Polydish city guide

Best Munthiri kothu in San Francisco

“Deep-fried in groups of three—a naming ritual as much as a cooking method, born from festival tradition.”

Munthiri kothu

What the real thing tastes like

Munthiri kothu (Tamil: முந்திரி கொத்து) is a unique festival sweet from Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, South India. It is also known as payatham urundai (Tamil: பயத்தம் உருண்டை) in Sri Lanka. To prepare it, dhall (mung bean or moong dal) is roasted in a karahi/kadai in coconut or sesame oil. This is then cooled and crushed into a fine powder. Sesame seeds and coconut flakes are similarly and separately roasted and powdered. These powders are then combined with cardamom and jaggery syrup. This is then split into marble-sized balls. A batter made from maida flour, rice powder, turmeric, and salt is prepared by gradually adding water to avoid lump formation. A kadai filled with coconut oil is then heated, and golf-ball-sized fritters are deep-fried until golden. The dish derives its name from the traditional method of dropping the fritters into the oil in groups of three, with munthiri kothu meaning "a bunch of three".

0 voices, one story

Munthiri kothu is a festival sweet from Kanyakumari District that lives in the precision of its making—roasted mung dal, sesame, and coconut ground into powder, then bound with cardamom and jaggery into marble-sized cores. These get cloaked in a turmeric-touched batter and dropped into hot coconut oil three at a time, a rhythm that gave the dish its name: munthiri kothu, literally 'a bunch of three.' What emerges are golf-ball-sized golden fritters, their exterior crisp and their interior dense with the earthiness of dal and seed.

Order it here when it has

  • precise marble-and-powder architecture
  • golden exterior from oil-frying
  • regional festival tradition
  • aromatic cardamom and jaggery

Walk away when you see

    Restaurant-level rankings for San Francisco land as the Polydish review engine processes this city's reviews. Explore the dish itself while you wait —

    Munthiri kothu on Polydish →