MY ENCOUNTER WITH DOSA

As a part of this great land called INDIA our food culture & habits are not stick to any particular region. Our food habits are influenced by many factors like meeting people from different regions, travelling to different geographical areas, human migration, availability of raw ingredients, religion, family traditions etc.

Living in the eastern part of India(odisha) ,my childhood memories of food were mostly influenced by my family's food habits. Whatever my parents and grandparents used to eat I simply followed it. Though belongs to a small town known as BARIPADA we had limited options for restaurants & foods available there in the early 90s.

With the limited minimum salary of my parents, it was not possible for me or my family to eat outside regularly or you could say weekly in the early 90s. So if there was any special occasion or any festival my parents used to take me out for a meal or any food. So now coming straight to the point. When I was 7/8 years old my father introduced me to Roll & Dosa. I will write about the roll some other day. Now dosa is something that one can imagine eating only at a restaurant because in those days not everyone could prepare it at home, especially in small urban towns. My first encounter with dosa happened at Prashanti restaurant in Baripada. It was very famous among the people of Baripada and nearby areas for South Indian food. Prashanti restaurant was one of the places that introduced south Indian food in Baripada (mayurbhanj) . More than the crispiness of dosa, I fell in love with the lentil chutney (tempered with curry leaves and whole mustard). So that chutney was the reason since then why I like to eat dosa. My kind of dosa is very simple. Crispy dosa, lots of aloo masala with sliced raw onions, chutney and thin sambar.

Now coming to the recent past . When I visited Cuttack and became friends with chef Rachit Kirteeman (one of Odisha's best chefs) he took me to Madras Hotel (near the high court) for breakfast where we tried plain masala dosa

Masala dosa of Madras hotel, cuttack

In Odisha most of the place serves lentil chutney & sambar has a thin consistency compared to the southern part of our country.

I can clearly remember during my Chennai days the dosa I had in Sarvana bhavan & Ananda bhavan came along with sambar (with drumstick) , lentil mix with grated coconut chutney which is thick consistency & mild rough grind and spicy tomato chutney. But the street dosa vendors of Chennai serve dosa with so many options like mutton curry, egg curry, beef curry and thin chutney & sambar.

When I August 2024 I travelled to Bengaluru I visited some of the iconic eateries where I tried dosa( they call it DOSE). One of the dosas I tried in Vidyarthi Bhavan ( basavangudi) is something new for me in appearance. Because the dosa I used to eat and Vidyarthi Bhavan masala dosa are totally different

Masala dosa of Vidyarthi bhavan, bangalore/bengaluru

They serve dosa with only lentil chutney. And they use ghee (clarified butter) to prepare dosa. The stuffed aloo masala was not spicy at all. The dosa is crispy but compared to the dosa I had in Chennai & Odisha this dosa is thick.

The second place where I tried Rava dosa(pore-like shape on dosa ) is AIRLINE HOTEL (Ashok Nagar, Bengaluru) .

Rava dosa of Airline hotel, bangalore/bengaluru

Here they serve as usual chutney but sambar here is replaced by vegetable korma. Lil bit of sweetness of korma with dosa creates a different taste inside the mouth. During my Chennai days, I had korma/kurma (both chicken and veg) with parotta. The korma I ate in Chennai with parotta was running gravy. So here in airline hotel, this combination was very unique for me and I am gonna remember this for a long long time.

Next place is MAVALLI TIFFIN ROOM (M.T.R HOTEL) Dosa. Established in 1924(World War 2 era) , the origin place of Rava Idli also serves the Best dosa in town.

Dosa of MTR, bangalore/bengaluru

It tastes almost the same as Vidyarthi Bhavan dosa only thing that differs here is the shape which is triangular & more crunchier than Vidyarthi Bhavan dosa.

Now coming to the most interesting dosa I ever had. A newly opened restaurant, UDUPPI AARADHYA in Electronic City where I went with my friend DEVI LAXMI who helped me a lot during my Bengalexplorationlore.

Open masala dosa of UDUPI AARADHYA , Electronic City, bengaluru

Much thick in shape, not like regular fold shape dosa. Doused with podi masala, potato masala, grated coconut & carrot and a good spoonful of butter at the top with a fried dry red chilly. Here they serve a thick consistency of spicy tomato chutney along with regular sambar and lentil chutney.

This simple blog about Dosa a is collection of my experiences. Maybe there is more info about Dosa which I'll get the chance to collect and share in future.

Photo& blog credit- Akash Mohanty

Intro dosa photo credit - WIX SITE A.I

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