Mayura Indian Restaurant - South Indian Home Cooking in Culver City

Tucked away in a mini-mall on the corner of busy Venice Boulevard and Motor Avenue not far from Sony Studios, Mayura Indian Restaurant (10406 Venice Boulevard, Culver City, CA 90232, 310/559-9644) is a treasure. The restaurant is the love child of Padmini Aniyan and Aniyan Puthampurayil. They moved from Kerala, a state on the Malabar Coast on the southern tip of India to Culver City and created Mayura to share their culinary heritage.

A friend had returned from working in Atlanta for half a year. His text said, "I'm back. Let's eat. Someplace new. And good." Most of the places that fit that description were in DTLA or farther east. I live in the Palisades. Dean lives in Larchmont. So we wanted someplace in between.

I skimmed through my restaurant lists. Nothing new and interesting. I looked online. Nothing looked good. I turned to Jonathan Gold's 101 Best Restaurants (2017). I scrolled and read and scrolled and read through a list of great restaurants. Many were dinner-only. Most were east of where we wanted to meet.

When I reached number 98, I knew I had found what we were looking for. Mayura. Not that it was new. It wasn't. Well-established in the community, the restaurant has been a favorite for more than a decade. I emailed Dean Jonathan Gold's review. He read it and texted, "Ooo sounds great."

After a trip to Malaysia and Singapore, I returned hungry for authentic South Indian food. When I was in Penang, Malaysia we ate many meals every day. We were on a culinary food tour created by the incomparable Muffie Fulton. Her Bold Food offers tours to foodie-fun places around the world (Mexico, Japan, South America, Texas). My favorite meals in Penang were in the South India district at open-air cafes and vegetarian restaurants in the heart of the commercial district.

What I loved was the freshness of the ingredients, the excitement of the spices and the surprise of textures. That's what I missed. That's what I hoped to find at Mayura.

The interior of the restaurant feels like home. Cozy, cluttered, filled with plants and mementos of lives filled with family and smiling customers, the dining room has a row of plush banquettes on the left side, tables running down the middle of the room and a buffet that stretches half the length of the restaurant.

Elegant in a turquoise sari, Padmini Aniyam, the gracious hostess and co-owner, greeted me and everyone who entered with a friendly smile. Aniyan Puthanpurayil waited at the side, directing a waiter to meet me at the table I wanted.

The menu covered the range of classic South Indian dishes. The lists of dishes filled five folio-paged sheets and included paper thin dosas, pancake round uthappams, potato filled samosas, crispy pakoras, donut shaped vadas, dark red tandoori, appetizers, soups, salads, breads, side orders and desserts. There were dishes with meat, chicken and fish. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten free dishes. With so many choices and some dishes I did not know, I was happy to have a friendly waiter willing to help us decide what to order.

I was definitely interested in having a dosa, which I had loved when we ate at Woodlands Vegetarian Restaurant in Penang. I always love biriyani with shrimp or chicken. And the chicken curry looked good. Dean was running late so while I waited I ordered the Paper Dosa, the simplest of the half dozen dosas.

Both Dean and the dosa arrived at the same time. If you haven't enjoyed a dosa before, you are in for a visual treat. A batter is poured onto a hot griddle and cooked quickly. While the flat crisp is still hot, the sheet is rolled up. What arrives at the table is several feet long with a diameter of half a foot. Served with two dipping sauces, we dug in.

Eating dosa is a rare experience. Pieces of the crisp sheets were strong enough to scoop up some chutney. But they evaporate when they hit your mouth. Padmini stopped by to see how we were doing. Which was good. She told us we had to eat the dosa while it was still hot from the kitchen. We were talking too much and not eating fast enough. Within minutes, the crispness disappears so we must eat now and talk later. Good advice. We ate the dosa until there were only a few shards on the plate

She asked why I was taking photographs of the restaurant and the dosa. I explained that I am a food and travel writer. I could say no more. Before we could order from the menu, she walked to the buffet with a waiter and returned with plates of tastings.

She insisted we try the fish curry to be eaten with the light-as-air, gluten free vada. She arrived with a plate of chicken leg tandoori, a platter of chicken curry and fluffy white basmati rice, small metal bowls with half a dozen chutneys and a mixed vegetable pakora.

Each dish was delicious. The tandoori was tender. The spices gave the moist meat an earthly edge. The pakora was light and crispy in every bite. I would never think of ordering fish curry but after a bite of the tender fish wrapped in a piece of the puffy vada, dipped in the light colored curry, I wanted more.

