After Fanta Maggi and Momo Ice Cream, many foodies on the internet are a little scared to click open any street food video for fear of stumbling upon something even more atrocious. While Mumba’s viral Matka Dosa may not have received such flak as the other two, it has still managed to irk a few. In a video posted by YouTube channel Aamchi Mumbai that has clocked in close to 800K views in a week, we watched the complete making of the trending dish that has got everyone talking. Earlier, a video of Matka Dosa from Delhi also went viral, the Matka Dosa of this Mumbai stall is a tad different, let’s have a look.
In this video, the vendor lands a big blob of butter on a tawa, and with the help of a spatula, spreads it around the skillet. To the melted butter he adds freshly chopped vegetables like broccoli, onions, and red, yellow and green bell pepper. Next, he adds some chopped cottage cheese. Everything is gently tossed together until the paneer becomes slightly golden brown.
In another skillet, he splashes some water and lands a thick dosa batter and rotates it in a circular motion until it forms a thin crepe. Some more salted butter is added to the dosa, followed by a drizzle of tomato ketchup, chilli sauce, spices, salt and a thick, in-house, spicy yoghurt-based spread. All of these sauces are spread across the dosa with the help of the spatula. After that, he collects his tawa-roasted veggies and paneer on one plate and adds it to the dosa on top of the sauces and smears. The veggies are then mixed with the sauces with the help of the spatula until all the paneer and the veggies are nicely coated. Some oil is added on top of the veggies, followed by chopped coriander and butter. A lid is kept on top of dosa to cover and cook the vegetable topping.
It is after this that the real theatrics start. He lets the coal flame up and then places a matka or an earthen vessel on the inflamed coals. At this point, it seems like the matka is set on fire. It is quite a vision, really. In the hot matka, and then he melts some butter. He goes back to the dosa, uncovers the lid and collects the masala in one plate and transfers it inside the matka, where it cooks further and obtains a smoky touch. He then covers the mouth of the matka with a bowl. After this, the dosa is slowly scraped off from the sides of the tawa, and a layer of mayonnaise is added on top of the dosa. This is followed by grated cheese. Once the cheese is melted, dosa is taken off from the tawa and folded on top of the matka, as a kind of a funnel.
It is indeed quite a fascinating dish, but the response has been mixed. “I feel sad for the humble dosa that has been forced into this unimaginable dish,” wrote a user. “Oh god, this man is killing my south Indian dosa. Mayo, sauce and dosa what a combination,” wrote another. Some also seemed to enjoy the fusion dish, “Nice presentation,” a user commented. “That looks so delicious! I wish I knew what all the seasonings were,” read another comment in praise.