here is the water in neer dose (dosa?), quipped
a food critic once. But anybody familiar with the dose batter can
definitely make out the water in it. It’s not water as a separate entity. It’s
just watery batter.
Humble dose
The common man’s dose
of Mangalore region today has succeeded in enjoying an exalted position in
hotel menus. Why not? The humble dose never betrayed the taste buds of a
food buff. Aren’t the right ingredients
(talent) with a tinge of salt (luck) take you places?
The simple folks
with limited means who could not afford the split blackgram, might have
invented this dose replacing the dal with coconut. Coconut was not a problem in the coastal
belt. In Mangalore, dose or idli marked any festival more than
any sweets. The now ubiquitous doses, earlier, were meant only for
special occasions. So the neer dose emerged as a potent alternative to
the usual dose.
How to go about it?
For neer doses,
the rice has to be washed and soaked for an hour. Drain the water and grind it
along with some grated coconut by adding water. But in most neer dose
recipes, the grated coconut is mysteriously missing! Transfer the batter to a
vessel and add a little salt and make it thin by adding water. Brahmins call this dose sans urad
dal, bajjare dose. Bajjare is baji ari (only rice).
Now splashing the
batter on the pan is another challenge. Today’s non-stick tawas don’t
lend authenticity to the dose.
For this you should have the iron tawa. Smear the tawa with
sesame oil. I still remember our Christian neighbourhood borrowing some oil
from us whenever they prepared this dose. As a Hindu household we always
had sesame oil to light the lamp for God.
When the smeared
oil smokes, splash the batter on the tawa. The batter cannot be spread like
other doses. The batter splutters with a cheen cheen sound giving
out a unique aroma. Cover the tawa
with the lid for a couple of minutes. Remove it and the dose is ready.
If the batter is not prepared well, the dose becomes stubborn refusing
to come out of the pan. If at all it
happens send an SOS to the modern-day non-stick pan.
Accompaniments do
matter
It goes well with any accompaniment be it chutney or any kind of sambar.
For those who have a sweet tooth, here is an accompaniment. Add jaggery and a
little cardamom powder to the grated coconut and mix well. Serve dose
with the preparation with a topping of a little ghee on it.
Comes in different avatars
The story of the dose
doesn’t stop here. Some like it to be
dipped in masala. Add red chilly, coriander, cumin and tamarind to grated
coconut. Make a paste by grinding it. Transfer it to a vessel. Dilute it with
water. Add turmeric and salt and also jaggery if needed. Bring to a boil. Add
curry leaves. Turn off the flame. Add pieces of dose to the mix. Leave
aside for half an hour. Your dose in masala is ready. Even after adding dose pieces, the mix
should be a little watery than sambar as once the pieces absorb the water
content, it becomes thicker.
Its payasa can
also be made. Take coconut milk. Boil it on a low flame adding jaggery. Once it
boils, add cardamom powder, a pinch of salt and turn off the flame. Dose
pieces should be added to it. Leave it for half an hour. The pieces should not be much, as once it is
soaked properly, the payasa turns thicker.
Above all, when
guests arrive without notice, the simple item with maximum satisfaction
quotient comes handy. It has been indeed
a face saver many a time.
