Dosa! I pride myself (a bit bordering on conceit) on being a dosa connoisseur, having tasted this gift of the Gods (did God have a slightly South Indian bias when blessing us with breakfast items?) wherever it was on offer during my abundant travels – from the humblest of rustic roadside shacks to the antiseptic environs of diners of some many-starred hotels. After analysing arrays of chutneys in all their multi-coloured glory of reds, greens and whites; consistencies ranging from fluid to viscous to thick; and textures from coarse to grainy to fine, I have learnt to not let these side actors impede my nuanced judgement of the main hero of the story. And not to forget the Sambar – that one dish which has such multifarious avatars that change every few miles of inhabitation, and upon which topic I can (and definitely will) write an exploratory tome. But these are not the object of my exposition today. And, surprisingly, neither is the dosa! It was only a lure to pull you into this monologue of my culinary discretion.
This rigmarole is about the pan on which the humble dosa (humble?) accomplishes its purpose in life (life? As in from soaking to grinding to fermentation?). So what are the choices for cooking this synonym of delight? The metal: aluminium, carbon steel, stainless steel? No! The coating: hard anodised, PTFE, enamel, ceramic? Nay! Been there done that! Then what’s my favourite? It’s my grandmother’s cast iron pan – a priceless inheritance! Well-seasoned over decades of use, cooking on this pan is such a delight. In fact I consider cooking on a cast iron pan an amazing scientific journey in itself. And let me confine myself within the bounds of the dosa – and note well, that I refer to a traditional, thick dosa, as against the superfluously wafer-thin ones of the modern times.
This morning, before commencing the much-awaited Sunday rituals of honouring the dosa through avid consumption, I was wondering about what actually goes on from the moment the dollop of batter hits a hot cast iron pan (yes, I know, but that’s quite typical of me – going off on cognitive journeys of unwarranted trifles) till it culminates in the metamorphosed dosa. And then it hit me (I know, it has hit the required scientific minds in South India and elsewhere in the world much earlier). Since cast iron is a poor conductor (pardon my getting into the scientific puddle hereinafter) and tends to form hot spots if not pre-heated well and being advantageous of withstanding high temperatures, it is heated to superhotness (yes, I know, no such word exists) before the batter is ladled onto it. And then the magic happens!
Since cast iron has a high heat emissivity, it radiates the imbibed heat quite well, which works miraculously to the advantage of the dosa. The surface of the dosa in contact with the sizzling pan surface gets seared and is transformed into a crisp, brown layer while the radiated heat passes through the several millimetres of batter above and cooks it into a soft, spongy cake with the bubbles of fermentation popping to the surface and escaping quickly through a multitude of pores. And covering the pan with a lid only helps the process as the evaporating water from the batter gets entrapped and steams the surface, thus aiding the cooking process. So what ends up on your plate is a fluffy, springy, yielding piece of divinity ready to soak up the chutneys and sambars of the world, but at the same time offering a dainty crust with a resistive nibble. Phew!
(I know, I accept, you have known this scientific rationale since time immemorial; but I just wanted to satiate my savage pangs for writing today…) So for my dosa cast iron it is! And for more reasons than the mumbo-jumbo above. For, it is the heirloom dosa, which no other pan can cook – not like my grandmother…
– Narendra Nayak © 2019
Interesting narration.Loved the way you articulated.Thank you
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Thank you so much; I’m glad you liked my musings!
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Loved the write up !!
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Thank you so much, Jyo! 🙂
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Seems like Indian food is so yummy!
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Thank you, Arlene, for visiting and reading my article. Yes, Indian food is truly a mind-boggling symphony of diverse, though delectable, cuisines and recipes!
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I still have my grandmother and mother’s cast iron skillets, and there’s nothing like them. The traditional southern cornbread, baked in an iron skillet, would give your admittedly tempting dosa some real competition! Lovely post.
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Thank you so much, Ma’am, for yet another delightful response to my reflections. Though I have not had an opportunity to taste authentic southern cornbread, after looking up some recipes on the web, it seems like it would make for a delicious addition to my skills with, well, the skillet!
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Some people make corn cakes, too — like pancakes, except with corn meal. In any form, it’s quite a staple. I like it with a sweet syrup, or hot, with just butter. My grandfather always crumbled day old cornbread (if there was any left!) into a bowl and poured milk over it. So good!
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These are great tips. I’m going to delve deeper into it now.
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Ooh. I never thought about it that way.
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Life without a seasoned cast iron skillet is empty. Nice post, Sir.
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Well said, Ma’am! Thank you so much for your appreciation.
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I would not willingly part with my cast iron pan. It’s been used to cook all kinds of things for four decades.
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Wow! And understandably so! 👍🏼🙂
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Beautiful ❤
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Thank you so much!
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Beautiful read!
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Thank you so much, Aayushi!
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Lovely post to felicitate the humble dosa Narendra. I have made it on all kinds of pan and absolutely agree that none beats the taste of the one made on an iron pan.
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Thank you, Radhika, for the kind compliments! It’s heartening to hear your firsthand positive experience. 🙂
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Narendra, I am now looking for a Dosa… 🙂
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Ha ha…and in this lockdown it becomes all the more desirable, doesn’t it? 😄
Thank you so much, Param, for visiting my space. You have an amazing blog there. I’m glad I found it and look forward to reading your and Shikha’s travelogues. 🙂👍🏼
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