Nellore Karam Dosa tickles taste buds of foodies

Foodies who visit Nellore immediately recall a recipe that is popular at Kanaka Mahal Centre in the city tickling the taste buds of hundreds of people every day. Nellore Karam Dosa is an evening snack where people fall on queue lines for their turn to have Dosa.

There are many varieties of dosas made with oil, ghee and people like to have idli till they get Dosa. Small ghee dosa was earlier being sold at Rs. 8-12 and now it is a bit expensive at Rs. 50. But people who love taste and natural preparation ignore its cost and enjoy the food. Majority traders open these stalls only after 4 pm and continue the trade till midnight.

Nellore is part of Rayalaseema region and people love spicy chillies for regular dishes, chutneys, and for pickles. Local people don't like to have recipes with sugar or jaggery or less spicy even now following the culture of Rayalaseema.

Even though people suffering from gastric related ailments prefers recipe when they remember its rich aroma and taste. Now, many hotels have started similar Dosa but very few stalls in the city are famous because they roast naturally using charcoal even though gas and electric stoves are available. Vendors say charcoal gives equal flame and helps to roast Dosa uniformly when pasted Karam on it that finally delivers nice flavour and crispiness.

Like Chettinad Cuisine in Tamil Nadu, Nellore is also famous for its Nellore Reddy Cuisine, much popular across southern states. Food is predominantly non-vegetarian due the majority of local people and local chefs visit even Delhi and other places for preparing popular non-veg varieties of Nellore such as Nellore Chepala Pulusu, Natu Kodi Pulusu and non-vegetarian pickles.

But people also like vegetarian foods and Ghee Karam Dosa tops among them. The specialty of this dosa is prepared with Karam specially made of red chillies, tomatoes, onions, garlic, dhania, small quantities of ginger and some other spices for pasting on Dosa and they sprinkle a bit of powder made with roasted Chana Dal, and other spices. Dosa is roasted using a bit of extra quantity of ghee for aroma, and taste.

"We don't prefer extra spice as customers should enjoy the food. Moderate spicy chutney with onions, tomatoes and garlic are nice and they give a good aroma and taste nice when roasted in ghee. We have been using this preparation for the last three decades pleasing taste buds of the customers," said Sreenaiah, a popular vendor from JV Street.

Some restaurants have started Dosa with Kodi Kura (Chicken curry) and these popular dosa stalls are fetching good business. There is a practice in the region that all non-vegetarian families prefer Chicken Curry with Dosa or Vada on every important occasion. This is a common combination whenever a guest visits the house.