All that glitters is gold.. YES!!.. you read it right… including
dosa in india. Indians are celebrated worldwide for their fetish for the flashy
metal. Long gone are the days when we were like “AAAAHHH….WOOW” when gold plated
jugs, mugs, plates and water closets found their way into palatial bungalows and imperial palaces of the affluent.
Today, every Indian, irrespective of his income tax statement (whether he has
it or not) boasts of his chunk of glistening gold.
Till now, the metal is adorned on the body but now, it is
into the belly. That’s possible with a dosa gilded with a gold foil of 0.1mg
gold content. I hail from a family where gravy is drunk like water. Being the
foodie I am, wanted to coat my tongue with this gold plated dosa, the
brainchild of Rajbhog restaurant in Malleswaram, Bangalore.
The restaurant is not so flamboyant that you actually doubt
whether this is the abode of gold dosas. It is snugly placed at an unassuming locale
on the bustling Margosa Road of Bangalore. The ground floor at the restaurant is
“quick-eat-go styled” where one signs off after savouring a dosa and sipping
coffee. The first floor is fashioned with gold and brown hued furniture, a few
portraits and bathed in gold hued illumination where there is waiter service
and you are in for a PARTY. If you are picturizing a 3 star hotel ambience,
well don’t go for it. It is the place you should visit just if you are on a
mission to see the gold dosa at least once in your life. Well the owner of the
restaurant boasts of several other varieties of dosas – silver plated dosa,
chocolate dosa, paneer dosa, etc. As many as 101 variety dosas are born and
served here. No vegetable or spice is ineligible for becoming a dosa I guess.
Where am I? Yes, my tongue and gold coat. I took my brother
and dad along on a surprise visit. We stepped in having a myriad doubts about
the restaurant and its minimal grandeur. I suspiciously uttered “GOLD DOSA”. A waiter ushered us towards the staircase and
eventually a hall, i.e., the first floor. We ordered for one gold dosa. Well I don’t
like to part with gandhiji’s impressions… I mean money here… so… 1 dosa will
suffice for three starving stomachs.
The gold dosa took more than a woman getting ready for a
party to arrive. We were almost emptying the somph on the table. The dosa was
brought in a silver plate accompanied with coconut water in silver tumbler. She is embellished neck to toe. A petite burning
candle was placed inside a green capsicum carved in the form of a lamp hood. The
gold dosa, next to the candle was going green in the flame. The dosa rested on
a banana leaf which was cut to fit the dosa cozily. Shredded cabbage, carrot and
beetroot bordered the dosa. A patch of
gold cushioned triumphantly on the dosa stealing the show. We were to attack
her pride with coconut and tamarind chutney and sambhar.
regal rejoice - gold dosa |
my dad, surendra nath inaugurating the gold dosa |
It is time we set our
mouths to motion. Crisp and subtle it was and oily too. I later discovered that
it is a dash of olive oil lest I should curse my calories. As we explored, we
found a mound of potato curry in the stomach of the dosa. There was utter
silence and each of us tried to stash each speck of gold found on the plate. It
didn’t fill our three stomachs but
definitely our desire. This is the best gift i could give my mouth till now. An experience worth cherishing and blogging. In the end, we did justice to the salads also.
When you party, you pay also. The bill displayed 1070(Indian
rupees incl. taxes). What if non-Indians read my blog, that Is why I mentioned
Indian rupees :-) . Just when were about to depart, the restaurant owner, Chandan met us personally, expressed gratitude to
savour the gold dosa and elaborated how he bumped on the idea of gold dosa. A
personal and thankful touch by the owner concluded the glittering gold dosa
experience. A shimmering evening to remember.
Caution: A dazzling dosa a day keeps all currency away.
(Unless you have a currency printing
machine at home)