Chilling out with hot dosas

Chilling out with hot dosas
Radhika D Shyam
Round, crisp, golden, plain or stuffed, folded or mounted any which way, the delicious dosa seems to be an all-time favourite for most Indians. Bangalore luckily happens to be a haven for the lovers of this snack. Surprisingly, in Chennai, also known for its regional delicacies, only limp, pale, soggy and soft versions of the dosas of Bangalore are to be seen. There are many places in our city that makes it the Dosa Capital of our country. Lets have a look at these spots.

The 75-year-old MTR or Mavalli Tiffin Room on Lalbagh Road is a landmark by itself.The dosas here happen to be unique because of the dals that are ground along with the usual rice-urad dal and methi batter. Its distinct quality stamp could also be due to the fact that, it is made with their own brand of pure ghee.

Vidyarthi Bhavan in Basavangudi has been famous for its dosas more than the other dishes served, ever since it started in 1943. They sell 800 to a 1000 dosas every single day. Among many celebrities who frequent this place are filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt who claims his visit to Bangalore is never complete without eating a masala dosa here and the human computer Shakuntala Devi who says she misses their dosa whenever she's abroad.

The other places that have ‘must eat’ masala dosas for their crispness and out-of-this-world taste are Udipi Sri Krishna Bhavan located in the heart of the city in Balepet, Janardhan Hotel in Kumara Park, Janatha Hotel in Wilson Garden and the two Samrat restaurants at Chalukya Hotel, Race Course Road and Sheshadripuram. These places have been around for many years winning the hearts of those who frequent these places for their traditional ambience too. The different Adiga Hotel outlets serve a large variety of dishes – but again their dosas are most sought after, especially at K G. Road.

Variations of the dosa like the Onion Utappam and paper dosa are also favoured by many. Shiv Sagar on Narayan Pillai Street, off Commercial Street, besides having the Neer Dosa, has introduced innovative varieties like Spring Dosa, Palak Dosa, Vegetable Dosa and Schezwan Dosa. Organisers of Indian food festivals abroad, proclaim the Kheema Dosa to be the most selling and popular dish.

If you are not smug enough to look down on roadside eateries and can risk death by dosas, you can bite into the most deadliest and delicious dosas after 6 pm on Jewellers’ Street off Commercial Street and after 9 pm in Nagrathpet, off Avenue Road. But, by far the best dosa in the world is available in a small shack like residence of one Sidappa adjoining a temple compound in a lane in Sampangi Ram Nagar (S R Nagar) – the area between Mission Road and Raja Ram Mohan Roy Road. In spite of its total lack of an ambience of any sort, there are BMWs and Mercs often parked outside his place for a taste of his wares. The big sized masala dosa priced at Rs 23 is worth every paisa but certainly not meant for the calorie conscious. And if your mouth is watering by now, just go ahead and pamper your taste buds with this sizzling, sumptuous South-Indian delicacy at one of these spots.