Erra Kaaram Dosa...from Rayalaseema!!

This dosa takes me back to my college days completely and brings back the sweet memories of those beautiful and fun days which I spent with friends.Though I used to carry lunch box for college regularly,there were days I asked my mom not to give me lunch box so that I can go out with friends for lunch outside.Even though we had college canteen and few other stalls near my college,still we preferred going to one small stall where an old lady used to make these fresh and hot erra kaaram dosas.Even though we stayed in Kadapa for more than 20 years,that was the first time I tasted these erra kaaram dosas and developed the taste instantly.Eating with friends is definitely fun as we all used to eat in single plate and we never kept the track of the number of dosas that used to go in our tummy . We used to order continuously until we three of us are completely stuffed and happy.I am dedicating this post to my friends 'R' and 'S' for those most memorable days we spent together in college.
Erra kaaram dosa is quite famous in Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh,especially in Kadapa district.'Erra kaaram' means 'red chutney' which is smeared on dosa and dalia powder is sprinkled liberally over dosa to neutralize the heat from the red chutney.Many of us might be preparing a similar chutney for mysore masala dosa but this chutney is less garlicky and the combination of this pungent chutney with dalia powder makes this dosa extra special and different from the other dosas.Generally I roast my dosas only one side to retain the crispyness of dosas,but these dosas are roasted on both sides which makes the dosa less crispier but taste wise no compromise in it.
Many of us end up making lots of dosa batter which lasts for several days,you can try these dosas on one of those days instead of plain dosa or masala dosa.I am sure you might end up eating atleast one more than your usual capacity.

Ingredients:

for Dosa batter:
4 cups normal rice(I used sona masuri)
1 cup urad dal
1 cup chana,moong,toor dal mix(1/3 cup each)
1 cup poha
1 tsp methi seeds
salt to taste
oil/ghee to roast dosa

for Erra Kaaram(red chutney):
2 onions,quartered
3-4 garlic pods(optional)
1 tsp red chili powder or 4-5 red chillies
1/2 tsp tamarind pulp
salt to taste
1 tbsp sesame oil/ghee
1/2 tsp mustard seeds

for Pappula Podi:
1/3 cup fried gram/chutney dal(putnala pappu)
1 garlic pod
salt to taste


Method:

for Dosa batter:

• Wash rice,dals and methi seeds all together for 2-3 times in running water and soak them for 6-8hrs or overnight.
• Next day morning soak poha for an hour before starting the grinding process of the batter.
• Grind everything together to a smooth paste in the wet grinder for better results.Add enough salt to the ground batter and mix well and let it ferment for 9-10 hrs at room temperature or keep it in hot oven in winters for speeding up the process of fermentation.

for Erra Kaaram:

• Grind chopped onions,garlic pods,red chili powder,salt with tamarind pulp to a smooth paste.If you are using red chillies instead of red chili powder,dry roast red chillies for few minutes until crisp and use it for blending.
  
• Heat sesame oil and crackle mustard seeds and add this to the chutney and mix well.Use ghee for tadka to make it extra tastier.
  

Note:
Some people might not like the flavor of raw onion and garlic,then you can fry the erra kaaram in oil until the raw smell goes away.But I like this to be done raw to enjoy the full flavor of erra kaaram dosa.

for Pappula Podi:

• Grind fried gram with salt to a fine powder and add a garlic pod and run the mixie again and transfer to a bowl.

for making Erra Kaaram Dosa:

• I am sure everyone knows how to make simple plain dosa,still I explain the process of making it for people who are not familiar with it.
• Mix the fermented dosa batter well.Pour a big ladle of batter onto a medium hot pan and spread it in the circular motion to form a uniform round shaped dosa.
• Pour 1 tbsp oil approx over it and cover it with a lid.(No need to add more oil if using Non stick pan,you can completely replace oil with ghee for better taste if you are not calorie conscious).
• Let it initially cook on low flame for 1-2 mins and remove the lid and turn the dosa to the other side and roast for a minute.Now increase the flame and cook for a couple of mins until you see brown/red patches.
• Quickly spread the erra kaaram/red chutney all over the dosa and sprinkle pappula podi all over liberally and pour some ghee over dosa(truly optional) and fold it to half.
• Brush the dosa with ghee and place it in the center of the pan to make it more crispier.How ever it is optional.
  
• Serve it directly and do not drop them in hot boxes.It should be served on to the plate immediately to enjoy the flavor and crispiness of the dosa.
• Reduce the flame for one minute and then start preparing the next dosa.Do not pour the batter on high flame,the batter will stick to the tawa.If you feel the tawa is over heated sprinkle some water over it before making next dosa.

Serve dosa with chutney of your choice like coconut chutney/groundnut chutney/mint chutney/tomato chutney/tomato onion chutney.I served erra kaaram dosa with coconut chutney.

Variation:

• You can even place the potato palya in centre of dosa and fold into half to make erra kaaram masala dosa.

Note:

• For a vegan version use oil instead of ghee while frying as well as in the chutney.