MASALA DOSA

The very name "Masala Dosa" is hugely evocative for me. It takes me back to my childhood days when a rare visit to a vegetarian hotel along with my parents or uncles, was the most I could have asked for. These days, when children frequent the Pizza Hut or KFC or Chicking hangouts  or Baskin Robins I stand in awe. I also wonder how one can prefer all these over my Masala Dosa (MD). I remember having the most tasty MD at the Unni's hotel at Mavelikara.( less than 100 mts towards the west of the Mitchel junction - no more there). This hotel didn't have a board, yet MD lovers flocked there. The proprietor Mr Unni was a Nair with aristocratic looks. After all these years I can confidently say that MD  at the Unni's were the best I ever have had .

Masala Dosa is one food item that has been cruelly experimented with by unscrupulous chefs.The filling in Unni's MD was simple, with potato ,onion, a little ginger and nothing else. The moment green peas or carrot were added MD lost its chaste taste. MD ceased to be MD. Intrusions did not stop there. Even cauliflower (of all the things in the world) got into the recipe. The sad result is that Unni's MD is a thing of the past. My mind craves for the simple yet mouth watering MD.

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Last week, the Huffington Post of New York included MD in a list of ten food items "one must eat before one dies". I felt happy and proud. I do not  know which MD they have selected. Unni's or the chef-shattered  modern ones? Whatever, let us rejoice over the MD's new found position.

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This recognition for MD brings certain thoughts to the fore. Kerala has a long list of native foods to showcase. But our hotels and restaurants try to woo the  tourists (from within India and abroad) with Chinese and Continental dishes. I wonder why foreign tourists should visit India for Chinese delicacies. Why can't Kerala promote food items that are so uniquely its? Dosa, Iddli or Vada may be common to all of South India. But Appam, Palappam, Idiappam, Puttu etc are of Kerala origin. I am sure that if our children get a chance to have these items home made, they will not go after the unhealthy junk foods that are deceptively tasty. Which potato chips marketed by multinational companies can match our "Chakka Upperi" or "Kaya Varuthathu"? Achappam and Kuzhalappam are on the verge of extinction. In fact they are extinct. what we get from the shops are an apology for the old ones.

I wish the Keralites in the hospitality business in a big way, took the lead to promote the food items that so uniquely belong to this place. In that process there shall be no experimentation with Avial or Sambar. Do that only if anyone can suggest an improvement to the Adapradhaman.