One of my favorites dishes was very unexpected. Usually I am not a fan of okra. Too slimy. Not enough flavor. Not so at Mayura. The okra was simmered with onions and tomatoes. The slices of okra were softened and enveloped with spices. Heat-spicy and tender with a bit of crunch. Heaven. I loved the Bhindi Masala. Padmini asked if it was too hot for my liking. Not at all. We ate dish so quickly, I didn't take a photograph.

On this first visit, we ate from the all-you-can-eat buffet. We never ordered from the menu. All the dishes we ate tasted as if they were freshly prepared, cooked just a moment before they were served to us. That is amazing.

Before we left, we had to take a group photo to commemorate our first visit.

Given the great number of dishes on the menu, I can hardly wait to go back. In fact, we are going back to today!

The Best Tasting Dessert You Will Ever Make - Challah Bread Pudding Cake

I love challah, the egg bread traditionally eaten on Fridays for Jewish shabbat. But our family never finishes the entire loaf. The bread is so good, I looked for other ways to enjoy it.

Challah makes great French toast. A slice of dense challah absorbs the frothy egg and milk and still retains it shape. Cooked on a hot carbon steel pan with a pat of butter, the outside gets crusty as the inside stays custard-moist. A drizzle of warm maple syrup on top and we have a delicious breakfast.

So leftover challah is not a bad thing. It's a good thing.

The French toast got me thinking. How else could I use challah? I always loved bread pudding. So why not challah bread pudding?

I could have made the dessert in small cups, but I like to make bread pudding as a cake. The result was spectacular. The easy-to-make dessert is perfect for dinner parties, Oscar watching parties, Super Bowl Sunday, birthdays and anniversaries.

Challah Bread Pudding Cake

At our neighborhood bakery, a full-sized challah loaf weighs 24 ounces. The recipe uses half a loaf to make enough for 8-10 people. If you need to make more for a party, the recipe can be easily doubled or tripled. Whatever you need.

The challah should be day old or even a week old. If you aren't going to make the bread pudding cake for awhile, place the challah into an airtight bag and freeze for up to two months. When defrosting, brush off any ice crystals that may have accumulated on the bread.

For heavy cream, I prefer to use Trader Joe's because there are no additives. The heavy cream I see in markets, even ones that are high-end, has chemicals added.

Buy good quality chocolate without flavorings or nuts. Trader Joe's sells one pound bars of Belgium chocolate that are good. After opening the package, keep unrefrigerated in a sealed bag for freshness. If the chocolate turns chalky, discard.

Use one 9" round baking pan at least 3" tall or two 6" baking pans at least 3" tall. Do not use a spring form pan because it will leak during baking.

The baking pan needs to be at least 1" taller than the amount of batter because the cake will rise as it cooks.

Freezing the buttered, parchment lined baking pan for 15 minutes helps when you remove the cake from the pan after baking. 

So the challah pieces do not get mushy, as quickly as the toasted bread is coated with the custard, pour the mixture into the baking pan. 

Serves 8-10

Time to prepare 30 minutes

Time to bake 60-75 minutes depending on the size of the baking pan and the oven

Ingredients

12 ounces day old challah, torn apart into 2" pieces

1 tablespoon sweet (unsalted) butter

4 eggs

1 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar

1 pint heavy cream, preferably Trader Joe's 

1 cup dark chocolate at least 60% cacao, finely chopped

½ cup roasted almonds, roughly chopped (optional)

¼ cup powdered sugar 

½ cup shaved dark chocolate 

Directions

Preheat oven 350 F.

Place torn up challah pieces on a baking tray. Place in oven for 15 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.

Place the baking pan on a piece of parchment paper, trace the shape of the pan with a pencil and use scissors to cut the parchment paper to size.

Melt butter. Using a pastry brush, paint the bottom and sides of the pan(s) with the melted butter. 

Place parchment paper round(s) onto the bottom of the baking pan. Paint the top of the parchment paper. Place baking pan with parchment paper in freezer for at least 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, with a whisk mix together eggs and sugar. Add heavy cream. Mix well. Add chopped chocolate. Add chopped almonds (optional). Mix together and add toasted challah pieces. Toss well to coat.

Pour into the buttered pan with parchment paper and place in to 350 F pre-heated oven.

Bake 45-60 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Remove and place on a wire rack to cool.

As the cake cools, it will shrink away from the sides of the pan. 

Place your hand over the top, flip over and remove the cake. Flip over so the parchment paper is on the bottom and place on the wire rack.

Once cooled, the cake can be placed in plastic wrap and an airtight plastic bag and refrigerated or frozen. Refrigerated the cake will keep fresh for 2 days. The cake can be kept frozen for up to a month.

