Ingredients:
For grinding:
Mung bean (green gram/cheru payar) – 2 cups
Raw rice – 1/2 cup
Peanuts – 1/4 cup
Onion (medium size) – 1
Ginger – 1/2 inch
Coriander leaves – 5-7 stalks
Hing – 1/2 tsp
Green chillies – 3-4
Salt – as needed
Water – as needed

For cooking:
Oil – 1 tbsp

Method:
Wash and soak the mung bean in water for 8 hours or overnight. After 8 hours, drain the water and keep the wet mung beans in the same vessel for the next 24 hours. You will see sprouts coming out within 12 hours. You can keep it longer (24 hours) to get longer sprouts.

Soak raw rice in water for 3-4 hours. Grind sprouted mung bean and soaked raw rice along with peanuts, onion, ginger, coriander leaves, hing, green chillies, and salt to make a fine paste. Add sufficient water to the batter. Do not make it too loose. This is an instant dosa batter and does not need fermentation.

Heat a griddle and spread a ladle-ful of batter on the griddle. Maintain medium heat. Drizzle 1/2 tsp of oil on the spread batter/dosa. When the sides of the dosa start turning brown (less than a minute), gently flip over the dosa using a spatula. Cook for less than a minute. Flip over to check if the dosa has become golden brown. Serve with chutney/sambar or milaga podi/gun powder. If you prefer a topping for this dosa, after you spread the dosa, you can sprinkle finely chopped onion and coriander or even cheese. Gently spread and press the onion and coriander pieces to the dosa using a spatula. Be careful when you flip the dosa over so that these pieces do not fall off. If you are adding cheese, add shredded cheese to the dosa only after it is full cooked, just before you take it off the griddle.

You can refrigerate this dosa batter for 3-4 days.

I made coconut chutney spiced with green chillies and ginger to go along with this dosa.

Ingredients:

Grated coconut – 1/2 of a medium-sized coconut
Green chillies – 3
Ginger – 1/4 inch
Coriander leaves – 5-6 stalks
Water - as needed
Salt – as needed

Method:
Wash the green chillies, coriander leaves, and ginger. Be careful about the amount of ginger you use. Ginger can make the chutney fiery. I am not a ginger fan. So I usually use just enough to get a hint of ginger. If you like to use more ginger, use less of green chillies. Grind all the ingredients using sufficient water. I did not do a tadka for this chutney, but if you prefer a tadka, you can heat mustard seeds and urad dal in some oil. When the mustard seeds splutter and the urad dal turns red, add curry leaves to the oil and mix well with the chutney.

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Every household has their own secret recipe for podi and it tastes different in every house. When in school, I used to taste podi from my friends’ lunch boxes and each of them would taste different. Podi would differ in texture, taste, and visual appeal. Grainy, powdery, spicy, orange, greenish black, they come in all varieties. Recently, I tried MTR chutney powder (they market podi by that name) and I quite liked the taste of it. Unlike authentic Tamil Nadu style podi, this one is tangy. I believe tamarind is an ingredient in that recipe. Though I liked the MTR taste, being the conservative types when it comes to food, I prefer the authentic spicy taste without any tanginess.
This recipe is a mix of 2-3 different types of podis that I have had.

Ingredients:
Black gram/urad dal/uzhunnu parippu (white or black) – 1 cup
Bengal gram/chana dal/kadala parippu (optional) – 1/4 cup
Raw rice (optional) – 1/4 cup
Dried red chilly – 10
Black pepper (optional) – 1 tbsp
Curry leaves – 6-7 stalks
Asafoetida – size of a marble/2 tsp
Sesame seeds/Til/ellu (white or black) – 2 tbsp
Salt – as required

Method:
In a heavy bottomed pan (preferably iron), dry roast the grains one after the other until the grains turn red. First roast black gram. Then roast chana dal, followed by rice. Okay, I cheated! I roasted chana dal, kept it aside and then roasted the raw rice and black gram together. That works. When the black gram and rice are half done, add red chillies, black pepper, asafoetida, and curry leaves. If you are using asafoetida powder, you can add it towards the end of the roasting exercise. Turn off the fire and then add the sesame seeds and salt. Keep aside and let it cool down a bit.

While the roasted grains are still warm, dry grind them in a mixer. You can choose to make it powdery or grainy as per your preference. Store in a dry air tight jar. Will stay good for 3-4 months.

Choice of oil to be mixed with podi is a personal preference. Podi is served along with sesame seed oil (til oil/ellenna/nallenna) in most parts of Tamil Nadu. No points for guessing the oil that Keralites prefer!

Idlis and dosas soaked in spicy podi are a rage in restaurants these days. Whether you have a chutney and sambhar to go along with it or not, a well-made podi can up the taste quotient of even a poorly made idli/dosa.

