Benne Dosa: Origin, Taste & Why It’s Trending in Delhi

Benne dosa is conquering the hearts of food connoisseurs throughout Delhi these days. The same food item has a huge fan base in Mumbai’s Bandra. However, now benne dosa is creating ripples in Delhi from a shop at Greater Kailash. What is the speciality of this dosa that has been pulling crowds so rigorously? Is it that tasty? How is it different from the usual dosa that we get throughout North India. We have got it all covered in this article. Read on.

A key aspect that sets apart benne dosa from other variants of the dish is the lavish usage of butter. Benne itself is a Kannada word that means butter. Unlike normal dosas that use oil, benne dosas are cooked using a lot of butter throughout the tawa and also on top before it is served. The final product will be a dosa that is aromatic and rich. It will be soft in the inside and crisp on the outside. An absolute gastronomic delight.

Even though benne dosa is a headline throughout multiple restaurants and can be seen in a number of viral reels, its beginnings are humble. The mother of this beautiful culinary invention is a street-vendor from Davanagere district of Karnataka. Her name was Chennamma. In the former half of 20th century, she used to sell buttery and rich dosas in front of a movie theatre. Today these dosas are considered as the premiere of versions of benne dosas.

Chennamma used to make her dosas using ragi which was laced with ghee. Incidentally, story went further when her sons started experimenting with the batter. They shifted the core material from ragi into rice, began mixing avalakki for a fluffy nature and added urad dal as well. This unique combination resulted in benne or the homely butter which is strikingly white in colour.

It was by 1940s this unique dosa started moving beyond Karnataka’s Devanagere. Nonetheless, we can say that Bengaluru is the city that gifted benne dosa a cult following through eateries that were run by families like the Mahadevappa Benne Dosa Hotel. Additionally, you can find the best benne dosas at CTR or Central Tiffin Room and Vidyarthi Bhavan regions. These are the areas that have been serving this beautiful dosa for decades, often without making any changes in its original recipe.

Another key aspect that sets benne dosa apart is the way in which it is served. Traditionally, it has been served with just two ingredients, namely coconut chutney and some butter on its top. Sambhar is usually absent or optional.

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