Jun 3, 2007

Schezwan Dosa

(This is my entry for the letter "S" in Nupur's A-Z of vegetables. This lovely Indo-Chinese dish fills your tummy and pleases your tongue.)

Note to my readers: Request you to read my article Home Alone in which I have mentioned tips for girls on the H4 visa to utilize their free time in an effective way.

Mumbai: the city that never sleeps. The city I love and miss for so many reasons – it’s the city where I was born and brought up. When I think of Mumbai, I miss my home, my parents, my school, every lane I that is close to home, the crowd, the trains, traveling in crowded buses and in rickshaws, the sights and smells of the city, the familiar places and shops, the haggling of prices with vegetable sellers, the festivals and sweets, the galli ka cricket, and the Mumbai rains. But if someone would ask me to name the thing that I miss most about Mumbai, it would be definitely the Mumbai street food. Now, I am aware that too much of street food is bad for health. But it’s not my fault that I was introduced and fell in love with the Mumbai junk food.

I was in Ruia for class 11th and 12th. And for those who are familiar with the college and its surroundings, they would know that it’s a heaven for junk food lovers. There are several restaurants in and around Ruia. The first ones that come to my mind are Mani’s, DP’s and a Chinese joint whose name I fail to recollect. Then there was the vada pav wala right outside King George School. Walk further for around 5 minutes and you will reach D. Damodar’s snacks and sweet shop. I was so in love with the samosas, kachoris, and pattices sold in this shop that I was hoping I would marry someone from their family. Thus began my eternal love affair with junk food.

I used to frequent the junk food joints near Shivaji Park, eat chat near Citylight, hog on wada pav whenever I felt like. Of course, my parents saw to it that I did not overdo it. There were times when I used to eat shev puri on my way back from office and then declare that I would eat less for dinner. My mom used to ask me if I had eaten any junk food, and I used to say “No”. Then she used to probe me like a police officer and I used to sheepishly answer in the affirmative

My chat love often took me to Ghatkopar where two of my best friends resided. We used to take a stroll down “Khau galli” and sample yummy snacks at cheap prices. The chief among them were dabeli and chat. Schezwan Dosa is one dish that I had seen on the streets of Ghatkopar, but never got the chance to sample. My husband and best friend have tasted this dish and I have tried to recreate this lovely dosa with their help.

Schezwan Dosa

Makes around: 6 schezwan dosas (the dosa batter will yield another couple of sada dosas)
Cooking level: Medium
Preparation time: I took around 2 hours for making dosas, chutney, and sambhar.

For the stuffing (schezwan vegetable mixture):
Ingredients
1.1 ½ cup shredded cabbage
2.½ cup capsicum – chopped to pieces
3.½ cup carrots – chopped finely to pieces
4.1 big onion – sliced thin
5.½ cup noodles – cooked aldent (boil water and cook noodles for exactly 2 minutes)
6.Salt and pepper to taste
7.1 tbsp oil
8.1 tbsp schezwan sauce (I used Ching's schezwan sauce)
9.½ tbsp soya sauce
10.1 tsp chilli vinegar

Method for the stuffing:
1.Heat a pan and add 1 tbsp oil in it.
2.Add carrots, capsicums, cabbage and onion and fry on high heat till the vegetables are cooked.
3.Next, add the noodles and fry for 2-3 minutes.
4.Add salt and pepper to taste, schezwan sauce, soya sauce, chilli vinegar and mix all the ingredients well.
5.Cook for 3-4 minutes and turn off the heat.

For the schezwan dosa:
1.Wash together 2 cups rice, ¾ cup urad daal, and 1 tsp fenugreek seeds. Soak this mixture for 3-4 hours.
2.Grind the above mixture and ferment it overnight. For me, overnight fermentation doesn’t work, so I ferment the mixture for almost 24 hours before making idlis/dosas.
3.Add salt to taste in the batter.
4.Heat a pan and put 1 tsp oil on it. Pour a spoon of batter and spread evenly. Add a little bit of oil on all sides of the dosa. Flip the dosa on the other side and cook for about 30 seconds.
5.Now, spread 1 tsp of schezwan sauce on this side of the dosa and spread evenly. Add a spoonful of the schezwan vegetable mixture on one edge of the dosa. Let cook for another 30 seconds.


6.Roll the dosa and transfer on a plate.
7.Continue making more dosas repeating steps 4,5, and 6.
8. Serve hot with sambhar and chutney or enjoy without any accompaniment.


Verdict: Superb, that's how these dosas turned out. You can use less noodles and more vegetables in the stuffing. These dosas are quite filling and a crowd pleasure. Check out another lovely Indo-Chinese dish from Swad.

View the round-up of S vegetables here.

23 comments:

Sig said...

Wow Swapna, I've never heard of Schezwan Dosa before, thanks for introducing it to me... I love this kind of food...

