Dosa Trial

When I lived in Tamil Nadu, I would visit Auroville often. I became very close with Johnny who was one of the original community members of Auroville. He is a renaissance man who can create just about anything and he has the uncanny ability of bringing community together - both young and old. If you spend time around Johnny you are always in for a hell of an adventure that's for sure.

One thing that I loved about staying in his community (Fertile) was the Sunday dosa party. It was a potluck and you never knew who would show up. Johnny started it because in his family in Australia, his grandmother would always have Sunday family suppers. I think the story goes that one time he tried running away from home but then got so hungry he ended up at the doorstep of his grandmother's home for Sunday supper. When he set up the community in Auroville, this was his way of carrying on his grandmother's tradition. There is always an eclectic mix of music, potluck food and people. Johnny makes everything over the fire. He even grinds the dosa batter with a fire powered grinder. His griddle is a huge cast iron slab seated on top of a barrel that he burns wood in. The morning routine before everyone comes is to make sambar over the fire, grind chutney in the stone grinder and whatever other snacks to add to the table. I loved the vibe of SUndays at Fertile and I hope to recreate the same kind of dosa party potluck gathering wherever I settle down the line.

I always thought it was a complex fermentation process but actually it ended up being very simple. Skyping with my grandmother, I was able to get the right combo of ingredients. I

2 cups 'idli rice' (parboiled rice - kind of brownish color)
3/4 cup urad dal
2 tbsp fenugreek
1/2 cup avil
1 tsp salt

1) wash and soak rice for 5 hours
2) mix urad dal and fenugreek in a bowl and soak for 3 hours
3) soak avil for 3 hours separately
4) combine everything in a super mixie such as vitamix and mixie until smooth without any graininess - add appropriate amount of water to bring about smoothness. BUT DON'T MAKE IT TOO WATERY! IT SHOULD BE THE CONSISTENCY OF PANCAKE BATTER
5) add salt, loosely cover and store in a warm, dry place overnight or for 8 hours (like to oven not while it's on though! In the summer time you can just leave it out on the counter)

The next day, the fermentation process would have made the batter rise slightly. mix it and add more salt if necessary. Sometimes you can't tell until you have made the dosa if it needs more salt. The best pan for making dosa is cast iron but this nonstick pan also has worked really well. Make it thin or thick - whatever you prefer. Use a large ladle and pour one ladle full into the middle of the pan on medium to high heat. Circle the batter outwards making concentric, continuous circles into the batter. Put 1-2 tsp of corn oil or ghee around the circumference of the dosa. Turn once it is golden brown on the underside and cook the other side to the same color. Serve with sambar, chutney, sugar and ghee or whatever your fancy!

Finding Your Style

I always had a hard time cooking food that Mom makes because I would be so critical of the end product - of course I'm comparing myself to a woman that has been in the game since she was 9 years old! So maybe that comparison is not valid but still the mind does it because I know what it is 'supposed' to taste like. At the same time, while it is appropriate to use Amma's food as a standard for the basic recipe, I do need to accept that I may have my own style that still can taste good and may be a little different.

Today is the first day I cooked pakka Indian food on my own in a long time. Both my parents are on vacation and I'm on my own at home. I decided to give it a go.  After pestering Mamamma a few times about where to find everything (the fridge, the freezer, the cupboard on top of the stove...it's a goose hunt!) I went to it. I was not sure about it at first but soon, the color started to look like it was supposed to look, and, even better, it started to actually taste like a pretty good sambar! In my mind, I make the process a lot more difficult than it has to be.

So here it is folks! Avarakkai Sambar with kathrikai poriyal, manga urugai and a boat load of thayir :-) In a later post I will learn how to actually make sambar podi but for now here is the recipe for those that have the ingredients handy:

Avarakkai Sambar:

1) 2 cups washed and cut avarakkai (flat beans) into thirds
2) half diced tomato
3) 1 tblsp tamarind
3) 1 tsp turmeric
4) 1 tsp salt
5) 1-2 cups cooked toor dhal
6) 1tbsp sambar powder
7) 1 tsp sugar
8) 1/2 tsp asoefetida (hing or perungaiyum)
9) Seasoning: mustard seeds, fenugreek, curry leaves (you can find these in an indian grocery store or if you live in Florida it grows very easily in many areas)
10) add salt as desired


1) Mix 3c water with turmeric, tamarind and salt. To add tamarind, soak in 1/4c of water and mix in separate cup. Then strain and add the juice from this into the water. Bring the pot to a boil then add the vegetables and continue to boil about 15 minutes or until avarakkai is tender.

2) Once the vegetables are thoroughly cooked, add sambar powder, sugar and hing. Boil for another 15 minutes.

3) Add cooked dhal as desired. I like to make it think so I put about 2 cups. Again bring the whole thing to a boil and add extra salt here.

(side note - dhal is easiest to cook in a pressure cooker. Add water to the basin. Then put one cup of toor dhal in a bowl, wash and drain, and fill with 3-4 cups of water. Place this in the basin, cover and put on the stove on high. Wait for about 8-10 whistles then sim for 5-10 minutes and shut off. Wait until all the steam escapes and be sure to release steam anyway from the top in case there is extra before opening.)

4) Add seasoning: use a small pan and put it on the stove on med-high. Add 1 tbsp veg oil or corn oil. Wait until it heats up and then add 2 tsp of mustard seeds. Wait until this pops vigorously, then add 1 tsp fenugreek seeds. Once the fenugreek starts to change a tannish red color, add chopped curry leaves. VERY IMPORTANT: Do not let the fenugreek burn bc it will ruin the flavor. Add this all to the sambar.

5) Taste and add salt as desired.

KATHRIKAI PORIAYAL

1 chopped eggplant (I used the asian long purple variety but any variety will work)
2 tsp mustard seeds
2-3 tbsp oil
1 tsp turmeric
Salt to taste (1-2 tsp)
1 tbsp MTR Puliyogare mix (EASY SECRET!!!)

The pan makes all the difference. If you have the wrong pan, the eggplant will just become one big blob rather than dry, individual fried pieces of goodness. My Mamamma recently bought us a wonderful pan for vegetable poriyals from Bed, Bath and Beyond.

1) Add oil and mustard seeds. Once it pops vigorously, add the chopped and washed eggplant pieces and turmeric.

2) Mix everything and let it fry on medium heat for about 15 minutes. You want the eggplant to really dry out and fry till it changes into a brown color - but don't burn it!

3) Sprinkle the MTR mix and salt over the eggplant. This is a packet mix you can find at most any Indian grocery store and it is a very handy and versatile. Let the eggplant continue to cook through on low heat for another 10 minutes. Add more salt if desired!

Thats all she wrote folks :-) There is a side of mango pickle and yogurt but that's for another blog. Enjoy!