In another spin on East meets West, Spice Hawaii specializes in Indian dosas, or crispy rice crepes, melded with Western cheeses and Asian spices, served with dipping sauces that add even more cultural nuances.
Some tasters have likened this crepe to a quesadilla or pizza because of the cheese and spiciness, said Chetan Vora, who started the catering business in the spring with his wife, Ajanta Vora. Since moving to Hawaii in July 2018, the former New Yorkers have incorporated local flavors into the crepes, using Japanese, Chinese and Korean spices.
The crepe batter is a high-protein mixture of rice and lentils, fermented for as long as 22 hours, depending on the weather, said Ajanta, a former educator who learned to cook Indian cuisine from her grandmother and mother.
There are many versions of dosas, an Indian staple, but she has created her own fusion of flavors from cuisines she loves, including her favorite, Mexican. After five minutes in a two-sided griddle, the texture is “airy, chewy and crispy,” she added.
Chetan said the crepes are free of gluten, sugar, corn and preservatives, are low-glycemic, fiber-rich and protein-balanced. Preparing “clean food” is one aspect of the Voras’ commitment to a healthy lifestyle, Chetan said, and it also involves adopting clean energy, exemplified in the vehicle they use to transport their food to catering events.
It’s not the usual food truck.
Technically it’s called an electronic tricycle, but “it looks like a golf cart,” he said. A boxy structure attached to it houses the cooking equipment. It cost $70,000 to fabricate the trike with custom features from a basic model he had shipped here, and it’s probably the first one to hit the streets of Hawaii, Chetan added.
The sleek black exterior is decorated with paintings of large orange butterflies, an emblem of Hawaii’s state insect, the Kamehameha butterfly, and symbolic of the ecosystem they advocate preserving. They call it their “eButterFly” for short. “It’s the ambassador for our island wellness mission,” he said.
Spice Hawaii offers four types of cheese-filled crepes, each $14: the Rising Sun, Parmesan with a smoky Japanese miso-togarashi sauce; the Great Wall, provolone with a chili-garlic sauce; Gates of S(e)oul, Muenster with kochujang and red chili flakes in coconut oil; and Chichen Itza, with manchego, black bean and Mexican ancho chili.
Dipping sauces are $2 each, a tangy chili-tamarind, smooth mint-coconut and a silky mango-habanero.
Call 929-447-7423 or visit spicehawaii.com.