[Sunnyvale] Less Spicy South Indian recs?

Hi all,

First time poster here although I used to be a regular on Chowhound years ago. I never knew about this board until yesterday but really glad to have found it!

I’m a big fan of South Indian food and two of the places I enjoy in Sunnyvale are Anjappar Chettinad and Aachi Appakadai. While I enjoy the flavors of the curries, dosas, chicken lollipop, sambar, etc. the spice level is really tough for me to handle (I can handle “medium” spicy) and since I assume most of the stuff is not made to order they can’t customize the spice levels.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a south indian place that does milder spicy levels in Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, area?

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Welcome! Glad to have you around- I am a big fan of South Indian around Sunnyvale as well and I am also a medium spicy sort of person .

Have you tried Annachikadai in Mountain View, just north of Grant? The flavors are a bit more laid back, I feel, compared to Aachi Appakadai.

The pesarattu from Amaravathi in Sunnyvale isn’t particularly spicy.

I haven’t typed it up but I don’t recall the thali at Ugadi as particularly spicy. Though it tasted ok.

Which other ones have you tried besides Aachi and Anjappar? Those two I think have bolder flavors, in general.

Thanks sck. Really appreciate the reviews from you for South Bay area restaurants!

As far as South Indian places, two those I mentioned are really the only ones I’ve tried. AnnachiKadai has been on my list of places to try but reviews were pretty mixed so I haven’t prioritized it. Have you been to Arusuvai in Santa Clara? I’ve been planning to try that one as well but it’s a little out of my way so haven’t yet gone. Have not heard of Amaravathi but as I really enjoy eating meat I typically don’t go to vegetarian only restaurants.

I didn’t particularly care for my meal at Arusuvai, but I ate only two dishes there and didn’t try the dosas or the uttapams. With that said, I thought the spicing was relatively pronounced in my dishes.

@bbulkow also frequent Aachi and the likes, so perhaps he may have some thoughts on this topic.

I’d avoid Abhiruchi.

Some other data points for you:

Good question, all I will say is stay away from Himalayan Kitchen (mtv at 85 & ECR). I am a fan of that place, love them really, but they are constitutionally incapable of making mild food. I mean, I had dinner there one night, the “cut mirchi” was the mildest dish.

I will remember that you have a list and see what I can do.

What about ordering dishes that are not typically very chilified? Vada, idli, types of dosa with mild filling (spring dosa (stuffed with “Chinese” type veggies that would go in an eggroll), paneer dosa, paalak dosa, plain crispy ghee dosa, uttapam, etc. To me the accompanying chutneys on these things don’t tend to very spicy. This is the sort of thing that my kids eat when we do to dosa specialty restaurants. There are also the delicious simple rice dishes like curd rice, lemon rice, or tamarind rice that you can ask to be made mild. And upma, semolina porridge. You could also try South Indian style dahi vada. To me, the sambhar, chutneys, and rasam tend to be mild.

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I am not sure. I think its worth asking the server. Things that @luckyfatima mentioned are for sure made to order and can have not-very-spicy fillings.

I don’t see a lot of curry dishes in South Indian dishes, and I think those curry dishes from the North has a higher likelihood of being cooked en masse.

But in general, I am pretty confused about spice levels in Indian restaurants around the South Bay. In general one would think the Northern food is less spicy than the ones from the South. But here its all over the place. Even within one dish in one restaurant, it can be all over the place. For example when I used to live right next to Shalimar, and I believe they are Northern and Pakistani, I had their biryani dish many times. It ranged from barely hot to 'barely could eat 30% without drinking so much water that my stomach filled up by the water and tongue was still burning). I think Bay Area doesn’t have the weather to support the real South Indian spicy (hot and humid), and perhaps kitchen are more willing to accommodate.

At least at Anjappar and Appakadai I’ve asked before about making the curry dishes less spicy and they told me that they aren’t made to order so the spice level can’t be customized. I have tried a number of the “non-spicy” curries from both places but the flavors tend to be muted and not nearly as good as the spicy curries.

Ordering some non spicy dishes as @luckyfatima mentioned is something I’ve tried as well but most of those dishes tend to be more like side dishes. Do you have any recommendations for main dishes (with meat)?

Generally speaking I’ve found that northern indian food around here (Punjabi/Pakistani) is much less spicy when it comes to curries and tandoori meats as compared to south indian. Not sure if that’s also the same in India or not.

Those recs are absolutely not side dishes, but I see clearly now why all of the curries are so spicy. Anjappar and Appakadai, going by the names, are Chettinad restaurants, and Chettinad cuisine is very spicy, especially in restaurants. Note that Chettinad is in Tamil Nadu, and you can find other Tamil cuisines that are notoriously mild.

You really can’t make generalizations like South Indian food is spicier or less spicy than North Indian-Pakistani food because it is literally so regional and spice levels vary not only from community to community but even from family to family. I’d say you’d have better luck getting mild curries is an American style creamy Punjabi-Mughlai type restaurant, though.

I thought of another fave that is usually on the menu in those type of restaurants, though you may consider it a snack (though it’s a filling gut bomb): get kottu paratha at those places, it’s a chopped up paratha stir fried with egg, chicken (or vegetarian if you want) and spices but can be made not-hot. Curries, I really wouldn’t know what to tell you, though.

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Those recs are absolutely not side dishes, but I see clearly now why all of the curries are so spicy. Anjappar and Appakadai, going by the names, are Chettinad restaurants, and Chettinad cuisine is very spicy, especially in restaurants. Note that Chettinad is in Tamil Nadu, and you can find other Tamil cuisines that are notoriously mild.

Right, they are both Chettinad restaurants and my (limited) understanding of Chettinad cuisine is that it’s known for being very spicy. I guess I would sort of compare it to Chinese Sichaun cuisine in that regard, although in Sichaun restaurants there are plenty of dishes that are non spicy and still very good.

I thought of another fave that is usually on the menu in those type of restaurants, though you may consider it a snack (though it’s a filling gut bomb): get kottu paratha at those places, it’s a chopped up paratha stir fried with egg, chicken (or vegetarian if you want) and spices but can be made not-hot. Curries, I really wouldn’t know what to tell you, though.

I’ve tried the kottu paratha at Appakadai before and while it wasn’t bad, it didn’t wow me enough to order it again. Apparently my taste tends to trend towards the spicy stuff and I’ll probably have to just get used to it :sunglasses:

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Madras Cafe on El Camino Real in Sunnyvale is a good option for milder south indian fare. 100% vegetarian, though.

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