When you don’t feel the need to assert Maratha pride in your culinary routine, the ubiquitous idli and dosa are probably your favourite cheap eats. But everyone from the handcart owner and the Udipi guys to the tony restaurateur, knows that the quality of their produce boils down to the batter. Your local grocery store probably stocks the stuff, but for Time Out, two places occupy the top rung of the idli stand. Both Gomathy Moorthy Enterprises and Jain & Iyer are based in Matunga (E) and rely on traditional recipes – and a clientele that will not budge.

Gomathy Moorthy Enterprises
In 1983, the late Gomathy Moorthy started making packets of idlis for her husband’s Gujarati friends. As word spread and business grew, Gomathy Moorthy Enterprises was established in their building’s garage. Today, Moorthy’s legacy is being carried forward by son Venkatesh Krishnamoorthy and his wife Srividya Venkatesh, who now own a spot at King’s Circle.

“We still use the recipes and the measures handed down by my mother-in-law, and, we do not use any preservatives” said Venkatesh – and that, she believes, is the reason customers keep coming back.

Their fresh idli-dosa batter (R50 for half a kilo) is most popular with customers, who trek to Matunga from Churchgate, Juhu and Andheri. The dry variant is bundled into the suitcases of visiting NRIs. At the shop, four people continuously work the grinders, making batter for adai dosa, comprising five types of dal and the nutritious ragi (nachni) dosa (each at R35 for a quarter kilo). Customers also keep coming back for their mulagapudi chutney (R25 for 100gm) and sambar and rasam powders (each at R35 for 100gm). The DIY coconut chutney (R20 per packet) is also available; coconut pieces, chana dal and green chilli that have to be blitzed in a mixer with salt and water.

The couple dabbled in the catering business briefly, but discontinued to focus fully on their more profitable shop. Now they supply to small-time caterers and some restaurants, but home cooks form the bulk of their customer base.

Jain & Iyer
The partnership between the neighbours Iyer and Jain, initiated as a home business in 1996, combines the best of both cultures. Ganga Iyer and her aunt Kamala Ramaswamy bring the traditional, handeddown recipes for the batter to the table, while siblings Sumita and Sunil Jain, their business acumen; they made profits from the debut year itself. In Matunga since 2001, the Jains “went door to door, distributing flyers”. But the business relies on word of mouth.

The shop is especially known for its idli batter (R50 for half a kilo), which yields melt-in-the-mouth fluffy idlis. Their dosa batter (R50 for half a kilo) also flies off the shelves. All products – including the batter for medu vada (R80 for 800gm), sambar and rasam powders (R40 for 100gm, each) and mulagapudi chutney (R30 for 100gm) – are fresh and preservative-free.

Jain & Iyer also cater to the large Gujarati population in the area with the dhokla mix and handva flour. Catching on the demand for alternative grains, instant multigrain and ragi dosa mixes are slated for launch later this month.

The Verdict
While most of the products are on par, we found that the dosa batter of Gomathy Moorthy spreads better, and the dosas are tastier. But there is no competition to the softness of the idlis made using the Jain & Iyer batter – not even Café Madras or Idli House, and we say this with unchallenged confidence.

Gomathy Moorthy Plot No 541, Shop No 3, Noor Mahal Building, Dr Ambedkar Road, Matunga (E) (). Daily 9.00am-9.00pm.
Jain & Iyer 6/53 Shankar Nivas, Bhaudaji Cross Road No 9, Matunga (E) ().