Before serving, preheat oven 250 F, remove the parchment paper, place on a baking sheet, place into oven for fifteen minutes. Remove and dust with shaved chocolate and powdered sugar.

Serve warm with cream or ice cream.

Korean Chili Sauce Heats up Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day used to make me nervous. That discomfort began in middle school when we were given sugar hearts with little sayings that we were supposed to give to one another. "Love You." "Cutie." "My Valentine." Fearful of rejection, I didn't give out many hearts. In time, as my confidence grew, candy hearts gave way to fresh flowers and picking romantic restaurants. But I was still nervous.

I embraced Valentine's Day when I learned to cook. By preparing a meal, I could create artful dishes with exciting flavors. By preparing a meal, I could show I cared.

A special meal for a special evening

Google Valentine's Day dishes and the many recipes that pop up for this evening of romance emphasize richly extravagant ingredients or over-the-top sweetness. Kobe steaks with buttery sauces. Truffle rich lobster mac n'cheese. Double-dipped chocolate strawberries. Flourless chocolate cakes dusted with candied pistachios.

All those are great. But heavy. I prefer healthy and full of flavor.

That's where the Korean spicy condiment gochujang comes in. A little bit of spice goes a long way to brighten flavors and stimulate conversation. All chefs know that a few grains of cayenne adds sparkle to any dish. Gochujang does that and more. If pepper sauce can be said to have umami, gochujang has plenty of umami.

A mix of peppers, rice and sugar, gochujang gets its unique flavor from a process of fermentation. I always enjoyed gochujang at Korean restaurants. A trip to a Korean market and I saw dozens of brands and varieties of gochujang, but a quick reading of the ingredient label turned me off. Too many chemical preservatives, additives and chemical compounds.

When I was given a bottle of Chung Jung One Gochujang Sauce, I read the ingredient list. There were no chemicals, no wheat and no animal products only the essentials of red pepper powder, rice, cane sugar, water and rice wine vinegar. A little heat and a little sweet. Perfect.

With a little experimentation, I discovered two very good uses of gochujang. I used gochujang instead of Tabasco to make a Bloody Mary, adding a level of deep, richly flavored umami to that classic cocktail. And, I used gochujang to spice up a comfort food treasure, chicken and dumplings.

Gochujang Bloody Mary

Use a good quality vodka, although its qualities will be masked by the flavors of the seasoned tomato juice. While there are many brands available, I would recommend Chung Jung One's Gochujang Sauce because the ingredients do not include chemicals or preservatives. 

Serves 2 (of course!)

Time to prepare: 5 minutes

Ingredients

4 ounces unflavored vodka, preferably Tito's, Prairie or your favorite premium vodka
8 ounces tomato juice, preferably organic and without preservatives or additives
1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon gochujang, depending on preference
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 pinches freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 lime wedges to garnish
2 celery sprigs with leaves to garnish

Directions

Fill a large shaker with all liquid ingredients. Shake well to mix.

Fill two large glasses with ice. Pour all the mix into the glasses. Place a celery sprig into the glass and a lime wedge on the edge of each glass.

Gochujang Spicy Chicken and Dumplings

Use seasonal vegetables you enjoy. I used string beans, carrots, onions, broccoli leaves and shiitake mushrooms, but shelled English peas, cauliflower florets, celery and turnips would also be good. I would recommend Chung Jung One's gochujang but if that is not available, use another. 

Use homemade chicken stock. Store bought stock has a higher salt content.

Serves 2

Time to prep: 15 minutes

Time to cook: 35 minutes

Total time: 50 minutes

Ingredients for the dumplings

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons gochujang
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup sweet butter, chilled, cut into dime sized pieces
1 cup half and half

  Ingredients

1 cup cooked chicken, cut into dime sized pieces
1/4 cup string beans, washed, ends trimmed off, cut into 1" long pieces
1/4 cup carrots, washed, peeled, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/4 cup yellow onion, washed, peeled, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/4 cup broccoli leaves julienned or broccoli florets, cut into 1/2" pieces
2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions for the dumplings

In a small mixing bowl, mix together all the ingredients. Stir well to break up the butter. Set aside.

Directions

Heat a 6 quart sauce pan on a medium flame. Add olive oil and all the chicken and vegetables. Stir well and sauté 5 minutes.

Add chicken stock. Bring to a simmer.

Make dumplings using two soup spoons and place gently into the simmering stock. After all the dumplings are in the sauce pan, cover and continue cooking 30 minutes.

If the stock boils over, lower the temperature.

Serve hot.