INK(LING)

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hen my daughter would have her polio drops, during the mass polio vaccination drive, we would jokingly say, “Adithi has voted,” referring to the ink mark on her finger.

     During election, when I came out of the polling station with an ink mark on the finger, my daughter, four years old then, asked me “What is voting?” But before I opened my mouth, she had already guessed the answer.  “Do they give you polio drops, once you enter the hall?!!”

Canine nuisance

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ven as the argument over eliminating stray dogs has reached a crescendo following a court order, little thought is given to the problems created by domesticated dogs at public places.

 

     After carefully avoiding the strays lying all over the footpath, when you reach the park, there awaits another kind of nuisance.

     The pet dogs come for an outing with their owners to parks.  With scant regard for the rights of the fellow visitors, the owners let loose their dogs as soon as they enter the park. True to their nature, the canines run amok leaving the children and the adults petrified.

     Besides, the owners do not mind their dogs dirtying the park with their poops and urine.  A visit to the park has, no doubt, become a nightmarish experience nowadays. Not the dogs, but the owners, have to be tamed.

Neer Dosaayana

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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.