The hot tawa hisses sending up steams as Chef Shankar sprinkles water. Within minutes, he pours out the batter and three perfectly round dosas shape up under the star-studded sky. “It is mutton keema,” he says, slapping a ladle full of minced mutton gravy on the crispy dosa. Then, he rolls it like a frankie and lays out artistically on a plate.
‘Dosa Unlimited’ at The Gateway Hotel is offering more than 20 varieties of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dosas. “Though Dosa is a local food available everywhere, it is similar to pancake. We wanted to give the same earthy dosa with a different taste and flavour,” says Devraj Singh, the General Manager.
The menu for vegetarians include banana dosa, a sweet fruity flavoured dish, mla pesarattu from Andhra which is an uttappam stuffed with upma and mysore masala dosa with potato gravy stuffing. Health conscious may check out oats dosa and adai made the traditional way.
“This is a pizza made of dosa,” says Chef Shankar, showing an open uttappam topped with shredded vegetables and ample Parmesan cheese. “The base is Indian and the topping is western. This is a healthier option than the maida-made pizza though we have matched the taste.”
Chettinad kozhi dosa , sea food dosa stuffed with prawns, squid roll and dil jane dosa with mutton filling are the attractions for non-vegetarians. If you are looking for international indulgence, bite into kung pao dosa – chicken chunks with cashew, onions and red chilly.
Other varieties with oriental influence are Udang pantung kuning - dosa stuffed with prawn cooked in spicy coconut gravy flavoured with lemon grass and Wung yu dosa – a dish made of Chinese cabbage, carrot and scallion sautéed with sesame oil and dark soya sauce.
The signature dish of the festival is ‘Gateway Dosa’ – made with nine types of lentils and grains flavoured with red and green chutney with tomato, bell pepper and potato stuffing sprinkled with olive oil.
If you are up for some sublime experience, pick ratatouille dosa, an eclectic concoction of basil flavoured zucchini and peppers mixed with olive oil. “The dish has a strong flavour of ratatouille, a traditional French stew and yet retains the local base,” says Chef Shankar.
The festival also features a chutney bar with five varieties of chutney and an assortment of podis to go with the dosas. Choose from inji (ginger dip), verkadalai (spicy peanut sauce), nattu thakali (country tomato sauce), coconut and green mint chutney or simply opt for the paruppu podi with a hint of garlic. Ellu podi (roasted sesame seeds), karuvepilai (roasted and grounded curry leaves) and Madurai podi (lentils pounded with red chillies) are the spicier options.
Kids can be on a roll with Caramalised Banana dosa packed with chocochips (Mini pancake topped with chocolate chips, slices of banana, caramelized sauce and pomegranate), fruit salsa dosa, charcoal roasted chicken tikka dosa with shredded cheese, macaroni Napolitano dosa and Stir fired Noodle dosa.
The festival is on till March 31 from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. The charge is Rs. 300 per head for vegetarians and Rs. 350 for non-vegetarians.
