Dosai

About the Book

AN EASY-TO-FOLLOW GUIDE TO MAKING ALL KINDS OF DOSAI/DOSA

Dosai features a hundred different recipes from the four South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. This book celebrates the many forms of Dosa, or 'Dosai' as it is originally known. Finding mention in sixth-century Tamil Sangam Literature, the Dosai is an ancient recipe, but contemporary in its versatility and its wholesomeness.

Though rice is the principal crop in southern India, the Dosai is not limited by this ingredient. Through its recipes, the book illustrates how other constituents, like ragi, millet, wheat, black gram, green gram, semolina, ripe jackfruit, yams, okra, potato, ripe banana, fenugreek seeds, among others, could also be an integral part of its creation. The book also presents the recipes' nutritive values, thereby establishing the healthy goodness of the Dosai. Traditional food preparation methods, soaking, grinding and fermentation, make the Dosai nutritionally superior to processed foods.

Dosai, packed as it is with carbohydrates, proteins and vitamins, is a balanced meal when served with complementing accompaniments, as expertly illustrated in this cookbook. The cooking techniques mentioned in this exhaustive repertoire are lucid and systematically instruct the reader about each recipe's preparation time and cooking time. In her fifth cookbook, Chandra Padmanabhan shares the secret of creating perfect Dosais, ranging from the tricky Ravai Dosai, to the popular Mysore Masala Dosai, to the luscious Panasa Dosai, to the succulent Halasu Dosai, along with some nerve-tingling accompaniments. This book will be savoured and cherished by all epicureans.

About the Author

Chandra Padmanabhan, a graduate from Calcutta University, did her post-graduation in education at Delhi University. She has long been associated with the publishing industry.

But it is cooking that has been the author's forte for nearly four decades. She is the author of five best-selling titles, Dakshin, Southern Spice, Simply South, Southern Flavours and Dosai. Simply South won the Gourmand International Award for Second Best Vegetarian Cookbook in 2009.

The international edition of Dakshin, published by HarperCollins, Australia, in 1994, is still a pick on the shelves of bookshops all over the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia.