On my way home from work on Wednesday, all I could think about was dinner and what I was going to make. Since Vishnu’s been spending his days and nights at the library, I’ve been doing my own thing most nights of the week. I had settled on making a quesadilla for dinner when much to my surprise, I found my hubby studying at home. Woo hoo!
Dinners together are rare right now, so I changed my mind about the quesadilla and decided to make an Indian meal. As I looked through our pantry, I found dosa (savory Indian crepe/pancake) and sambhar (a slightly spicy Indian soup) mixes hiding in the back. I called my mom to ask a couple of questions, and she reassured me that it would turn out just fine.
Before I share the details about how I pulled this all together, I want to say a few things about these mixes. First, most Indian grocers carry Gits brand products. And most major cities have at least one Indian grocery store. Just ask Google. Second, these mixes are not really healthy. About half way through, I looked at the ingredient lists and found things like partially hydrogenated vegetable oil shortening and butylated hydroxy anisole (a preservative). Not a fan of hydrogenated anything so that was a bummer. However, we do not eat Gits dosa and sambhar very often so I let it slide. And finally, using these mixes was not intimidating at all. It was honestly one of the easiest Indian meals I’ve ever made.
For the dosa mix, all I literally had to do was add water. That’s it. When actually cooking the dosa, I was extra careful to maintain an even layer of the mixture. Dosas are best when thin and crispy (in my opinion).
The sambhar was a little more involved. I had to add water AND chopped tomatoes..haha!
For the masala filling, I cooked a medium onion and a large sweet potato in coconut oil and added a bunch of spices (turmeric, mustard seeds, red chili pepper, cumin/coriander powder and salt). It turned out really well.
Leftover masala mixture
As I was plating everything, I realized that something was missing – a chutney (sauce)! I frantically called my MIL (she’s a dosa expert), and when she didn’t pick up, I called my mom (who also makes great dosas). She asked me what I had on hand and gave me a few ideas. I quickly mixed together some Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, coconut powder, salt, sugar, and red chili powder. I know this sounds strange, but it was perfect on top of the dosa. The cool yogurt complemented the masala and sambhar perfectly.
Side note: Vishnu didn’t like it, but only because he prefers his chutneys dairy-free.
I was so proud of myself when I took the first bite and realized that my dosa actually tasted good!
How I eat dosa: fill with masala, top with chutney, and dip in sambhar
I highly recommend visiting your local Indian store and picking up some different mixes. Who knows…you may end up with a delicious dinner!
Have you ever tried a masala dosa? What’s your favorite Indian dish?
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You know I’m not a fan of Indian food but dosas & idlis are one of the few things I’m down with! If you do stop by in Mumbai during your upcoming trip, I promise I’ll make sure you get your dosa fix….the real deal that is :)!
Wow that looks really good!! I’ve only cooked indian food once, with one of my friends who is from india! It was really good!
Look at you being a good Indian wife! They turned out awesome and I’m sure they tasted great despite the hydrogenated stuff 🙁
I want a proper Tava pan before I even attempt to make dosas. I once asked my mom if I could just use my griddle or even my all purpose pan and she gave me a horrified look. I should have known. When I asked her how to make mattar paneer, she gave me the recipe for how to make the paneer and then teased me when I said I was buying a frozen block of it lol. I loooove dosa and pessaretu. Reminds me of home <3
yummm!! Looks delicious par!
So proud of you my pumkin:) !!! I can’t wait to hear morre stories like this about Indian items that you will make. I’ll be more than happy to give you ideas and my insights you may need.
Wow Parita, that looks amazing! I love Indian food, there is a place in San Francisco called Shalimar that I absolutely go crazy for.
now you are making me hungry. Long time ago, I bought those mix boxes without realizing what other ingredients I needed – it was way more complicated than water and while I tried to do my own thing – it failed and havent tried it since..but now I am tempted to try with this brand again and finding Indian store in Dallas is not a problem 🙂
Sounds SO SO good! I think I’ve only had a dosa from TJ’s frozen section. I have a feeling that’s not the best example. I’d love to try one soon!
I love masala dosa…one of my favorite Indian meals ever. My mom has made it using a mix before and it does turn out fantastic. Looks delicious.
I still have to try GITS. It’s so annoying that a lot of the Indian processed foods packets are so loaded with these harmful oils. Even Maggie Noodles are pretty bad for you. I wish Whole Foods would come up with their version of Dosas. Regardless, I’ll be trying GITS since it is a once in a blue moon thing. I love Masala Dosa.. it’s my favorite South Indian meal, but unfortunately I don’t eat it often enough.
For chutney… if you ever have cilantro or mint on hand, I just add the herbs in the blender with lemon/lime juice, 1 red/green chilies, garlic, and salt. It turns out amazing.. and so quick. I even add some yogurt if it’s too spicy.
I’ll email you my whereabouts this weekend. 🙂
This looks delicious! 🙂
I’ve never tried masala dosa before. My favorite Indian dish might be saag paneer 🙂
Oh masala dosas are one of my all time favorites! I haven’t tried the gits brand before but whenever I’m at my mom’s house and shes making dosa, I always take the leftover batter and freeze it for whenever I feel like dosas! Your dosa sambhar look delicious!
Actually most of the peoples are using ready to eat food…
There so many Ready to Eat, Ready to cook food brands in the market..such as MTR
http://www.readytoeat.com/
http://www.gitsfood.com/