The staple delight of any Malayali household is this little piece of heaven called dosa.
From being crispy and wafer thin, to soft and fluffy, it has decorated our dining table since forever.
Made with a mixture of rice and urad dal, this is one dish that’s always been, and will continue to be, South India’s prized food item.
I remember the countless times how the crispy yet crunchy dosa along with the aroma of chutney and sambhar would arouse me from my slumber early in the morning. On the day when my dosa-pleas are granted by dear mother, what follows is a ferocious competition with my brother to savour the first dosa from the kitchen. If you have siblings at home and are preparing to enjoy a tasty meal, you definitely would agree that the battle for the bigger portion is fierce and untamed. Now, if the delight in question here is our beloved dosa, the fight that erupts is no less than World War III.
My mom, being the clever woman she is, declared one morning that those who wish to eat dosa should make it for themselves. That was the day I took my first attempt at cooking. I remember feeling so accomplished when my dosa came out all round and crispy! If clicking pictures of delights and posting them on Instagram was a trend back then, my page sure would’ve had countless filters of the dosas I made from that day onwards!
Dosa has also been the peacemaker between me and my brother. The poor lad would wake me up and urge me to make him some dosa. Despite what image of him I may have crafted in your minds, I’d make it for my brother because anything for dosa right!! (Point to note here is that he’d also make me dosa if I asked!) Honestly, that’s probably the only time we haven’t wanted to kill each other!
Dosa is so amazing yet quite simple to make — you can find it anywhere, right from the street stalls to high end restaurants! Suffice it to say that it might be one of the most important attractions of the South!
It can be found in a number of varieties from plain dosa, ghee roast, masala dosa, uthappam and what not. It can also be eaten with a variety of combinations, yet the major hits would be dosa with tomato chutney, coconut chutney and sambhar. Sometimes in restaurants, they provide us a vada along with it and that is, by far, the highest point of satisfaction in appetite for me!
Curious to see what other delights gets us Malayali’s drooling ? Click here to find it out!
Curious to know how many share my fondness, I inquired around to see why everyone loves dosa and here is what my dear ones had to say:
Pranoy is a little unconventional in his love for dosa. He says, “I love dosa mainly because my mom finds it easy to make. I love the combination of dosa, bullseye eggs and white chutney. My brother however, is a big fan of dosa and chamanthi powder.” For the novices out there, chamanthi powder is a delightful fried powder mixture of chillis and coconut.
Pavithra said “It’s the South Indian bae. No matter what time of the day it is, the crispiness and delicacy never fails to satisfy my hunger”. You got that right, sister!
Krishnendu is also a big fan of ghee roast whereas Joel from college is not that much of a fan of dosa, it seems. He said, “I dont mind eating it, especially when my mom makes it”. Even when you’re not that big a fan of dosa, you can’t help but eat it! Somehow, dosa always comes wrapped in love!
Now, Parvathy from my class is very particular about her dosa. She said, “I like crispy thin ones, not that roast brown but lightly roasted, with that taste of ghee. I loved the one I had from BTH. It was a takeaway...So they wrapped it in nice tender vazhayila (i.e., plantain leaf). It also had the white chutney with fresh coconuts!” Yum… I have to try that one from BTH some time.
Ardra, who lives in Bangalore now said, “The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about dosa is the taste and the smell... Something I eagerly wait for till Sunday in my hostel is to eat masala dosa.” Well, it feels like dosa reminds you of home!
My best friend from school, Keerthy is a die-hard fan of dosa. When I asked if she liked dosa, she said and I quote, “Ishta… othiriii ishta (which translates to I looove it!). I love the ghee roast my mom makes. And when I’m hungry, the best combo is ghee roast and sambhar”. I can personally vouch for the fact that her mom’s dosa’s are perfect. I remember stealing her lunch at school the days when her tiffin is dosa! I still go to her home occasionally just to eat dosa made by her mom!
Viswam who is a major foodie was kind enough to send me an image of the Ghee paper roast masala that he had from Saravana Bhavan.
He described the dish as “long, yummy and crispy with sambar and chutney. I loved the taste of ghee on top of that very long paper roast. The masala was the real highlight, it was made to look and taste so authentic. A perfect breakfast dish to start a new day”.
Shreya was just waiting for an opportunity to shower her love for dosa. This is what she said: “A memorable dosa experience for me was when my dad took me out to dinner to The Pai Dosa Joint. That was the first time I saw around 100 different varieties of dosa. From a world of boring rava dosa and masala dosa, I was transported to a world of paneer dosa and mushroom dosa. But I had my eye on one particular flavour. The Cheese Dosa. It was hot and gooey and sticky and yummy in my tummy. Every bite was relished. From then on, I kept my eyes peeled for different dosa flavours but nothing compares to my first time of trying out a cheese dosa.”
Honestly, after writing so much about dosa, I’m gonna go make myself some dosa. I’m sure you’ve also been hit with a craving for it.
Kochi has a plethora of places where you can get tasty dosa from, ranging from BTH, Pai Brothers, Chennai Ananda Bhavan and Ambiswamy. But nothing beats the dosa from home.
What makes Kochi so special? Click here to discover!
So, call up your mom and tell her you miss her dosa! Trust me, you’ll make her day! You know why? Because every dosa has a mother’s love and soft touch in it! That’s what makes it so amazing!
