Life is unfair. While I ate alone at Kalpasi Indian Cuisine in Herndon’s Worldgate Center, tended to by a server who was the only other soul in the dining room, I watched bodies stream in and out of the Subway next door. But if those folks had really wanted to “eat fresh,” they would have been with me, trying just-out-of-the-pan (or more specifically, out of the appachatti) in which they were cooked.
I’ve spent my adult life munching my way through South Indian carbs from dosas to idlis. But the appam was a new one for me. At Kalpasi, the giant, crepe-like rounds arrive at the table looking like elephant ears. OK, not quite that big, but I was still surprised at what I expected to be a light lunch.
Made of fermented rice flour, the lacy appams transform in flavor a little bit with every bite. First they’re tart, then sweet, then pleasantly starchy. Some tears of the pancake are crispy, others are doughy and sticky.
The basic version is served with coconut milk for dipping, but I went with one of the six curries also on offer with the plate of two appams. I accompanied mine with spicy lentil-based vada curry, but for those going meatless, there is also a mixed vegetable curry, an egg version and a pairing of sambar and chutney.
I found myself getting full quickly, but the sheer variety of flavors in the single dish kept me eating until every shred of appam was gone. No one ever said that about a Subway melt. // 13055 Worldgate Dr., Herndon
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