A small restaurant in a Plymouth strip mall is serving South Indian specialties that go well beyond the usual butter chicken and naan. Chennai Express has a menu featuring kothu parotta, crispy dosas, Chicken 65 biryani, and traditional dishes from Tamil Nadu.
One standout is kothu parotta, a South Indian street food made by chopping layered flatbread and cooking it with spices, vegetables, and meat or eggs. The restaurant also serves Mysore masala dosa, goat chukka, and elaneer payasam, a dessert made with tender coconut.
Located at 1440 S Sheldon Road, Chennai Express offers Metro Detroit diners a chance to explore regional Indian cooking without traveling far. With so many unfamiliar dishes on the menu, knowing what to order first can make all the difference.
A Strip Mall Address With Big Southern Flavor
Chennai Express – An Authentic Indian Cuisine sits at 1440 S Sheldon Rd in Plymouth, Michigan. The storefront shares space with other shops in a plain strip mall, so it’s easy to drive past without a second look.
That would be a mistake. The restaurant takes its name from Chennai, the big coastal city in the state of Tamil Nadu, and the menu follows that lead.
You’ll see dosas, idli, sambar, rasam, parotta, and biryani, which are everyday foods across southern India.
Many Indian restaurants in Michigan focus on northern dishes like butter chicken and naan. Those show up here too, but they share the page with dishes that are harder to find around Metro Detroit.
I find that balance smart, since it welcomes curious newcomers and people who grew up eating this food.
Plymouth itself is a western Wayne County suburb, about a half hour from downtown Detroit. That location puts the restaurant within reach of Canton, Northville, Livonia, and Novi.
Knowing where it is matters less than knowing what to order, and the menu has a few names worth learning before you walk in.
Dosas Worth Learning to Pronounce
Say it like “THOH-sah,” and you’re already off to a good start. A dosa is a thin pancake made from a fermented batter of rice and lentils, cooked on a flat griddle until it turns golden.
Chennai Express lists several kinds. The masala dosa comes wrapped around a spiced potato filling, while the Mysore masala dosa adds a red chutney spread inside before the potatoes go in.
A rava masala dosa uses semolina in the batter, which gives it a lacy look.
For something less traditional, the menu also includes a Chicken Chettinad dosa. Chettinad is a region of Tamil Nadu known for its peppery, spice-heavy cooking, so the name tells you what kind of filling to expect.
Dosas usually arrive with sambar and chutneys on the side. You tear off a piece by hand and dip it, which makes the meal feel relaxed and hands-on.
I’d suggest a plain masala dosa for anyone new to South Indian food. It’s a friendly first step.
Once you’ve tried it, the side bowls next to it deserve their own attention.
Sambar, Rasam, and the Little Bowls That Matter
Small bowls often hold the biggest flavors in South Indian cooking. Sambar is a lentil stew simmered with vegetables and tamarind, and it shows up next to dosas, idli, and vada.
At Chennai Express, sambar is one of the most talked-about items. That makes sense, because a good sambar ties the whole meal together.
It works as a dip, a soup, or a sauce poured right over rice.
Rasam is its thinner cousin. This tangy, peppery broth is usually made with tomato, tamarind, and spices, and many families sip it at the start of a meal.
Some people even drink it straight from the cup.
Then come the chutneys. Coconut chutney is the classic pairing, and tomato and mint versions appear too.
Each one changes how a bite of dosa tastes.
My advice is simple. Don’t treat these as extras pushed to the side of the plate.
Try a little of each with every bite, and you’ll start to understand how a South Indian meal is built.
Of course, some dishes need no dipping at all, and the next one comes off the griddle ready to eat.
Kothu Parotta and the Sound of the Griddle
Kothu means “minced” in Tamil. That one word explains the whole dish.
Kothu parotta starts with parotta, a flaky, layered flatbread. Cooks chop the bread into small pieces on a hot griddle and toss it with egg, onions, spices, and often chicken or mutton.
In Tamil Nadu, it’s famous as late-night street food.
Chennai Express offers chicken and mutton versions, and the dish ranks among the most mentioned items on the menu. For many diners in Metro Detroit, this may be their first chance to try it without hopping on a plane.
The restaurant also serves regular parotta with curry. You pull apart the soft layers and use them to scoop up the gravy, similar to how naan gets used in northern Indian meals.
I like that kothu parotta feels so different from what many Americans picture as Indian food. It’s a griddle dish, closer to a hearty stir-fry than a curry.
It also comes with a bowl of raita or gravy on the side, which helps balance the spice. Spice, as it turns out, is something this kitchen lets you control.
Choose Your Heat, Even Mild Plus
Spice levels can make or break a curry night. Too mild, and the dish feels flat.
Too hot, and you spend dinner reaching for water.
Chennai Express lets diners pick their heat level. Along with the usual mild, medium, and spicy options, there’s a choice called mild plus.
It sits just above mild, giving cautious eaters a little warmth without much risk.
That small detail is helpful for families. Kids and spice-shy adults can order something gentle, while fans of fiery food can push things higher.
Everyone shares one table and still gets what they want.
It also helps to know which dishes start out bold. Pallipalayam chicken, a dish from the Erode area of Tamil Nadu, is cooked with dried red chilies and coconut.
