South India in small, savory bites

IMAGINE an Indian-style bento: A meal of many little dishes arrives on a highly polished steel tray the size of a door mat with a golden masala dosa (crepe) balanced across the top. Shatteringly crisp and hot from the grill, the furled crepe enfolds an inch-thick layer of buttery masala-laced potato redolent of cumin.

The tray’s shallow indentations hold three chutneys, one giving off the nutty perfume of freshly grated coconut; another offering a sinus-clearing whiff of herbs and chiles. There’s also a bowl of idli sambar, south India’s ubiquitous snack or breakfast, here, two puffy dumplings of rice and lentil flours floating in a brothy lentil dal. A thicker peppercorn-studded porridge dish, pongal, comes in a diminutive cup; it makes a great foil for the seriously tart lemon pickle on the table. There’s even a dessert, maybe sticky orange semolina pudding, or fresh coconut or tapioca balls in a creamy sauce.

This is a tiffin, actually a mini tiffin, served at Tirupathi Bhimas, a 9-month-old south Indian vegetarian restaurant in Little India in Artesia.

In the days of the British Raj, a tiffin implied a luxurious buffet or tea-time spread of curries, breads and savory tidbits, but in time the word was also used for hot, homemade meals packed in stacked and latched steel bowls. Transported by tiffin wallahs, who still bicycle around every Indian metropolis balancing precariously high loads of the lunches, tiffins are even today delivered to schoolchildren or offices. Although fast-food options are prevalent in India’s booming cities, for Indians in Southern California, nothing quells the longings for a taste of home like a well-made tiffin, and the one at Tirupathi Bhimas, a fine example, is a magnet for expats.

Another of the restaurant’s draws is its Andhra Pradesh-style thali, or combination plate (the south Indian province is notorious for its intensely hot, multi-dimensional seasonings). It’s the ultimate combo plate with nine trial-size dishes. In addition to the usual rasam (tomato-lentil) soup and spicy lentil sambhar, come vegetable dishes such as tiny carrot cubes sprinkled with freshly grated coconut; kootu, a dal-based stew laced with asefodita, chiles and coconut; and richer vegetable stews (kurma and avail) along with an intricate curry, chutneys and a sweet. The smaller dishes surround rice, roti bread and crisp papad (lentil wafer).

Traditionally, a thali is eaten with the fingers. The rice is rolled into balls and dipped into various dishes -- an indescribably sensual experience but one that requires considerable practice. Don’t worry, though, there’s cutlery on every table.

The tiffin or the thali definitely encourages leisurely eating. One needs time to mix and match the chutney flavors, to experiment with the ideal amounts of pungent pickles and to contemplate their effect on the whole taste experience.

Tirupathi’s large, dreamy room encourages such musings. It sits atop Little India Village, Pioneer Boulevard’s newest mall. Luminous blue walls reflect light from lightly tinted windows all around the room, giving the airy space the feel of a transparent capsule floating above the neighborhood’s array of sari shops, spice markets and eating spots.

The restaurant, the project of a former Silicon Valley engineer, is the second in a three-branch chain whose other locations are in Northern California. Order a la carte and the food is just as much fun, especially sharing dishes family-style. Each dish has its own accompaniments.

The most dramatic is channa batura. Fifteen minutes after you order, a waiter emerges with a still-sizzling, basketball-size puffy hollow bread. Everyone rips off a small piece, using it to pick up some of the accompanying garbanzo bean stew, and knock it back in one mouthful, and repeating as desired. Dahi vada, savory perfectly fried lentil doughnuts, are set in a bowl of thin yogurt, yet another wonderful foil for chutneys and pickles.

Other must-tries include the Bhimas special uthappam. The delicate rice-lentil pancake gets its character from buttery roasted almonds, pistachios and cashews embedded in its surface. Bhimas special dosa is a nearly bed-sheet length of crepe, thinly spread with spiced, tamarind-infused potato-onion filling and offered with three accompanying dipping sauces. With it try bagala bath, a creamy yogurt-rice compote, and punctuated with pickles and a spritz of the table condiment -- gun powder, a fine, chile-laced garbanzo flour the color of pale peaches.

Unless you’re an experienced eater of south Indian food, be prepared to ask questions: The menu merely lists dishes and offers no explanations or descriptions, as if pessarattu upma will be as familiar to all comers as pizza (it’s a type of dosa filled with cream of wheat). But you may get lucky, as our group did one lunchtime when our waiter generously brought us tiny samples of unfamiliar dishes to try. Next visit we’ll know exactly what to order.

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Tirupathi Bhimas

Location: 18792 Pioneer Blvd. (2nd floor), Artesia. (562) 809-3806; www.thirupathibhimas.com.

Price: All dishes, $4 to $9.

Best dishes: Mini tiffin, Andhra spicy thali, Bhimas special dosa, channa batura, Bhimas special uthappam.

Details: Open daily for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; for dinner from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; until 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. No alcohol. Lot parking. Visa and Mastercard.