the company Godavari, Madras Dosa focuses on the south Indian street food dish dosas, which are sort of like a burrito made with a crepe.
Dosas are made with rice and lentils, which are light and cooked in front of the guest, like a crepe. Guests can choose how they’d like to fill their dosas, with options like chicken, lamb or beef, as well as spicy potatoes, egg, aloo tikki or bhaji (spiced vegetable mash). There are also sweet options, like strawberry jam, Nutella or ice cream.
The basic dosa is about $11 with each topping added $1, and it comes with various dipping sauces, like chutney and sambar. There’s a green lentil version (pesarattu) and a thicker Uttapam Taco and filled dumplings called Paniyaram, as well as Indian-style sandwiches.
There are some familiar names that help draw people in, like a Cheesesteak Dosa in New York, for example. And beverages include a house-made Mango Lassi, or sodas like Limca (lemon lime) or Thums Up (the latter two brands owned by Coke and popular in India).
Koganti believes dosa could be “the next pizza” of the world.
“A lot of people tried to do a lot of Chipotle-kind of stuff with Indian food,” said Koganti. “But rather than that, what we thought was street food in India is very famous. Why don’t we have an elevated fast-casual for south Indian street food. That is the staple of all of this.”
Koganti grew up in India. He said he’s never met anyone who didn’t like dosas. “1.4 billion people love this one dish, which is unique,” he said. “You can have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner or late night, after you get drunk. You don’t find anything better than this, right?”
Godavari now has seven Madras Dosa units, in Boston, Princeton, N.J. and New York City. The most recent unit opened in the highly trafficked 30 Rockefeller Plaza, but all of Madras’ locations are high-volume hotspots, like Times Square, Boston’s Seaport and Harvard Square.
Units are about 1,500- to 1,600-square feet in size, designed mostly for to-go business, and average more than $2 million, he said. Most are company owned—the Princeton location is franchised, but the chain isn’t really selling franchises yet, though that may come down the road, he said.
This year, Koganti expects to open five or six more units, filling in New York and perhaps moving into Chicago before the year’s end. He also has sights set on airports.
“Right now there is no Indian food in airports in the U.S.,” he said. “I don’t know how people would feel about opening a curry on a plane and dipping in a naan. But this one, it’s easy to eat without making your hands dirty.”
The dosas come with various dipping sauces in bento box-like packaging. | Photo courtsey of Madras Dosa Co.
But with that growth in mind, Koganti is working on developing a commissary model. He hopes to open the first central kitchen this year.
Indian cuisine is challenging as a fast-casual concept because the food is complex, and Koganti doesn’t want to lose the authenticity that has carried the brand so far. But he believes a commissary system would simplify operations. The dosa dough, for example, could be pre-mixed and water added in units, for example.
Once those operational challenges are simplified, the brand will be ready for franchising, he said.
For now, the focus is on strengthening the brand as it grows in the Northeast, but Koganti hopes to see dosas, for example, on the Las Vegas Strip someday.
“We want to have dosas as powerful as we can,” he said.