Anonymous said...

What a superb idea, Swapna. Makes a wholesome, flavorful meal.

Great article there too. It’s refreshing to see your positive look on life and helping nature. I am glad that you have decided to take up on food blogging also. You are a gem and food blogging scene is much richer for your presence in it. Keep up the good work!

Coffee said...

Swapna, you post has reminded some of my memories of all those places!!!! Ghatkopar khau galli ..... DP's And Mani's!!!!!! I can write a book on that! :)

I love this dosa at the khau galli. :) Loved your presentation. :)

TNL said...

That is an awesome idea!

Nupur said...

I have had a chance to taste this stuff in Bombay, and it is so much fun! Thanks for giving us a great recipe for making it at home.

indosungod said...

Swapna that is one really tasty and fun dosa, for a Chinese and Indian Food Lover this one is a must try. I put the dosa batter in a oven with the light on and it ferments overnight.

Home Alone that was one great article. Some of those tips are useful for just about anybody. Good Luck! It is a shame how some of the talent is getting wasted when many companies are always looking for people!!

Richa said...

hey, you are driving me crazy with the mention of restaurants around ruia & shivaji park!!!!!!!!! ti jabardast jaga kuthehi replicate karna shakya nahi!! on my way back from work i used to eat the jehangiri from nayak sweets next to the stn & bhel from char rasta almost everyday :) gypsy madhye chinese mast ahey!
anyway, ur dosa looks yum, indo-chinese is always welcome anytime at my home :)

TheCooker said...

Brought back so many memories!
The dosa looks abs delicious!

FH said...

What a unique idea to combine these two to have a great dish.Thanks!:))

Swapna said...

Sig: Try out this dosa sometime. You will love it.
Indira: Thanks for your compliments. I am glad you liked the article and the dosa too.
Coffee: Did you stay in Ghatkopar? I am waiting to go back to India and feast on the snacks.
Trupti and Nupur: Thanks for the comments, girls.
Indo: I do keep the batter in the oven, still it takes a long time to ferment. Do try the schezwan dosa. Thanks for your compliments for the Home Alone article.
Richa: I got all nostalgic writing about those places. Sure, they cannot be replicated anywhr.
TC and Asha: Thanks for the lovely comments. Try the dosa and let me know how u find it.

Anonymous said...

Wow...never heard this kind of dosa. I loved to read your experience with chaats :)(my fav dialog would have been "all taurians are good peope ;)). Are we twins by any chance?? hehe....You have a very nice style of writing, I loved to read it.

Roopa said...

wow what a wonderfull idea of adding two flavours together. i have never heard of this dish before thks for sharing!

Manasi said...

I know ALL the places u mentioned!! Do u mean 'Chinaman' or popularly called Sherry's- near Ruia or is it 'SnowPoint'for chinese? And Ghatkopar khau galli!Umm!!! and Do u know the vada pav outside Kirti college? That is YUM!!
Oooh! u made me nostalgic now!! And I love the junk food too.. no matter what anybody says!!

Swapna said...

Shilpa: Yup, we are Taurean twins:)..Glad u liked the dosa.
Roopa: I am so happy you liked the dosa idea. Do try it sometime.
Manasi: Chinaman it is. Thanks for reminding. My friend's younger sis was in Kirti and we used to dhamkofy her to get us vada pav once in a while. Do u know of Jai sandwich wala outside National College, Bandra?:)

Suganya said...

Thats a smart idea. Shudnt be surprised if it becomes popular like gobi manchurian :)

The article was great. I can truly relate to what you went thru then and now. I had some problems initially staying at home after working crazy 18 hrs a day. Though it was depressing in the beginning, I started to appreciate the value of time and learnt to wisely utilise it. But to put it all in words so beautifully.. Kudos Gal!

Linda said...

Hi Swapna, that is so unique and clever! Looks delicious :)

Aruna said...

Swapna, Ur dosa is very tempting to the eye :-) Love the stuffing :)

themistressofspices.wordpress.com

bee said...

hey ruia gal, ruparel gal here. we used to come that way to ogle at some guys we liked.

Swapna said...

Suganya: Mumbai streets are full of creative foods. Glad u liked the dish and the article.
Linda and Aruna: Thanks for the comments girls.
Bee: Shud I tell that to Jai?:))

Raaga said...

Lovely recipe. I know what you mean about places in matunga... my ancestral home is at the junction of Bhalchandra and Chandavarkar Roads :)

Seema Bhat said...

Swapna, This is one brilliant idea. Never heard of schezwan dosa. I so much wanna grab one and bite the crispy dosa with the spicy shezwan inside. Loved it.

Sharmi said...

hey Swaps, that looks so yummy, I would just eat up those noodles and not wait for the dosa. its a great idea.

Priyanka said...

wow, thats very creative and delicious. a very nice recipe. thanks for sharing.