Some More South Indian Food!

Hey guys! Continuing on the different Indian foods idea, I thought about talking about one of my favorite South Indian dishes that is a main meal. DOSA! Dosa is known as a lentil and rice pancake or crepe because of how it looks and what it’s made of. In South India, this dish is very popular and is mostly served for breakfast, today, however people eat this for either one of the three meals of the day. This unique dish can date back to the 17th Century! Dosa is a vegetarian dish, catering to many of the vegetarians in Jain, Buddhist and Hindu religions. This dish is considered very healthy because of the way it is made and it’s ingredients. They say, every city in Southern India has its own special way of taking the common Dosa, Masala Dosa and changing it up with adding different ingredients. Some places, alter the spices and some use different ingredients for the dosa batter/mixture. I have tried some of the other dosas, but I happen to like the Onion Masala Dosa the most. To experiment, I’m going to try some more of the other ones to see how I like them.

Dosa is eaten with Sambar (lentil-based vegetable stew/soup), and Chutney (sauce, optional but usually adds some taste- coconut chutney…etc)

Sambar

Making of Dosa

Coconut Chutney (Sauce)

Different Kinds of Dosa…These are just a few, there’s a lot more!

• Masala Dosa (can go from one layer to seven layer where more and more interior mixture is added)
• Onion Masala Dosa (same as Masala Dosa, just has more onions) 
• Chilli Cheese Paneer Dosa
• Onion Rava Dosa
• Mini Soya Dosa
• Ragi Wheat Dosa
• Rava Dosa
• Kuttu Ka Dosa
• Mysore Masala Dosa

Masala Dosa

Inside of Masala Dosa

Chilli Cheese (Paneer) Dosa

Mysore Masala Dosa

Springroll Dosa

Rava Dosa

As you can see the Dosa is usually big/long so the best way to eat it is to first cut it in half, then take pieces from the outer sides, open the inside a little to get some of the inside filling and then dip that into some Chutney/sauce and then into the Sambar or you can eat the piece as is and then drink some of the Sambar separately.

Healthy Dosa:

• easy to digest
• good source of carbs
• high in proteins
• low in calories
• low in fat
• rich source of minerals
• good source of vitamins

Dosa Recipe: https://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/Recipe/Masala-Dosa-Dakshin-Delights.html

Places near Rutgers to try Dosa:

• Indian House Of Dosas

Address: 1665 Stelton Rd, Piscataway Township, NJ 08854

Menu: indianhouseofdosas.com

Rating on Google: 4.1/5

Phone: (732) 844-3672

• Dosa Grill  

Address: 1980 NJ-27 #3, North Brunswick Township, NJ 08902

Order: doordash.com

Rating on Google: 4.3/5

Phone: (732) 422-6800

Also near Rutgers about 10-15 minutes away, In “India Square” Edison/Iselin, but BEST Place in my opinion as I have been here multiple times! I have tried other places nearby, but their Dosas did not taste as good and were even more expensive for no reason! This place has the BEST taste and the BEST price!

• Dosa Express (Highly Recommended)

Address: 1170 Green St, Iselin, NJ 08830

Order: doordash.com

Rating on Google: 3.5/5

My rating: 5/5 or 6/5

Phone: (732) 404-0047

True Story! One of my best friends ate Dosa for the first time at one of the nearby restaurants and because her experience was not good, she thought this dish did not taste good at all and that she didn’t like it so was never going to eat it again. I was shocked when she told me because I wanted to eat Dosa, that day, so I convinced her to go with me to Dosa Express and to try it there and if she didn’t like it, she’ll never have to eat it again. I knew she was going to like it though and….SHE DID!!! She was very glad to try again and would never go anywhere else but here to eat Dosa just like me. I’m so thankful that the first time I ate Dosa was at this restaurant because I don’t blame my friend, I would have done the same and not tried the dish again if I didn’t like it the first time. It’s true the first impression is not the last, but the first impression usually has a strong affect which is they say you should try to make it the best you can. 

The restaurant is not that fancy, but is big, decent and the food and price is what matters most, which are satisfying! Dosas might taste similar in other restaurants but the Sambar is only BEST here which is very important since it’s eaten with the Dosa. The wait time is also reasonable, I think about 15-20 minutes, obviously depending on the orders and customers, but since the employees have everything ready (the ingredients), it doesn’t take long to make the Dosa. Where they make the Dosa is close to where you order and where they Sambar is, so you can see while waiting if want. The Sambar is kept in a large pot that is plugged to keep it hot, they keep filling it up as needed and the Dosa mixture is always ready, all they add is the interior mixture according to the order. When I was younger I would always stand by and see while waiting for our order. Whenever we go to the India Square to get groceries from the Subzi Mandi (Indian Supermarket), we usually eat Dosa, which is every two weeks!

I love Dosa and I’m sure you will do! Remember, it’s light-yet filling, healthy and costs reasonable! Yay for Indian Food! 

I know I talk more about the vegetarian Indian foods than the non-vegetarian, but I will try to mix it up. It’s just that I’m vegetarian and can relate more to these types of dishes than the others, but I will keep in mind of my audience and consider all types, to include everyone’s preferences. Thanks for the suggestions/comments!