The Delicious South Indian Dosa
When it comes to South Indian cuisine, the Dosa is a staple, but what exactly is a Dosa? Simply, it’s a crepe made with a batter from parboiled rice and black gram left to ferment for 8 hours. Typically eaten for breakfast or dinner, it is thought that the dosa had its roots as street food in the Temple streets of Udupi, a city in Karnataka. Udupi is famous for its Krishna temple established in the 13th century and attracts pilgrims from all over India.
A food for any time of the day, it can be breakfast, lunch or dinner; yet, it could also be street food that can be eaten as a snack at various stalls in cities like Mumbai or Chennai. When it comes to making the dosa itself, there is an art to its preparation. The batter is spread evenly in a warm griddle, from the center outwards in swiftly expanding circles, and cooked to crisp golden color.
The dosa are typically served with a side dish, which varies according to regional and personal preferences. Side dishes could include a pungent lentils and vegetable curry called sambhar, grated coconut-chile chutney, Indian pickles, chicken or mutton curry and more. While dosas can be eaten with fork and spoon, this is one food that’s more fun when eaten with your hands.
While the dosa, as described, above is the most well-known, there are also many other dosa versions and just like the sides could be specific to a region in India. Other dosas include the Chili Dosa, where chili is mixed into the batter or the Roast Dosa, where the dosa is spread thinly and fried until crisp. A couple more include the Chow-Chow Dosa, a dosa stuffed with Indian flavored Chinese noodles and the Green Dosa, which is stuffed with fresh vegetables and mint chutney.
With all these various dosas, one particular one has an interesting story behind it. I’m talking about the Masala Dosa, which is made by stuffing a dosa with an onion and potato curry. In the past, one of the sides for the plain dosa was a separate serving of potato curry without onions. During a shortage of potatoes, the potato was mashed and sautéed with the onions along with some spices and stuffed inside a dosa. This new dosa became the Masala Dosa because Masala means “sautéing of spices.”
Now that you know a little more about the dosa, check out some of the restaurants below to try it for yourself.
Annapurna Ayurvedic Cuisine & Chai House
2201 Silver St. SE
Albuquerque, NM 87106
(505) 262-2424
Namaskar Fine Indian Cuisine
236 Elm St
Somerville, MA 02143
(617) 623-9911
Raja’s Indian Cuisine
33 NE 2nd Avenue
Miami, FL 33132
(305) 539-9551
Surati Farsan Mart
11814 186th St
Artesia, CA 90701
(562) 860-2310
Udupi Palace Restaurant
2543 W Devon Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
(773) 338-2152