Pepper chicken leans on black pepper for its kick.
Medium is a sensible starting point for most first visits. You can always go hotter next time.
It’s much harder to undo a dish that’s too spicy.
Spice is only part of the story, though. The rice dishes here bring their own range, especially on weekends.
Biryani With a Weekend Twist
Rice cooked with meat and spices may sound simple. Biryani shows how much variety that idea can hold.
Chennai Express serves several kinds, including mutton biryani, lamb biryani, and a Chicken 65 biryani. That last one tops the rice with Chicken 65, the spicy fried chicken that’s a famous appetizer in Chennai.
It’s two favorites combined in one bowl.
On weekends, the restaurant has offered Kongunattu mutton biryani as a special. The Kongu region covers western Tamil Nadu, including Coimbatore and Erode, and its cooking style differs from the biryanis many Americans know.
It’s often made with short-grain seeraga samba rice instead of long basmati.
Here’s a fun fact. Many South Indian families serve biryani for celebrations, Sunday lunches, and holidays.
It’s comfort food and party food at the same time.
Biryani usually comes with raita, a cooling yogurt side, and sometimes a gravy. Mint chutney also shows up here.
If you go on a weekend, ask about the special first. Weekend items can change, so checking with staff saves you from missing something that isn’t on the regular menu.
Goat, Fish, and Starters With Bold Names
Chicken 65 has one of the most curious names in Indian food. Nobody agrees on where the number came from, though many stories trace the dish to a Chennai hotel in the 1960s.
Whatever its origin, Chicken 65 is fried chicken coated in a spicy red mix, often tossed with curry leaves. At Chennai Express, it’s one of the most mentioned dishes.
Vegetarians can try Gobi 65, which uses cauliflower instead.
Goat dishes get serious attention here too. Goat sukka, sometimes spelled chukka, is a dry dish where cubes of goat are cooked down with spices until the sauce clings to the meat.
A dry goat fry also appears on the menu.
Apollo fish is another starter worth knowing. It’s a fried fish dish tossed in a spicy coating, and it’s popular in South Indian restaurants.
I’d make time for at least one starter when ordering for a group. They’re easy to share and give everyone a taste of something new before the main dishes arrive.
Not everyone eats meat, of course, and the vegetarian side of the menu holds plenty of its own.
Comfort Plates for Vegetarians and Curry Fans
Some of the gentlest dishes on the menu are also the oldest. Idli, soft steamed cakes made from rice and lentil batter, have been a breakfast staple in southern India for centuries.
Chennai Express serves idli alongside vada, a savory doughnut-shaped fritter made from lentils. Together with sambar and chutney, they make a light, filling plate.
Vegetarian diners have more choices too. Paneer dishes like paneer masala and paneer korma use fresh Indian cheese in rich sauces.
Saag paneer pairs that cheese with cooked greens.
The traditional coconut korma stands out because it reflects how southern kitchens use coconut. You can order it with vegetables, paneer, or meat, including goat.
For pure comfort, sambar rice and curd rice are listed as well. Curd rice mixes cooked rice with yogurt and is often eaten at the end of a spicy South Indian meal to calm things down.
Familiar northern favorites like butter chicken and garlic naan are available for anyone who wants them.
No matter what you order, save a little room. The drinks and desserts here have a strong southern accent.
Filter Coffee and Tender Coconut Payasam
Coffee might seem like an odd thing to order at an Indian restaurant. In Tamil Nadu, though, strong milky coffee is a daily ritual.
Chennai Express serves Madras coffee, also called filter coffee. It’s brewed through a metal filter, mixed with hot milk and sugar, and traditionally poured between a tumbler and a small bowl to cool it and create foam.
Masala chai is on the menu for tea drinkers.
Mango lassi, a sweet yogurt drink, is another easy pick. It also helps if your dish turned out spicier than expected.
For dessert, elaneer payasam deserves attention. Elaneer is the Tamil word for tender coconut, and this pudding is made with coconut milk and soft young coconut.
It’s one of the most mentioned items at the restaurant.
Other sweets include rasmalai, a soft cheese dessert soaked in sweet milk, and kheer, a rice pudding.
I find it interesting that a coconut dessert gets so much attention here. It fits the region well, since coconut trees grow all along southern India’s coast.
Holidays can bring even more special dishes, served in a traditional way.
Planning Around Wednesdays and Banana Leaf Feasts
Wednesday is the one day to skip. Chennai Express is closed that day, so plan your visit for any other day of the week.
The restaurant splits its hours into a lunch window and a dinner window, with a break in the afternoon. Friday and Saturday dinners run a little later than other nights.
Checking the current schedule before you leave is a smart habit.
Special events are worth watching for. The restaurant has served a banana leaf meal for Tamil New Year, which falls in mid-April.
In Tamil Nadu, festive meals are often served on a banana leaf with many small dishes arranged around a mound of rice.
Dinner can get busy, especially on weekends. Takeout is a popular option if you’d rather enjoy the food at home.
Here’s a helpful note for first-timers. Staff members are known to offer suggestions, so asking what to order is a good move if the menu feels long.
Plymouth also has a walkable downtown with shops and parks just a short drive north. A South Indian lunch and an afternoon stroll make an easy day out in Michigan.
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