The Story of the Dosa

"Yedukondala Vaada Venkataramana Govinda Govindaa.." which translates to "Lord of the Seven hills, Lord Venkataramana, I hereby call on you"...

Lord Venkateshwara's Abode at Tirumala. Photo Source: www.wikipedia.com

I am a devotee of the famous Hindu God, Lord Venkateshwara of the ever so famous Tirumala/Tirupathi hills. As we were growing up it was a tradition in our home to visit the Tirumala shrine atop the 7 hills in Tirupathi located in the state of Andhra Pradesh in Southern India. This beautiful shrine can be seen as a small speck of light on top of a beautiful gopuram from Tirupathi which is at the foothills of Tirumala. Traditionally we would go there as a family and usually took a car or a bus ride to the shrine. But many a times we have tread the path that millions take, that is of walking to the top - walking the thousands of steps through the hills to reach the top. This is my favourite part of the trip. It was such fun to walk together as a family stopping of and on to drink a Lemon Soda or to buy some roadside snack or to stop for a quick brunch. Talking and sharing snippets of gossip or stories. These are some cherished memories that I treasure.
And this brings me to the reason for this blog. Everytime we walked to Tirumala, we would set out from the foothills - a place called Alipiri. We would start at 6 a.m in the morning when it was still dark. And about 1/4 way through at about 9 a.m we would stop at this hillside store to eat breakfast. This store - not really a store, but a hut thatched with Palm leaves was a small breakfast joint run by this old lady, her son and her daughter-in-law. She would sit outside her little hut in front of a stove made of bricks and fueled by wooden logs, making the most delicious Dosas I have had. They were nothing great, just the softest homestyle dosas that were served on a small plantian leaf with a delicious coconut chutney to go along. Maybe just that after such a long walk, we were always hungry or maybe they really were the best dosas, I dont know. Just the wonderful climate on the hills, the cold hard hillside stone benches where we sat and ate, and the old lady making hot dosas for us we ate, is a treasured memory in my heart. My dad and I always enjoyed these dosas and the delicious watery coconut chutney that she served with it. And everytime I make Dosas I always think of the Old lady of the Hillside cafe and hope and pray that she is still doing good and serving all those hungry travellers.
So in dedication of this old lady, I am blogging the recipe of my Dosa and Chutney that go along with it. Hope you guys enjoy this recipe.

Dosa

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups Ponni Boiled Rice (or any brand of Boiled Rice, also called Uppudu Bee-am in Telugu, Pulungal Arsi in Tamil and Kusubalakki in Kannada)
1/2 cup Ponni Raw Rice (or any regular rice variety)
1 cup Whole White Urad (called Urad Gota)
1 tsp Methi Seeds
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Soak the two rice and Methi Seeds together. Soak overnight.
2. Soak the Whole Urad for atleast 4 to 5 hours or overnight.
3. First grind the soaked urad for 1/2hour in grinder or a mixie, adding water little at a time. Grind until the Urad is soft and fully ground. Keep aside.
4. Then grind the soaked rice and methi until almost soft by adding enough water while grinding. Use a wooden or a rubber ladle to mix the batter as it grinds so that it is evenly ground.
5. Then combine both the ground batter (urad and rice). Mix well. You may mix it by hand. I usually add the ground urad to the rice in the grinder in the end for just another round. So that it is evenly mixed. Then add the salt and mix well.

To Ferment:
1. I usually preheat my oven at 375F for 5 minutes. Turn off the oven and then place the dish containing the batter in the warm oven to ferment for atleast 6 hours. Make sure u keep the batter covered. You may place a big plate below the dish so that if the batter over ferments it does not mess up your oven.
2. People living in hot climates or tropical climate may just leave the batter on the kitchen counter for fermenting.

Basic Dosa Batter

Making the Dosas:
1. Mix the batter well before using to make dosas.
2. Heat a flat griddle (or a tava) until hot. Using 1/2 a chopped onion dab some oil ont he tava and rub the onion back and forth on the tava. This ensures that the Dosa does not to the pan.
3. Take a ladle full of batter and pour in the center of the pan. Use the ladle to spread the batter evenly on the pan into a circular dosa. Dribble some oil on the dosa.
4. Cook until the Dosa is golden brown. Then using a spatula turn the over onto its other side. Roast for another 2 minutes. Remove fold and serve hot with Peanut/Coconut Chutney.

Making the Dosa

Dosa with Peanut Chutney

Note: For Chutney, Please see Recipe of Peanut Chutney