Before it was tossed at newlyweds, rice was sprinkled on newborns, crop-dusted over New Mexico, and proffered as an unlikely alternative to FDR's New Deal. Sample another novel rice experience with today's Groupon: for $10, you get $20 worth of Indian fare and drink at Mayura Restaurant Inc in Culver City.

Inspired by the authentic home cooking of specially trained chefs in India, Mayura excites lethargic taste buds with traditional South Indian dishes cooked to satisfy vegetarians and carnivores alike in two separate kitchens. Delicate dosa, a crêpe made with rice and lentil, wraps itself around spinach, garlic, and potatoes in the spinach masala dosa ($6.95) and paginates itself with spiced potatoes in the paper masala dosa ($7.95). Spice seekers can ignite savory glands with the chicken tikka masala, a dish marinated in spices and roasted in a clay oven ($9.95), or the haleem—chunked, marinated meat cooked in curry sauce ($8.95). A selection of beer, wine, shakes, and lassi, a yogurt-based drink, complement Mayura's fiery cuisine and calm the contentious battle between liquid and solid foodstuffs.

Reviews

Mayura Restaurant Inc won Best South Indian Buffet in 2009 from LA Weekly. More than 100 Yelpers give Mayura an average of four stars, as do Google Mappers. Citysearchers give the restaurant 3.5 stars and 83% of Urbanspooners recommend it.

• Be sure to sample some of the uniquely South Indian dishes: the soupy sambar (a vegetable stew made from tamarind and pigeon peas), and the salty, spicy rasam (using tomatoes and lentils), which goes well over the tangy yogurt rice. – Jedd Birkner, LA Weekly
• Finally, I have found the best Dosa place in LA. – Monrok K., 10/9/2010, Yelp