Chutnify – A Dosa South Indian Street Food in Berlin

According to the Chutnify website ‘the owner, Aparna Aurora inspired by her Indian heritage and travels decided to open her South Indian street food dream in Prenzlauer Berg.’  And I for one am pleased as punch that she chose Berlin for her restaurant.

It’s no great secret and something that I’ve mentioned before that Berlin is sadly lacking in the quality Indian food department.  You can imagine my excitement then when I heard good things about Chutnify shortly after it opened in October last year.  Unfortunately for me though, I had just moved out of my apartment in the area and it has taken me far longer than it should have to actually visit.

My first impressions of Chutnify were good: the welcome was warm and friendly; the décor colourful and simple but at the same time clearly carefully put together, an obvious advantage of the owner’s background in fashion.

I’ve been dreaming about the Dosas here and having studied the menu online had carefully selected the Tandoori Chicken for my debut meal, so I was a little disappointed to discover that the lunch menu is a slightly abridged version of the full menu displayed on the website and my dream dish wasn’t available.

Goan Pork Dosa

I plumped instead for the Goan Pork Dosa and all thoughts of disappointment were banished when it arrived.  The Dosa, a crepe made with rice batter and lentils and a staple of South Indian cuisine, was light and fluffy, the pork tender and bursting with flavour.  The accompaniments offered a variety of complementary flavours, my favourite of which was the spicy Tamarind chutney, which brought a touch of chilli heat to the meal.

Having cleaned my plate I only wished I had the appetite left to try the Thali but that will have to wait for another time.  I’ll also have to go one evening so I can try the Masala Wurst, a Chutnify take on the Currywurst.

Tandoori Chicken Dosa

Keema Mattar Rice Bowl

I’ve already been back with Steffi when we shared the Tandoori Chicken Dosa and the Keema Mattar Rice Bowl and both lived up to the standard set by the Goan Pork Dosa.

Many return to Chutnify visits are still needed.

The owner’s eye for design and attention to detail was again to the fore when my bill arrived in a plastic auto rickshaw taxi.

During my lunchtime visit a touching scene played out in front of me involving a simple and heart-warming act of kindness on the part of the owner so I can only hope that in this case good things happen to good people and Chutnify is a roaring success.  Given that it serves flavoursome and well-spiced Indian food, something that Berlin has been crying out for it is hard to doubt that that will be the case.