The Making Of Crisp Dosas At Kakinada

When I was in college, I was selected to represent at an inter-collegiate sports event. We travelled as a group to Kakinada from Hyderabad in the year 1972.

We had such fun singing songs, joking, eating together. It was an unforgettable trip. We won prizes for our college.

What made me think of Kakinada today all of a sudden?
I was on my way to attend a function at Madipakkam. On the way I saw a person sweep a hot plate with a broom (slender leaves of a coconut tree are slit leaving thin and long twigs which when dried, are bunched together, secured with a string and then used as a broom).

Hot plates are used to spread the dosa batter. After each batch of dosa, the hot plate is sprinkled with water and the surface swept with the broom, then the next batch of dosas are made.

I saw this at Kakinada in the hostel we were put up for the sports event. In the kitchen, I could see the chefs sprinkling water on the hot granite slab, sweeping it away with a broom, then spreading dosa batter. Those dosas were heavenly as they were cooked evenly on slow fire from wooden logs underneath. The hot plate was a thick granite slab. These were big surprises for me. I learnt that brooms were not meant just for sweeping the courtyards and bathrooms, it can be used on the kitchen hot plate too!
That granite slabs can be used instead of tawas for making large scale dosas or rotis.

The broom and hot plate in a Madipakkam roadside hotel, brought back memories of that Kakinada trip today.

Mahalakshmi.