Pure bliss is Davangere Benne Dosa & Thatte Idli on a Sunday morning!

Wake up on a Sunday morning and the thought that crosses your mind is a good and tasty breakfast. Wish you had the super mom/ super woman who prepares every kind of breakfast that her family wishes on that MTR advertisement? At least I wish sometimes. The feeling of a yummy breakfast going to your stomach is enough to lift your mood and let you plan an entertaining Sunday ahead. In my two and half years in Bangalore, experiments with food in my own kitchen has been many. The same also goes for hearing out suggestions of trying out different kinds of traditional Karnataka cuisine at the most obvious places. So, this time, us friends, decided to wake a little early and have breakfast that our minds could also relish. We zeroed upon having Benne Dosa and Thatte Idli this time!

Originating from the city of Davangere, Karnataka, Benne Dosa is also referred to as Butter Dosa. The uniqueness of Benne Dosa is that it is made up by adding butter while preparing a normal dosa. It is similar to other usual and regular types of dosa, the masala or the sada or the set dosa, but is comparatively smaller in size. These dosas are made of rice batter and heaps (read, lots) of butter. A liberal spoon of butter is sprinkled before serving that adds to flavour and enhances the aroma of the dosa.

Photo credit: scribidomagazine.com

 You can try out varieties such as Benne Khali Dosa, Benne Open Dosa and Benne Masala Dosa. I had a plate of Benne Masala Dosa (the masala was boiled and mashed potato with butter and salt) and to be honest, the butter was too tempting to keep my mind shut for a moment and not think about calories that day!

Photo Credit: The Hindu

When it came to trying out Thatte Idli, the mere view of the soft round giant idli on the plate took my breath away. It was also served with a dollop of butter on its soft surface that melted and made it a buttery idli to be eaten with sambar and coconut chutney. This awesome steam-cooked delicacy is a must have if you are ever willing to try out the cuisine of Karnataka. Thatte means plate in Kannada and the advantage of using plates for preparing this type of idlis is the control over use of batter to make idlis according to an eater’s preference.

Photo Credit: Commons.wikimedia.org

If you want to indulge on Benne Dosa and Thatte idlis without traveling to Davangere, you can find it in many of the well-deserved traditional Karnataka cuisine restaurants in Bangalore itself. And if you’re abroad, especially USA and Singapore, you may be lucky enough to find these listed there as well.

Well, we had our share of pure bliss on a bright Sunday morning here:

Davangere Benne Dosa is located at 118, 13^th Main, 4^th Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore and a meal for two will pinch as much as Rs. 50 in your pocket. You may want to try this on the coming Sunday! :D

PS: It is a pure vegetarian dosa joint.

This post was originally published in The Magic of Words.