Amba doesn’t have a very elaborate menu, just the usual sada dosa, rava dosa, mysore masala, ghee sada, idli, etc., etc. The special items that they serve are kela bajji (raw banana dipped in besan batter and fried), kadi vada (lentil vada soaked in a yoghurt-based curry), and rasam vada (mixed lentil vada soaked in spicy hot rasam). My personal favorites are ghee sada, rava sada, and rasam vada. What is unique about Amba’s dosa is the use of methi seeds in the batter, which no other restaurants use. The methi seeds add to the wonderful flavor of the dosa. This combined with the sambar that has JUST enough jaggery to neutralize the pungent taste of tamarind without spoiling the spiciness is nothing short of yum! The amount of jaggery in sambar is where, I feel, the normal Udupis in Mumbai fail. They just don’t get it right. I would much rather eat a sandwich from a Mumbai Udupi than order a dosa and be forced to eat it with the sweet sambar or worse eat the chutney that is full of pottu kadalai (roasted split peas dal). But the sambar at Amba is like no other, and if you are a frequent customer, the waiter would even give you some molaga podi (gun powder), sometimes even without you asking for it! The gun powder is another one of their masterpieces.

South Indian filter coffee is something every coffee lover goes gaga over. So it just wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t say anything about Amba’s filter coffee. Well, what about it, you might ask. Try it once and you will know! Its one of the best I have tasted. But more than anything, I love the way the coffee is served – in two stainless steel tumblers, one big and one small. Which one should you drink from is entirely up to you. Mix well till the sugar dissolves and then take that first sip, which is what I would call the ultimate coffee experience! Well, at least for me, it definitely is.

And Amba offers all these heavenly items at prices that are down-to-earth without compromising the taste. The crowd at Amba is a queer mix. You share tables with either the temple priest from Asthika Samaj dressed in his dhoti and anga vastram or you are sitting next to a bunch of chirpy teenagers out to have their fill after boring tutions. But at Amba you just do not feel odd sharing a table with strangers. Amba has wide open doors and huge windows too and is airy and leisurely.

I have always been intrigued by the names of some South Indian eateries that became iconic with time. Take Amba’s case itself. Seventy years back, who would have related the sound of Amba Bhavan with food? I wonder how they came up with these interesting names like Saravana Bhavan, Arya Nivas, Hariharaputra, and the like. Who would have imagined Mavalli Tiffin Room will be an everyday household name throughout India and indispensible in the NRI kitchen? What an unlikely name for an eatery, YEM-TEE-ARR (as a mallu would say it)!

Almost every place in South India has such a restaurant to boast about where people like my parents (who practically never eat out) are comfortable going to. Since the time I can remember, Hariharaputra is the ONLY hotel where we have eaten out. It is called the Brahmanaal Hotel (which means a hotel run by Brahmins). Palakkad has 3 such places. TNVR, Mani’s Cafe, and Hariharaputra. Their kitchen walls might look black, they might not have the cleanest of hand-washing areas, and they might not give you hand tissues, but the food served in these places have no substitute at all! I remember eating out once with my college friends in a restaurant where the waiters wore white dresses with red borders and a cap. I found it so odd compared to the friendly waiter at Harihariputra who wore a dhoti that was begging for some Ujala!

I need to be born again and have oodles of Saraswati Kataksham to be able to describe the taste of the mysurpa that Hariharaputra serves. There will be enough water in my mouth to steer a ship each time I think about their mysurpa. Same goes with the Rava Kesari (Rava Sheera) at Mani’s Cafe. Nothing short of marvellous, I say!

Coming back to Amba, just like the place, the rules of the place are also very simple. It opens at 7:00 in the morning and is open until 8:00 in the night and serves only tiffin (in other words, snacks). Amba does not have a separate menu for lunch or dinner. Though a lot of the Gujju crowd (who dig South Indian food) eats out regularly and frequents restaurants only after 8.00 PM, Amba sticks to its own set of rules and closes its doors by 8:00.

I was fortunate enough to speak to the humble and ever smiling owner of this place. He was kind enough to share some of the incidents and challenges from the time Amba was conceived until now. He also invited me to his house to meet his wife who could share lots of culinary tips.

If you live in Mumbai and are a fan of South Indian food, please visit Amba at least once to taste authentic South Indian food. If you live elsewhere, hunt down the Saravana Bhavan or the Hariharaputra of your place. If you are new to the place, just ask the elderly, and I am sure you will find a Bharat Hotel or an Amma Mess. Long live places that serve good food!

And look, Amba is on Facebook too!

Addendum: Amba is very close to King’s Circle and is in the same lane as Asthika Samaj Kochu Guruvayur temple. The address is: 373, Patel Mahal, Matunga, Mumbai, India, 400019.

I invite all my readers to share their thoughts and experiences about food or eateries that are special to their heart. I plan to have a reader’s corner very soon and all of you are welcome to share your thoughts here.

