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A Pinch Of Yum

Jugal Parekh, Managing Director at Yummy Dosa breaks down the ethos behind the brand and the love for authentic Indian food

Dosa is a staple diet and is considered an on-the-go meal. How did you transform it into a luxury of variety for people?

The idea behind Yummy Dosa’s expansive menu is to offer a complete meal in the form of ‘fusion dosas’, a concept that has been very well accepted in Mumbai and other cities in India. Hence, we decided to bring this concept to Dubai in order to offer the Indian diaspora a new option to replace the staple bread and curry option, whilst giving them a taste of home at the same time.

What is the concept behind Yummy Dosa?

My father, who always had a passion for dosas, became the first person to supply dosa batters— a common offering in every supermarket these days— all over Mumbai city in 1993.

Later in 2008, he ventured into the restaurant business, starting with a dosa cart, which later grew into a full-fledged restaurant. I had always been with him since my childhood days and learnt all the nitty-gritty of running a business. As a kid, I used to call dosas ‘Yummy Dosas’, so when I finally took the leap to start my own restaurant, I could not think of a better name.

Starting with an outlet in Mumbai in 2008, what inspired you to take your dream project to an entirely new country — the UAE?

I first visited Dubai in 2015 and was pleasantly surprised with the availability of a wide variety of vegetarian food. Dubai has a huge expat population, who simply love Mumbai’s street food. I realised that the dosa and ‘thela’ style Chinese food with its authentic taste were still missing from Dubai's huge Indian culinary scene. Hence, the idea of bringing Yummy Dosa to Dubai was born.

With a wide variety of 99 dosas, there is something for everyone. What is the main inspiration behind all these different flavours? Also, are you planning to add more variety to the menu?

We initially started with 69 varieties of dosas. Being in a cosmopolitan city like Dubai, we realised that we had the potential to add more flavours to our existing menu. Since the opening of Yummy Dosa’s first outlet in 2017, we have added more than 30 varieties to the menu, and are in the process of adding 10 more very soon to the menu. As food lovers and a brand, we keep innovating so that our customers get the newest and yummiest taste and varieties every time they visit us. We also launched Dubai’s tallest dosa with three varied options that created quite a stir in the market.

Do you see a chunk of other nationalities including locals enjoying the delicacy at your place? Also, which flavours are popular among them?

Yes, we have quite a lot of other nationalities as our regular customers. Zini Dosa, Pizza Dosa and Masala Dosa, with less spice levels, are loved by our non-Indian customers. The best part of Yummy Dosas is that each item can be customised to suit every type of taste bud.

Are you also coming up with something related to the Independence Day special? If yes, then please share how long will it continue on the menu?

Yes, we would love to treat our customers with the three bestseller varieties in one dosa. This will be a special dosa, which we worked on to celebrate our 76th India Independence Day. It will be a tri-coloured dosa with three flavours: pizza, chilly cheese and plain cheese. This special dosa will be available throughout the whole week, starting from Independence Day.

Do you wish to expand Yummy Dosa to other Emirates? If yes, then by when can we hear the news, and where would you like to open the branch?

We would love to spread this variety and taste all over the world. With regards to expanding in other emirates, we will announce the news soon.

What is the 'USP' of your brand and why?

Our USP is selling the largest and most delicious varieties of dosas in the region. There’s no one who loves to feed dosas in different varieties as much as we do. We will keep innovating new flavours to stay relevant to our customers. In a nutshell, Yummy Dosa will always be serving the classic flavors along with the innovating ones.