Dosa, masala maar ke

(From left) Harris admitted she'd never made masala dosa during her chat with Kaling. Pic courtesy/Youtube

Last week, US senator Kamala Harris not only made history after being elected as the Democratic Party's Vice Presidential candidate, but also got desi netizens emotional, thanks to a video of her and actor Mindy Kaling from November 2019. In it, the two can be seen making masala dosa and exchanging warm anecdotes about their South Indian roots. While they chose the conventional recipe, chef Marina Balakrishnan, founder of the Oottupura cloud kitchen, shares two new ways to pep-up the humble masala dosa.

Millet masala dosa with nalla karam podi

For the nalla karam podi:
Sauté a tsp of cumin seeds in half a tsp of oil in a heavy-bottomed vessel till they're brown and set aside. In the same vessel, separately roast a tbsp of chana dal till light brown, two-and-a-half-tbsp black gram dal, nine to 10 de-seeded dry red chillies, half a cup coriander seeds, a cup of curry leaves, and a small tamarind ball. Add half a tsp of oil each time. Cool the roasted ingredients. Then, grind the dals, chillies, cumin and coriander seeds into a coarse powder. Add the curry leaves and tamarind, and grind for a few more seconds. Then, grind the powder with four to five garlic pods and a tbsp of salt for 10 seconds. Next, roast the powder in ghee on a low flame for two minutes.

For the vegetable masala:
Ingredients
2 cups diced beans, carrots and pumpkin
A small tamarind
2 tsp jaggery powder
1/2 cup grated coconut
1 inch ginger
1 chopped green chilli
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 dry chillies
Curry leaves
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp hing

Method
Steam the diced vegetables separately for a crunchy texture. Make a fine paste of the grated coconut, ginger, green chilli, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, dry chillies and curry leaves. Temper oil on a pan with curry leaves, mustard seeds and hing. Now, cook the finely-ground coconut paste in it. Throw in the diced veggies, and cook for a few minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves.

For the millet dosa:
Ingredients
1 cup millet
1/2 cup urad
1 tsp chana
1/2 tsp methi

Method
Soak the ingredients for four hours and then blend them. Let the batter ferment for eight to 10 hours. Heat a dosa pan on a medium flame and spread the batter. After a few minutes, slather a spoonful of the nalla karam podi all over the dosa. Take a large spoonful of the vegetable masala, put it on one side of the batter, and let it cook. Flip the other side over and let it sit for a few minutes, before serving hot.

Kerala-style masala dosa with tapioca filling

Navara rice dosa

For the filling:
Ingredients
1 medium-sized tapioca
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp chilli powder
Salt

For the coconut paste:
1/4 cup grated coconut
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 green chilli
Curry leaves

For tempering:
1 tsp mustard seeds
Dry chillies
A sprig of curry leaves

Mashed tapioca filling

Method
Peel the tapioca skin and cut into medium-sized cubes. In a pot, add the cubes, salt, turmeric and chilli powder; pour enough water to submerge the tapioca and cook on a high flame. Meanwhile, blend the coconut paste ingredients. Once the tapioca is cooked, mash it well, leaving a few bite-sized pieces. Temper some oil with the seasoning, stir in the tapioca mash and coconut paste, and cook until the raw smell of coconut settles. Set it aside.

For the Navara dosa batter:
Ingredients
1 cup Navara rice
1/2 cup raw rice
3/4 cup urad
1 tsp methi seeds
Salt

Method
Soak the Navara and raw rice together in water for six hours, and the urad and methi in another pot for six hours. After that, make a smooth paste of the urad and methi seeds by adding little water at a time. Pour it into a dish. Now, blend the rice grains by adding a little water at a time; the batter should be slightly grainy. Pour the rice batter into the urad dal one, and mix both well by adding salt. The batter should have a thick dropping consistency. Ferment this for about eight hours depending on humidity.

For the chammandi and assembling:
Ingredients
6 dry red chillies
2 Kashmiri chillies
1/2 cup grated coconut
1 small tamarind ball
A sprig of curry leaves
Salt

Method
De-seed the red chillies and roast them on a medium flame. On a low flame, toss the coconut, tamarind and curry leaves for a few minutes. Blend the chillies into a smooth consistency and add the coconut-tamarind mixture and blend again. Heat a dosa pan. On a medium flame, spread the dosa batter and let it cook for a few minutes. Slather a spoonful of chammandi on the dosa. Then, put a large spoonful of the tapioca mash on one side of the batter and let it cook for a few minutes. Flip the other side over the mash and let it sit for a few minutes. Serve hot.

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