Paper Dosa on Cordova Road: South Indian Crepes in Santa Fe

On Tuesday evening, October 20, 2026, we sat down for a feast at Paper Dosa in Santa Fe. We started with Chennai chicken, fried natural chicken breast marinated in yogurt and spices and served with raitha, and butternut squash soup, roasted butternut squash cooked with coconut milk and spices, garnished with candied pecans. Then came the paper dosa with masala on the side.

So what is a dosa?

The menu states, "A thin South Indian crepe made from a fermented rice and lentil batter. Served with sambar and coconut and tomato chutneys." In 2014 Karuppasamy told the New Mexican that dosas are considered an everyday street food in south India. The batter is left to ferment for anywhere between eight to 36 hours, depending on the weather, and soaking the rice and lentils takes several hours.

He cooks the crepes on a flat grill until crisp, fills them, rolls them, and serves them with tomato and coconut chutneys and sambar, "a lentil stew." Pasatiempo put it this way: "The dosa is to South Indian cuisine what the crêpe is to French food or the tortilla to Mexican fare."

The namesake

The menu describes the Paper Dosa as "A large, paper-thin crispy dosa with masala on the side." The Classic Masala is "A dosa filled with masala (potatoes blended with turmeric, caramelized onions, whole red chiles, mustard seeds, and cashews)." The MICHELIN Guide calls the namesake paper dosa the can't-miss item here, "Thin and crispy and served with masala on the side." With us, the paper dosa was rolled tall on a platter beside a bowl of potato masala, sambar, green and red chutneys, and a mango lassi.

From Tamil Nadu to San Francisco

Chef Paulraj Karuppasamy grew up in Tamil Nadu, where his mother was a very good cook and his father farmed and ran the local grocery store, teaching him how to choose produce. He grew up eating dosas and learned to make them from his mother and grandmother. He finished three years of schooling with apprenticeships at five star hotels, worked as a chef on a cruise liner, and arrived in San Francisco, where he cooked at the South Indian restaurant Dosa, eventually as executive chef.

Nellie Tischler, a Santa Fe native with farming roots in South Dakota, oversaw customer service there. They met at Dosa in 2005 and married two years later. They spent a year in India, then moved to Santa Fe to raise their child surrounded by family. Karuppasamy said, "To be honest, I didn't know anything about Santa Fe."

Pop-ups first

In 2014 they made their own opportunity through catering and pop-ups. There was a sold-out dinner in early March at Mu Du Noodles, a dinner with the art collective SCUBA at the Center for Contemporary Arts, a months-long Monday-night residency at Café Fina, and Sweetwater Harvest Kitchen. That spring Tischler said, "Basically, what's happened is beyond what we expected." In August 2014 Paper Dosa won the BizMIX Big Impact Award for its business plan.

A Santa Fe twist

The Green Chile Cheese dosa is filled with jack and cheddar and NM green chile. Chef Paul told the Santa Fe Farmers' Market Institute he has created a Green Chili Cheese Dosa featuring the unique Southwestern flavor. We had the green chile cheese dosa cut in three, with cheese and chile showing.

Of farmer Matt Romero, Chef Paul says, "I learn about different eggplant and radish varieties from him." They say, "vegetables are what talk to us the most." Tischler said, "All of our spices we get in India. We have family in India who send us most of the spices that we need."

Who it is for

The majority of what is served here is vegetarian, and all dosas are gluten-free and can be made dairy-free without ghee. Tischler said dosa at home could take off, "especially because it's gluten-free." Pasatiempo found the heat level at Paper Dosa is generally milder than at many other Indian restaurants. The MICHELIN Guide says, "It's the kind of place where you'll want to come with a group in order to share."

The room has an L-shaped bar with an open kitchen behind it, marigold garlands and a tiger figure, and a downstairs party room. The site says, "We welcome walk-ins...come on in!" Reservations by phone are for parties of 5 or more.

On Cordova Road

Guy Fieri visited for Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives in 2019 and ate the masala dosa and lamb curry. The episode aired October 18, 2019. Nellie Tischler said, "Our goal is to make Santa Fe happy."

Paper Dosa is at 551 W. Cordova Road, Santa Fe, NM 87505. The phone is (505) 930-5521. For hours, reservations, and menu items, check paper-dosa.com. Cook-at-home dosa kits are available too, so check the site for details. The site says, "Learn to cook Dosas & South Indian food at home," with how-to videos including a Gunpowder Ghee Dosa.