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Ingredients:

To grind:
Boiled rice (Ukhda chawal) – 3 cups
Raw rice – 1 cup
Urad dal – 1 cup
Methi seeds – 2 tsps

To add to batter:
Salt – As required

While making:
Oil for greasing

Method:
Soak the ingredients for at least 6 hrs (overnight is fine too). Soak the last 3 ingredients together and the boiled rice separately. Grind all the ingredients to make a smooth batter. Add enough water while grinding. Do not dilute too much. Transfer to a large vessel that is large enough for the batter to ferment and double in quantity. Do not refrigerate. Keep the vessel in a warm and dry place to ferment the batter for at least 8 hrs (at least 12 hrs during winter. A well-fermented batter will raise to become double the original quantity of the batter. Add salt and mix well. You will notice that the batter settles down. Now the batter is ready to be used right away or refrigerate it for later use.

Grease the idli moulds with oil and pour the batter in the moulds. In a pressure cooker, steam the idlis for about 10-15 minutes. Turn off and take the idli mould stand out from the pressure cooker and let the idlis cool down a bit for around 2-3 minutes.

With a spoon, gently take out the idlis. Soft and fluffy idlis are ready. Serve with chutney, sambhar, or molaga podi.

Ingredients:
Coconut (scraped/cut) – 1/2 of a medium sized coconut
Shallots* – 2 nos
Dry red chilies* – 3
Water – 1/2 cup
Curry leaves – 1 stalk
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Oil and salt – As required

* In case any of these ingredients are unavailable, check the alternate ingredients section for other options.

Alternatives:

A small piece of onion can be used if shallots are not available. You can use green chillies,a healthier option, instead of red chillies.

Preparation Time: 5min.

Cooking Time: 5min.

Method:

Grind the scraped/cut coconut along with shallots and red chillies in a mixer to a coarse mixture. Add small amounts of water to aid proper grinding. Remove to a container. Heat Oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add curry leaves and turn off the fire and add this to the ground chutney. Add required amount of salt.

List of accompaniments:

Tastes great with idlis, dosas, and sevai.

Skill Level:

Low

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Ingredients:
Urad dal (without skin) – 300 gm
Raw rice* – 2 tsp
Coconut (greated) – 1 medium-sized coconut
Asafetida (powder/chunks) – 1 tsp
Dry red chilies – 15
Tamarind – a lemon-sized ball
Black peppercorns* – 1 tsp
Salt – As required

* In case any of these ingredients are unavailable, check the alternate ingredients section for other options.

Alternatives:
Peppercorns and rice are optional. Those who do not prefer pepper can use red chillies alone.

Preparation Time: 10min.
Cooking Time: 40min.

Method:
Heat up a pan (preferably iron). Add the urad dal and raw rice. Dry roast these two ingredients until golden brown. Constant stirring is required. Add the red chillies, black peppercorns, and the asafetida powder towards the end. If you are using asafetida chunks, you may need to add it around 5 minutes beforehand. Turn off the fire when the urad dal and rice turn golden brown. Remove the ingredients from the pan and spread on a plate to cool the ingredients.

Place the pan on fire again and roast the grated coconut until golden brown. This is to remove all moisture content and improve the shelf life of the podi. Turn off the fire and empty the roasted coconut on to the plate along with the other ingredients. Put the tamarind into the pan while the pan is still hot. Do not light the fire. This will help to remove the moisture content in the tamarind.

After the ingredients have cooled, grind the roasted ingredients well along with salt. Empty the ingredients onto a plate and let it cool. Taste and adjust the salt and chilly if required. Make sure that you roast the red chillies before you add it to the podi. Store the podi in a dry bottle.

List of accompaniments:
Enhances the taste of rice. This is a dry pickle. Its granular texture adds punch to your lunch. This podi has a shelf life of around a month.

Health Benefits/Alerts:
Since it does not contain any oil and is only moderately spicy, this podi is a healthier option than a pickle.

Trivia:
Constant stirring is required while you are roasting the ingredients. You cannot afford to answer phone calls/doorbells while you are at it :-)

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Ingredients:

Shallots* (chopped) – 15-20
Garlic* (finely chopped) – 1 pod
Red chilies – 3
Curry leaves – 1-2 stalks
Coriander leaves – 1-2 stalks
Coconut (scraped/cut) – 1 medium cup
Oil and salt – As required

* In case any of these ingredients are unavailable, check the alternate ingredients section for other options.

Alternatives:
Onions (medium-sized) – 2
Garlic is optional

Preparation Time: 5min.

Cooking Time: 5min.

Method:
Heat Oil in a pan. Add finely chopped garlic and sauté. Add onions and red chilies. Fry till Onion turns into golden brown. Add curry leaves and coriander leaves before turning off the fire. Turn off the fire and add coconut and salt.

Grind the fried mixture in a blender first without adding water. Add 2-3 tablespoons of water and blend it well. Be careful about the amount of water you add. The chutney should not be watery. The texture of the chutney should be coarse.

List of accompaniments:
Tastes great with idlis and dosas.

Skill Level:
Low