Mangalore Style Chicken Curry With Neer Dosa

Whenever I feel like I’m stuck in a rut, I try my hand at cooking something new. Yesterday, I made neer dosas for the first time. These thin, lacy, kerchief-like crêpes are made with a watery, unfermented batter of ground rice and coconut. They are super soft, almost melt-in-the-mouth and perfect to dunk in a spicy curry. Considering this was my maiden attempt, they turned out quite well. We ate them with a Mangalorean-style chicken curry, a moringa leaf & chickpea stir-fry and some raw mango pachadi (relish). Leftovers were my lunch today.

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Recipes

MangalorE Style Chicken Curry

(Serves 6)

Ingredients

500 gms skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
4 medium onions, peeled and halved
5 medium tomatoes, whole
1 large or 2 small green chillies

For the ground masala -
4 cloves
4 green cardamoms
1/4 tsp black peppercorns
1 level tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp oil
2 tsp ginger-garlic paste

1/2 tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste
Water as needed
1/2 cup thick coconut milk
Juice of half a lime
1 tsp jaggery
2 tbsp chopped cilantro for garnish

Method

Wash, dry and rub the chicken with turmeric and a little salt and set aside.

Dry roast the masalas and grind them into a fine powder. Set aside.

Pressure cook the onions, green chilli and tomatoes together for 5 minutes (for two whistles), drain and purée separately after cooling (the green chilli can be ground along with the tomatoes).

In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add the boiled onion paste, cover with a splatter shield and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.

Add the ginger-garlic paste and continue to cook until the raw smell disappears.

Add in the puréed tomatoes and cook for 5 more minutes.

Next, add in the powdered spices, red chilli powder and chicken. Turn up the heat and sauté the chicken for 5-7 minutes.

Stir in 1 1/2 cups of water and adjust the salt to taste.

Once the curry boils, lower the heat. Cover and simmer until the chicken is done.

Once the chicken is cooked, add the coconut milk, lime juice and jaggery.

Taste and adjust the salt again if needed.

Serve hot garnished with chopped cilantro.

Neer Dosa

(Makes about 8 dosas)

Ingredients
1 cup of raw sona masuri rice, washed and soaked for at least 4-5 hours or overnight
1/4 cup grated coconut
2 cups water (divided)
Salt to taste

Method

Drain the rice, add to a blender along with 1/2 cup of water and blend into a very smooth paste.

Add the coconut and another half cup of water and blend again until smooth.

Finally, add salt to taste and the remaining water and blend well.

Heat a nonstick griddle/frying pan over medium heat. Grease lightly with oil (wipe off the excess with a paper towel) and using a 1/4 cup measure, pour the batter into the pan and spread thinly by rotating the pan. Fill up any holes with extra batter. Cover and allow the dosa to cook for a few minutes. Remove to a plate and cool a bit.

To serve... fold in half, then in quarter. Do not stack the hot dosai one on top of another as they will stick.