Who would have ever thought that Idly batter gone bad can be turned to truly delicious food? The folded crispy Dosai with a chutney or a sambhar is complete bliss. I would describe a perfect dosai to be the one which has a lot of crispy and brittle outer region and not too thick a center. The best part of Dosai is that anything with it makes a perfect combination, be it chutney, sambhar, vadai curry, or any almost any type of curry. I love it so much that I often eat it without dipping it in any side dish.
One thing I absolutely hate is that some people call it Dosa. It is a Dosai with an 'i' at the end! You can also call it a Dos-I but definitely not Dos-Ah. Some people also call it Roast. Roast is a name that englishmen gave it. They probably thought it's like their Toast but a Toast is not even close to a Dosai.
I'm sure people think Dosai originated from Idly. The rumour is that there was a lot of unused Idly batter and some intelligent cook found a way to put it to use. Even this article starts like that! But the fact is that, it was Idly which originated from Dosai. Tamil Sangam Literature in the sixth century AD mentions Dosai but not the Idly which only appears in the Kanada literature four centuries later. The Manasollasa written in the twelfth century AD in Sanskrit mentions the dhosaka for which only pulses were used. It has travelled to all the neighbouring countries of India being called by the name Thosai, Thoshay and the like. Today, it is one of the world's 50 most delicious dish according to CNN (between buttered popcorn and potato chips)
Though Dosai typically refers to the roasted plain batter there are many variations and it is constantly being experimented with Western dishes. Some of the famous versions are Masala Dosai, Onion Dosai, Ghee Dosai, Ada Dosai, Set Dosai, and the list goes on for more than a 100 different types! A few of which are really good in our own canteen! The Masala Dosai and the Ghee Dosai is just amazing in the F Block canteen. The Ghee Dosai in the IM Canteen is equally good (cause that's the only Dosai I ate there).
One thing I absolutely hate is that some people call it Dosa. It is a Dosai with an 'i' at the end! You can also call it a Dos-I but definitely not Dos-Ah. Some people also call it Roast. Roast is a name that englishmen gave it. They probably thought it's like their Toast but a Toast is not even close to a Dosai.
I'm sure people think Dosai originated from Idly. The rumour is that there was a lot of unused Idly batter and some intelligent cook found a way to put it to use. Even this article starts like that! But the fact is that, it was Idly which originated from Dosai. Tamil Sangam Literature in the sixth century AD mentions Dosai but not the Idly which only appears in the Kanada literature four centuries later. The Manasollasa written in the twelfth century AD in Sanskrit mentions the dhosaka for which only pulses were used. It has travelled to all the neighbouring countries of India being called by the name Thosai, Thoshay and the like. Today, it is one of the world's 50 most delicious dish according to CNN (between buttered popcorn and potato chips)
Though Dosai typically refers to the roasted plain batter there are many variations and it is constantly being experimented with Western dishes. Some of the famous versions are Masala Dosai, Onion Dosai, Ghee Dosai, Ada Dosai, Set Dosai, and the list goes on for more than a 100 different types! A few of which are really good in our own canteen! The Masala Dosai and the Ghee Dosai is just amazing in the F Block canteen. The Ghee Dosai in the IM Canteen is equally good (cause that's the only Dosai I ate there).
