Yummm! My salivary glands overwork the moment the name of Masala dosa is mentioned. It is one of my favorite food, although a breakfast item, I can eat it for lunch, dinner or during any time of the day. Such is my love for Masala dosa especially the ones you get in a few hotels /darshinis and sagars of Bangalore. But at home, my dad also makes some of the yummiest masala dosas. Yes, you read it right, my dad is a super cook and my children and all my parents neighbours too love when my dad makes it. Of course, it is my mom who does the hard work of soaking and grinding batter, boiling and peeling potatoes, onions and other ground work for making masala dosa. She ably assists my dad.
During my younger days, we generally ate it at Kamat, gandhi bazaar, vidyarthi bhavan, new krishna bhavan, malleswaram or at the sajjan rao circle bandi hotel. Infact, the sajjan rao circle bandi's kemp chutney would be so awesome that many a times, I and my uncle would sprint to get the chutney when the dinner plates were laid. There are so many memories related to this dish and I have tasted it at many places but the tastes of only a few places linger like that of the above mentioned hotels and later at Janta hotel, Vijayanagar, MTR, Jayanagar 4th block Ganesh darshan etc. Even today, my family especially my sis, my kids, my niece and myself order Masala dosa anytime we enter a hotel, we don't wait for the bearer/waiter to rattle out the choices.
But the taste of home is unbeatable. Luckily for me, all my paternal uncles and aunts are also good cooks, so they too dish out some best masala dosas. My children simply love the masala dosas which are coated with kemp chutney and topped with dollop of butter.
Now for the recipe:
Kemp chutney:
Red chillies: 6 no's
garlic : 3 cloves
grated coconut t: 2 tablespoons
or
fried grams : 2 tablespoons
tamarind : a small marble size
( grated coconut or fried grams is to give body to the chutney, my aunt prepared omitting these two)
Grind the above ingredients by adding salt to taste. The red chutney is ready.( i have added copra powder)
Alu masala curry
Ingredients
Boiled potatoes - 6 no's
chopped onions from 2 no's
green chilly - 1 no
red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
salt --------------- 1 teaspoon
haldi 1/2 teaspoon
oil for tadka - 1 table spoon
mustard - 1/2 teaspoon
coriander for garnishing
Method:
Peel the potatoes, mash them and keep aside.
Take a wok, add the oil and heat it. When heated, add mustard seeds to splutter.
Fry the chillies and then add onions in the oil till transluscent.
Now add the mashed potatoes, haldi, red chilli powder and turn them in the wok till the masala and alu get mixed well.
Cook them on slow heat for 2 minutes.
Garnish with chopped coriander
For Dosa batter:
1/2 cup urad dal soaked for 1 hour to 3 hour
2 cup parboiled rice soaked for 6 hours
Grind them in a grinder, add salt and let it ferment overnight
The ingredients ready for making masala dosa: batter, alu curry, kemp chutney and a mix of ghee and gingelly oil
Method for making dosa:
Take a iron griddle or non-stick tava
Pour the batter on the heated tava in circular pattern till the dosa shape is formed
Keep the flame high, drizzle a teaspoon of gingelly oil or ghee around it.
After some time, spread the red chutney on the surface of the dosa and let it cook for a few seconds.
Now place the alu curry on it and fold the dosa.
When folded and served with a dollop of butter, we in our family don't need accompaniment like coconut chutney or sambar. Just the dosa, kemp chutney and alu suffice for us.
what marks the regular masala dosa from Mysore masala dosa is the kemp chutney.
* A tip to have a brown base- a table spoon of maida to the batter gives a brown dosa like in hotels. but i have avoided.
