Masala Dosa at Vidyarthi Bhavan Gandhi Bazaar in Bengaluru.
DH Photo
Call it a dosa (dough-sah) or dosha (dough-sha; not to be mistaken for dosha, a flaw) like my neighbours to the north, or dosai, like my neighbours to the south, it makes little difference to the popularity of the dish, called dose (though-say) in my home town, Bengaluru.
Dose must have existed since ancient times by the sheer evidence of its evolution from a simple batter spread on a hot griddle to its many forms now. The city offers sights of patrons noshing on this delicacy, seated by a fancy linen-laid table in restaurants, or standing with the plates in their hands by trucks cleverly morphed into little kitchens.
Dose restaurants are really institutions by themselves, occupying their own hallowed positions in the hierarchy of customer preferences. What makes a dose so coveted, regardless of the diverse geography and many nuances of our country? Is it the art of making it? Is it the colour? Is it the texture?
A place hidden away in a bustling market, the signboard barely visible, serves Masala Dose that is fried to a dark brown with chutney that is so runny that it can only be scooped in ladles in copious amounts. The jaws open wide at the sight of the waiter carrying multiple plates arranged on his forearm all the way up-to to his shoulder.
The perfectly buttered fried outside competes with the soft spongy inside of the dose soaking up the chutney and potato in its scoop, taste buds tingling with joy.
My own ancestry vouches for the longevity of this other restaurant, in existence since my grandfather. Legend has it that the dose became so popular that it warranted a whole new floor to be opened to accommodate the flood of customers. The chutney is so coveted that there is a signboard on the wall, clearly refusing any second servings thereof, cautioning the eater to be efficient in its consumption.
Another restaurant, touting the homemade tastes of its delicacies, claims no less of a line in the early hours of the morning. The dose, sizzling with ghee, the gooey potato peppered with fried cashews and the green chutney topped with crunchy lentils is intended to replenish the calories that may have been expended by the patrons after the culmination of their walks in the neighboring expansive garden.
Yet another restaurant of antiquity, omnipresent and affordable by common folk, has been a staunch favourite among students and workers for a meal of dose that satiates as a breakfast, lunch or dinner. Garlicky, spicy and drenched in an aroma that accompanies your memory for the rest of the day, this dose is nothing to snicker about, given its popularity since its opening.
Is the institution of dose here to stay? Not claiming to be clairvoyant, but minutes after eating a delicious masala dose, I have little doubt that it will.