Photo by ideowl.Dish of the Week: Dosas
Where: DC Dosa, Indique, Woodlands
In the same way that almost every country has their version of the dumpling, most cultures also have a twist on the pancake. While we load ours up with butter and syrup, the French fill crepes with fruit and cheese and the Ethiopians use injera as both the utensil and the plate. Likewise, India also has it’s own contribution to the pantheon of griddled flat breads: the airy and crisp dosa.
Dosas are a popular snack or breakfast in southern India. The batter, a mixture of fermented lentil and rice flour, is cooked until crunchy on both sides and then either folded or rolled up in a tube. Common accompaniments include a chunky green coconut chutney and a bowl of sambar, a spicy, brothy vegetable stew. Dosas can be eaten plain or wrapped around a hearty vegetable filling. Preparations vary by region, but a popular variant is the masala dosa, stuffed with spiced potatoes and onions.
Dosas are relatively hard to come by in D.C. proper — Indique serves dosas as an appetizer, but generally one has to travel to the ‘burbs (specifically Langley Park, MD) to get south Indian food. However, D.C. residents will be getting a brief chance to sample some dosas with the launch of StartUP Kitchen, a sort of incubator for budding restauranteurs. Starting Monday, Domku Cafe in Petworth will be playing host to DC Dosa, a pop-up Indian restaurant. The fixed price menu includes an appetizer, choice of dosa with fillings such as roasted sweet potatoes and eggplant or lemon and cashew rice, and dessert. DC Dosa will be open on Monday nights from September 17 to October 8 with seatings at 7 and 8 p.m. Tickets are $35 per person and must be reserved online.
Small Bites
Hold on to your lederhosen
There is hardly a more fitting place for Oktoberfest than the Heurich Mansion, owned by 19th century D.C. beer magnate Christian Heurich. The “Brewmaster’s Castle”, located just south of Dupont Circle, will be hosting an afternoon of German music, food, and beer on September 22 from 2-5 p.m. in the castle garden. Tickets are $20 online or $25 at the door.
Regular yogurt is the new frozen yogurt
Pinkberry, the originators of the tart frozen yogurt craze, are now serving regular, un-frozen Greek yogurt. The chain actually started serving normal yogurt at breakfast this summer, but now you can get a free Greek yogurt at lunch every Wednesday until October 3rd. Pinkberry has locations in Dupont Circle and Georgetown.
10 years of paella
This month marks the 10th anniversary of Jaleo’s annual
