Madras New Woodlands Restaurant: DIY Dosa Pack & Paneer Butter Masala at Little India

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Typically in Singapore’s school year, June is when kids are enjoying their mid-year break and families plan activities and long trips abroad. With the COVID-19 pandemic hitting us hard in 2020, all these plans are out the window and we’ve had to come up with ingenious ways to entertain the young tykes while parents do their best to work from home.

That’s where mealtimes can come in handy, as you can get your kids involved with prepping and cooking your daily family meals, and Madras New Woodlands Restaurant recognises this. Their restaurant is located just off Serangoon Road and touts some of the best Indian dishes in that area.

While we’re all staying safe at home, you can easily head to their site to have their vegetarian delights delivered to your doorstep! The delivery fee is calculated based on distance, and there is a wide variety of dishes to choose from such as Special Rice, Bread, Tiffin meals, and even Tea Time Specials.

One of Madras New Woodlands Restaurant’s latest items, the DIY Dosa Pack (S$19), caught my attention instantly. The set comes with a generous packet of dosa batter (rice-based ground flour), chutney, and sambar (lentil-based vegetable stew), with the option to add Potato Masala (+S$5).

You can make a plain dosa and enjoy it with the condiments or get creative and add cheese, or even create a dessert dosa with an ample amount of Nutella spread!

I added grated cheese to mine, and the dosa-making process was fun and only took five minutes. What makes this kit appealing is that it allows you to get everyone in the family involved, even the kids. All you have to do is ladle the dosa batter on to a flat pan and spread it around in a circle with the back of the ladle.

Wait for about three minutes till the edges are crisp and, depending on your preferences, you can use this time to add whatever toppings you wish or leave it plain.

Once the edges begin to crisp, fold the dosa in half and let it cook for another three minutes.

I enjoyed the dosa with the accompanying sambar, chutney, and Potato Masala. Out of all three, my favourite was the Potato Masala. With its hefty chunks of creamy potato, which went perfectly with my cheesy dosa.

There was a mild tang to the Potato Masala, which created a sweet-sour profile when enjoyed with the cheese dosa I’d just made. The sambar leaned towards the sour end of the scale, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, given the Potato Masala was, at times, too rich.

If you’re not into cooking a DIY meal, then they also serve your good ol’, trusty Garlic Naan (S$2.90 per piece). I paired that with Paneer Butter Masala (S$7.30).

I reckon the journey from the restaurant to my home left the Garlic Naan rather dry, which was why it was rather chewy when I sat down to finally enjoy it. Nonetheless, the Paneer Butter Masala was divine.

It was exceptionally aromatic and came with large chunks of paneer (unaged, non-melting soft cheese made by curdling milk) swimming in a thick, creamy gravy. It did help soften the Garlic Naan considerably, but could certainly hold its own.

The portions here are mighty generous, so be mindful when ordering, as a single order could easily feed up to three people.

If you still have stomach space for a sweet ending, Madras New Woodlands Restaurant’s Appam Set (S$5.50) is a great consideration. Appam is made up of a traditional blend of ground rice flour batter (fermented) and coconut milk with sugar and is commonly found in Kerala, South India, and Sri Lanka.

The appam is served hot with coconut milk and jaggery (brown sugar).

The pancake itself is fluffy and airy, but when dipped in coconut milk and sugary, became a sinful yet satisfying dessert that I’m confident the entire family will fall in love with.

The granules of sugar didn’t dissolve and remained on the pancake, so its gritty nature juxtaposed wonderfully with the soft, pillowy texture of the appam. My partner enjoyed it so much that I allowed him to polish off everything!

Although there are many places you can easily order Indian cuisine from, not many places offer an interactive element in their food delivery menu. The DIY Dosa Kit is a fun way to get the little tykes involved in preparing a meal and the Appam Set is an uncommon menu item I don’t see in Singapore.

Madras New Woodlands Restaurant’s meals are super affordable, great for sharing, and you’ll have the whole family stuffed by the end of your Indian feast!

Expected Damage: S$10 – S$15 per person