No starched white tablecloths here – Chennai’s finest food is served on a banana leaf in a humble Tamil canteen. The first branch of Hotel Saravana Bhavan was out in the Chennai suburbs, but the cooking was so spectacular that branches sprang up across the city, then across the country, then across the world. At any branch, locals queue round the block at lunchtime for stunningly spiced thalis (plate meals), dosas (rice-flour pancakes) and south Indian snacks, all served with the secret-recipe house sambar (tamarind sauce).