When I look back on my life, I have so many people to be grateful for as far as my food interest is concerned. One, my Punjabi neighbours during my childhood who introduced me to Rajma, Chole and my favourite, Kali Dal. Besides this, they also shared the recipe of their Punjabi garam masala with my mother and to this day, we continue to have Punjabi specialities using that masala.
Then during my first job, there were two colleagues with whom I would exchange our tiffins. One was a super senior and an excellent cook, the other, a simple Indian working woman. They had one thing in common, they were South Indians. Then a chance encounter on a job networking site led me to start food blogging and that’s when I too realised my keen interest in food and my food writing abilities.
I would like to dedicate this article to my friends who introduced me to some better-than-restaurant and amazing South Indian food.
Neer Dosa
Not even the most popular South Indian ‘coffee house’ or ‘bhavan’ had such melt-in-the-mouth soft Neer Dosa and it was really disappointing. I realised this, when me and my cousins visited the joint for breakfast one day and I was convinced, my office colleague makes them better. The Neer Dosa is a speciality of the Tulu-speaking community and has the consistency of water. Interestingly, it doesn’t need to be fermented. Just blend the ingredients, make the dosas and serve with chutney.
Mysore Pak
The story of how a Mysore Pak evolved is quite fascinating. As per folklore, the cook at Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar’s royal kitchens came up with this delicacy in an attempt to create an unusual dish. He prepared a syrup with ghee, sugar and gram flour and served it in the royal thali. By the time the Maharaja came to have dessert, it had firmed up and become a warm fudge. The Maharaja was truly impressed and when asked about the name, the cook blurted a mere ‘Mysore Pak’. While, other stories do go around, we are happy to have this silken smooth ‘King of Sweets’ of South India. My senior colleagues used to tell me, the timing of adding the gram flour and ghee is the real deal and he always did a fantastic job of making this sweet.
Mysore Masala Dosa
This delicacy is 88 years old and was born in the Vinayaka Mylari hotel in Mysore. Wow! Another world-famous preparation from Mysore. Me and my friend discovered the Mysore Masala Dosa one day in our college days at a cart serving idli-dosa. While it is a stuffed dosa with a filling of potato bhaaji, the distinguishing factor is the red chutney. Another interesting version has cabbage, grated beetroot and carrots too, besides the Mumbai Mysore Masala Dosa.
I consider myself to be lucky to have met some amazing people. Do try these recipes with the links given below.
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