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D is for Dosa #BlogchatterA2Z

April 4, 2019

I looked at it through the corner of my eye sitting prettily surrounded by its three friends and exuding one of the most succulent fragrances I know. The commotion around us couldn’t threaten to break our instant connection. However, Dad, like a 80s Bollywood villain, halted my advances midway when I leapt in surrender to temptation. So the dosa was hot, big deal! Love hurts. I can deal with it. 🙁

I might’ve been younger then and resigned to my fate but the fact remains that even now my heart gallops excitedly at the sight of a dosa. We occasionally marched to a nearby Udupi restaurant for our cravings. Taking in the sight and smell of the place was one of the best part of my childhood.

Dosas famously belong to the South-Indian cuisine. They are pancakes made with a fermented batter containing rice and other pulses and have potato filling in the centre. Sambar, coconut chutney and tomato chutney are generally served alongside them. Although popular as a breakfast recipe they can be eaten anytime during the day (especially by people like me 😉 ). They’re crisp, light, healthy, filling and easy to digest. Precisely why they’re a dosa piece of my heart! 🙂

My weighing machine and I always looked the other way which made me grudgingly go on a perpetual diet. Dosas and I were hence a match made in heaven. I scouted for perfect recipes, sifted through magazines for tips and observed others assiduously as they made it. I also discovered the importance of maintaining the right temperature of the tava. Learning to pour a ladleful and then slowly shaping it up in a perfect round was a dream I wanted to achieve at any cost.

The steepness of this learning curve was lost on me then though. The batter got collected and formed a lump on the tava sometimes, while on others it assumed an amoebic shape. The dosa looked cooked but tasted raw. The poor non-stick tava had to bear my wrath as I struggled to remove the browned batter that got stuck on it somehow. We had guests at our place one day and my MIL asked me to make dosa with the ready batter. I sheepishly offered to make uttapam instead, for their own good. 😛

A woman on a mission though, am glad that I’ve come close to making them near-perfect now (strictly on my parameters). I love blending traditional recipes with new ingredients and creating my own innovative fusion ones. This has also ensured that my fussy kids get their dose of essential nutrients in a fun way. I like to get creative with fillings and push everything from soya and paneer to all kinds of vegetables in them. 🙂

I love the food variety in India and the ease with which we adopt cuisines from other states in our fold so welcomingly. Dosas are extremely popular not just in India but the world over. Spotting a joint where we can find these awesome treats on display on a trip overseas is a sure trip to nostalgia. They belong to every Indian, just like samosas, pav bhaji and chaat.

Fun fact: Mom joked about getting me married to an Udupi restaurant owner so I could eat dosas for free day in and day out. 😀 😛 😉

As I write this post the batter kept in my refrigerator is fondly singing all kinds of longing and judaai songs to get my attention. I must hence take your leave. Don’t you laugh. We have a bond, remember? 😉 😀

This post is written for #BlogchatterA2Z and #AtoZChallenge for April 2019

22 thoughts on “D is for Dosa #BlogchatterA2Z”

  2. With every passing day I am realising one thing We are ‘sisters of tastebuds’ most of our food choices are same. And even I made dosa for dinner yesterday ? some batter is still in the refrigerator

  4. I love south Indian cuisine. I frequently visit Ramashraya..Very busy udupi restaurant..In Matunga. U rightly said Dosas n Idlees r now universal food. Lovely write up!!

  6. My Dad and I love dosas. The first South Indian outlet opened in our small town when I was in class 6. Every week, my parents and I would have a no cooking night when we go out and savor dosas there. This brought back such fond memories.

  8. Ah, the good old dosa. It was my Mom’s favourite but I have never developed a taste for it. Your nostalgic and witty post, on the other hand, was really tasty! 🙂

  9. I had no idea you were a Dosa fan! Would you believe it if I told you I got the Dosa making process right at first try? Yes, even I was shocked! Loved reading your ode to Dosa, and looking forward to calling you over for a pucca South Indian meal of Dosa and teh works.

  10. I love dosa. In Bengal there is an equivalent to plain dosa, but nothing like a masala dosa. In some parts of the world, people have put a masala of ground meat. To me that beats the purpose of dosa. A golden crispy dosa is a dream come true of a food lover.

  13. Haha! I think mostly moms make similar jokes relate to daughters favourite foods. I also like dosa but started making them regularly only after coming to Bangalore. I know its not that easy to get the perfect ones initially.

  15. I have spent some of my initial years in TamilNadu do dosa is a staple in my home and I experiment a lot with it too dear including the lentils that I add. I am really loving your selection of dishes

  16. I have tried to make Dosa a couple of times but I can never get the shape right. Nowadays we get ready-made Dosa batter but I remember my childhood days when we used to make the batter using what was called an ammi in my village. Those dosas used to taste way better than the ones made from the batter we get in the market nowadays. This is a very entertaining article.

  18. I loveeeee dosa, especially mom.made. But since she can’t b around always, I learned to cook it too. I enjoyed reading your ode to dosa.

  19. Ha ha — dosa batter sings to you?
    I’m a complete dosa person too. In fact we all are. I learnt to make it only after the children were born and I think i do a decent enough job of it – the children love it so that’s what counts.

  20. Hehehe… Dosa has been part of our diet since childhood. My Dad has studied in Chennai so he wanted his dose of dosa idli always. I sometimes feel we are North Indian family with South Indian heart. ?

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