Come rain or shine thattudosas are always a hot favourite, to be savoured out in the open from one of those ubiquitous gas-lamp lit roadside stalls that dot the city streets. But nowadays thattukadas are not the only place where you can find a plate of steaming hot thattudosas.
Chances are you will find them on the menus of many upmarket restaurants as well as star hotels. In fact, hotels often conduct street food festivals, where the humble thattudosa is the star dish. So how did the common man’s street food go gourmet?
“Having thattudosa on the menu widens the scope for customers,” Arjun Ravindran, marketing consultant, Madras Tiffin Centre at Kowdiar, which has thattudosa on its menu.
“Many of the older customers especially, seem to prefer the thattudosa over other varieties. Dining out is a family affair these days and not everyone in the family would enjoy eating from roadside stalls however good the food might be. But they would like to get the same fare in the restaurant,” he adds.
Homemaker Rajani Nair says that ease of cooking it, combined with its compatibility with just about any side dish (chutneys, eggs, curries, pickles…) has made thattudosa a favourite.
“It’s prefect size and the fact that the batter does not need to ferment, gives it an advantage when it comes to the cooking process. Another big factor is that it can be had with all sorts of curries, vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Also, these days, people see the thattudosa as a healthy, tasty alternative to porottas and other oily Indian breads,” she explains.
It’s not just at restaurants that the thattudosa finds a platter.
It’s trendy to have a thattudosa counter at large, catered events too. Sreekumar a.k.a. Sudarshanan, who runs Padippura catering service, says that thattudosas are in high demand among his customers.
“It’s a welcome change from the usual live counters that dish out appam and idiyippam. Other dosa varieties such as ghee roast and masala dosas taste best with sambar or chutney. The thattudosa goes well with non-vegetarian curries as well and it is much easier to prepare.
“In fact, thattudosa-fish curry combo is all the rage at wedding receptions,” he says.
Foodie and filmmaker Gautham S. Kumar, meanwhile, believes that the popularity of the thattudosa is an extension of the popularity for homely food on fine dining menus.
