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Sambhar Mafia - Cooked To Kill!

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Chennai Dosa and CNN-IBN's Chutney

To coincide with Madras Day, CNN-IBN is running a special series called Chennai Chutney. One of the stories is about dosa, which is being billed as the most popular South India dish.

"Kara Dosai, paper rava, dry fruit dosai, paper masala, vegetable dosai, paneer dosai, family roast, ghee roast, ghee rava dosai and some seven varieties of uthappam,” a server at restaurant Saravanabhavan, Selvam said. Nowadays, one can find many more of those on your dosa menu card.

With new ways of marketing and innovation the name of the game, dosa perhaps is now the most famous south Indian dish around the world.

There were some more interesting MSM pieces on the occasion of Madras Day. This article by Venkatesh Chakravarthy looks at the North-South divide in the city:
A split city is not something split into two halves but a dynamic living entity that abounds in ambiguities and contradictions in its several layers. North Chennai is both spatially and temporally split off from its counterpart South Chennai. With its narrow and crowded streets, aged factories, bursting drain ways and rotting dump yards, it has become a fossilised museum piece frozen in the modern times that created it. While South Chennai has jump-started into postmodern times with its IT corridors, amusement parks, global multicuisine restaurants, shopping chains and a multinational agency to keep its streets dust free.
Another article by Sushila Ravindranath urges people to preserve heritage buildings in the city.

10 Comments:

  • hmmm...the dosa bit reminds me of madhavan's dialogue in nala-damayanthi
    seriously it is the most versatile dish, anothe rvariety is the karaicha dosai, all you need is some flour, and some finely sliced vegetables and u have them
    :)

    By Blogger monu, at 9:52 PM  

  • Love the idea of Chenna day - very cool.

    And love dosa's and regularly plunder Saravana Bhvan here although they have a modest 6 or 7 types with fillings, in all. That'll just have to do!

    By Blogger 30in2005, at 11:22 PM  

  • It's dosai...not dosa..

    By Blogger I, at 10:50 AM  

  • Tamil dhrogam..

    By Blogger I, at 11:13 AM  

  • @Monu,
    Haven't heard of karaicha dosa before this.

    @30in2005,
    you should atleast be content that there is a Saravana Bhavan closer to home :-)

    @I,
    The article uses the word as it is meant for the all-India audience. I don't see anything wrong in it.

    By Blogger Kaps, at 2:55 PM  

  • antha kalathil idli maavu pulichu ponal athai kotti vidamal dosai pannuvargal.
    intha kaalathil as u say it is one of the favourites. mine is onion rava dosai :)

    By Blogger smiley, at 8:49 PM  

  • Nothing can illustrate the split city that Chennai is, better than a drive from Annanagar/Kilpauk into Villivakkam/Perambur/Aynavaram ...
    It is almost like leaving one city and entering into another city.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:05 AM  

  • IMHO, Dosa is the South Indian's Answer to the Burgers and Pizzas of this world.

    Vazhga Dosai, Valarga athan Perumai.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:06 AM  

  • Isn't it weird that the "South is sexy, North not really" description hold equally true for both Delhi and Mumbai. What is it about cities that causes wealth to congregate southwards?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:55 AM  

  • @Gaurav,
    I believe Delhi is still home to the wealthiest people in India.

    @Ramki,
    Couldn't agree more on the north-south divide.

    @Smiley,
    Very true.

    By Blogger Kaps, at 11:42 AM  

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