Looking for coffee a South Indian meal

Unfortunately I am one of those people who has to have coffee in the morning. I can only be happy that it isn't a cigarette.  However, the YWCA only has something like nescafe, something so disgusting I gag thinking about it. So after breakfast, I started looking for a Barista, the Indian Starbucks. Directions held tight in my shaking hands, (from the lack of coffee. of course) I started off. Ten feet down the road the first scooter driver stops and asks if I want a ride, but this is supposed to be my morning walk, so No!  Ten more feet and another guy offers me the Taj Mahal just to get into his scooter, but I held fast. Stopping to ask for directions, I'm told that the first directions were false and the barista is right around the corner. Well, around the corner means five New York blocks, and please take my scooter for 40 cents. So I gave in and off we went. The coffee was good. I felt like a new person and my hands stopped shaking, and my headache went away. 


I went to find a South Indian Restaurant to get some food for my friend, Mohini. She loves South Indian food, and though I do enjoy it occasionally I find its sameness boring over the long haul.  But I got two idli plates and a Masala dosa, which were good. The idlis are made with rice and urad dal. The dal is skinned, because it is black and idlis are white. Here is  a recipe: http://chefinyou.com/2009/01/idli-recipe/ .The sambar, a soup like mixture, is very hot, and though I like hot food, there is something about the texture or the heaviness that disagrees with me. I think if I were  to make it, and, don't hold your breath, I would change the sambar so it would be light. http://www.south-indian-recipes.com/sambarrecipe.html . I have probably insulted a number of South Indian Gods, but I have to be truthful.  You can also eat the idlis with chutney, which I do like.


One thing I do love are the dosas. I love the Masala Dosa, a crispy shell of rice  and urad dal filled with peas, potatoes and other vegetables. Unfortunately it is not  easy to make. http://www.indianfoodforever.com/snacks/masala-dosa.html . I have never had a good dosa in the U.S.