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Semma, a restaurant on Greenwich Avenue in New York City (NYC), has been serving traditional South Indian dishes since last October, earning its first Michelin star. It is the only Indian restaurant in the US to be awarded a Michelin star in 2022. Michelin 2022 New York Guide, with 73 starred restaurants and 17 restaurants awarded a single star for the first time. Michelin describes one star as “high quality cooking, worth a visit!”
Unapologetic Foods, the team behind Semma, along with other popular restaurants in New York City such as Dhamaka, Masalawala & Sons, set out to tell the true story of Indian cuisine. Authentically share regions and ingredients with a clear perspective without changing the food for anyone else. After making Adda and Dhamaka a huge success, the team set out to tell the story of South India under Chef Vijay Kumar. Drawing on Chef Kumar’s rural and ancestral background, they have crafted a menu that’s hard to find even in India. It reflects the chef’s deeply impacted memories and explores ingredients that have broken the mold of Indian cuisine – from snails like he used to forage with his grandmother, to venison he hunted with his grandfather, telling forgotten stories of an Indian one side, unapologetic. Chef Vijay Kumar talks about Semma, the unique experience it offers, the impact on menu planning, and more.
Q: What makes Semma’s guests such a unique experience?
This is the closest they can get to those areas and memories without compromising anything. They taste the unique flavor profile of South India. Food comes from all over South India, especially Tamil Nadu. It reflects my childhood memories growing up in my hometown of Tamil Nadu.
Q: Where do you get the ingredients to make authentic South Indian dishes?
We source all the best sustainable ingredients and all spices are imported from India through our suppliers.
Q: One Michelin star. What’s next?
Continue to tell our story through unapologetic cooking. For me, cooking traditional South Indian food brings a huge sense of pride and the opportunity to do so is exciting. We want to continue pushing ourselves to bring guests as close to our ancestral home as possible to share in sacred moments together.
Q: How did you go about creating the menu? Are the recipes adapted to the tastes of American customers?
Most of the dishes on the menu are based on childhood memories I grew up eating. Absolutely no adjustments! We just want to be unapologetically ourselves!
Q. What are the most popular items on the menu?
Every dish on the menu was popular and loved by our guests, especially Gun Powder Dosa, Aattu Kari Sukka (lamb dish), Nathai Pirattal (snail) were very popular.
author on twitter @Namyasinha
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