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Food Review: The Mysore Sada Dosa of the JHC Canteen


REVIEWING THE MYSORE SADA DOSA

The Jai Hind College canteen is known for its vast variety of Chinese dishes, sandwiches and South Indian dishes. Every day, the students flock to the inside canteen and outside cafĂ© to satisfy their craving for a wholesome and tasty meal. The time of the day loses all meaning when you enter this sacred place that will soothe your taste buds at concessional rates. Be it 8 o’ clock in the morning or 2 o’ clock in the afternoon or 6 o’ clock in the evening, any dish is applicable to your stomach and wallet.

One such dish, at Rs. 37, is the Mysore Sada Dosa. When looking for something quick and light, but at the same time more satisfying and wholesome than the Sada dosa, you will find a student settling for the Mysore Sada Dosa. Although a South Indian dish, the Jai Hind College canteen serves a modified roadside-Mumbai version of the same. While the original is devoid of much masala, the Mumbaikar version has a semi-spicy flavour that makes it more exciting.

Its ingredients will be found at the dosa counter at all times, ready for preparation the minute a student says, “Go!” with the receipt in hand. As the hungry student stands there, the cook effortlessly sprinkles water on the tava and wipes it off. Then with a beautiful motion, he spreads the batter on the tava in a perfect round shape, just like the widened eyes of the student. He then adds butter and the mysore chutney in a similar manner, and waits till the dosa turns crisp and golden-brown in colour. He then gently folds it and places it on the eager student’s plate, giving sambhar and coconut chutney as accompaniments.

The Mysore Sada Dosa takes on a long, cylindrical shape that one first admires the beauty of. The dish is big enough for one person to eat and tasty enough to be refused for sharing. The spicy mysore chutney, clubbed with the coconut chutney dip, gives a powerful masala taste which is an interesting twist to the regular South Indian taste. A student can settle for this dish at any point in the day, be it as a snack, or breakfast or lunch. Pair this dish with a drink, such as cold coffee, and the meal is complete. This is the type of dish, however, which is best consumed immediately. While some students, in a hurry for their lectures, get it packed and sneakily have it on the back bench of the classroom, the real experience is felt by those who sit on the round canteen table and enjoy it while it is hot.

Although the Mysore Sada dosa does not have a very strong aroma that hits the senses, it is visually very appealing. Through the opening to the cylindrical dosa, the orange-red mysore chutney can be seen covering the inside walls of the dosa. The dosa is a perfect combination of crispy and soft, and so the student also derives some joy from pressing the middle crispy part of the dosa and cracking its surface. As the soft pieces are torn and the crunchy, yet gooey, bite is placed on the tongue, the masala hits the taste buds and evokes a feeling of excitement. While it may get a little spicy for some, the masala happens to be the best part of the mysore sada dosa. This masala, coming from the Mysore chutney, is the strongest ingredient of the dosa. It overpowers every other aspect of the dosa.
One improvement, however, which can be made to this dosa, is the consistency. An individual who has consumed this dosa multiple times will notice that the chutney inside is sometimes too dry and sometimes too wet. While the best version of the dosa is when the chutney is just in-between these two states (neither too dry, nor too wet), the canteen cooks often fail to bring about this state. Either due to too much hurry or lack of attention, they end up making a not very desirable version of the Mysore Sada Dosa.

Overall, the Mysore Sada Dosa is the perfect dish for anyone who wishes to have something tasty and exciting, but also healthy. With a minimal amount of butter, the other ingredients of the dosa are healthy options. Unlike the Sada Dosa which leaves you still feeling hungry, the Mysore Sada Dosa makes you feel satisfied and full, and also adds the desired spice to your meal. It keeps you full and refreshed for atleast 3 more hours, and provides the mental peace of having something tasty despite being on a diet! Pair it with a drink and your meal is complete.

Thus, for the health-conscious yet foody student of Jai Hind College, the Mysore Sada Dosa is the perfect dish to go for!

Vaishali Singh

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