In a cheerful, hands-on Bon Appétit piece, Bon Appétit and Chef Meherwan Irani stroll through Dadar to meet Muthu Anna, the master behind the city’s famous flying dosas. This celebration of street craft reads like a love letter to simple ingredients and practiced technique—exactly the sort of story that inspires anyone who loves cooking, recipes, bon apetit content. The piece captures the speed, showmanship, and centuries-old traditions that transform rice and lentils into one of India’s most addictive snacks.
Why Muthu Anna’s dosas matter
Muthu Anna isn’t just fast; he’s a curator of flavor and ritual. On a busy street in Dadar, the community has effectively issued him a universal permit: customers, neighbors, even the police welcome him because the food and the craft are that good. Watching him work reveals why street food and home kitchens alike deserve respect. The combination of careful daily prep, live-fire cooking, and a practiced technique produces that perfect balance of tangy fermentation, crunchy crepe, and warmly spiced filling.
The essence of a dosa
A dosa is a fermented rice-and-lentil crepe made from soaked rice and urad dal. The batter is stone-ground, rested, and aerated—techniques that date back millennia. In the Bon Appétit feature, the batter is handled with reverence: the maker fluffs the batter, letting heavier bits mix back in and gently aerating it to keep it light. The hand contact—something that might alarm some—is a deliberate way to keep natural bacteria active and ensure fermentation thrives. This is one of those moments where tradition and science meet to create magic.
The batter, the griddle, and the secret to crispness
Muthu Anna’s process begins before customers arrive. The griddle is cleaned and seasoned with a ritual that isn’t merely hygienic—it’s functional. Cold water lifts old oil to the surface so it can be scraped away, leaving a seasoned but not greasy blacktop. That non-oily, nonstick surface is essential to achieve the paper-thin, crackly dosa that breaks with a satisfying snap.
Charcoal fire and old-school ingenuity
The cart runs on a 28‑year‑old charcoal brazier. To manage temperature, Muthu Anna raises and lowers the flat top over the fire, inserting metal spacers to increase airflow when the griddle gets too hot. It’s an analog thermostat: small adjustments produce large differences. This careful control is why he can cook five dosas at once and still hit an even, golden color across each one.
Masala, mash, and the flying dosa
The filling—the masala—is simple and brilliant: potatoes cooked with popped mustard seeds, curry leaves (karipata), turmeric, chili powder, and salt. The classic masala dosa often places the potato mound in the center, but on the street it’s spread across the surface so every bite is a balance of soft potato and crunchy crepe. For Muthu Anna’s signature “maizar masala,” a slick of tomato chutney is added to amp the flavor and heat.
"This first one is given to the gods as a gift before he starts service every single time."
There’s also a dramatic mash—borrowed from bao baiji technique—where onions, potatoes, tomatoes, and bell peppers are mashed into a cohesive hash and then artfully mopped into or onto the dosa. At peak spectacle, Muthu Anna flings chutney with pinpoint accuracy and even makes a perfect dosa eyes‑closed, a flex born from repetition and muscle memory.
What makes the bite so unforgettable
The dosa’s porous surface soaks up butter, which caramelizes against the griddle for crisp, toasty notes. Inside, the potato masala adds acidity from lime and tomatoes, heat from chilies, and herbaceousness from curry leaves. The result can feel almost meaty in its umami depth, despite being wholly vegetarian. The combination—fermented tang, crispy shell, savory-sour filling, and a hint of butter and cheese—creates a multi-layered mouthfeel that keeps people coming back.
What viewers can take away
- Respect the basics: Clean equipment and fresh daily prep are non-negotiable—whether on a cart or at home.
- Fermentation matters: Soak the rice and urad dal long enough, grind well, and aerate the batter to keep it light.
- Heat control is key: Small adjustments to the griddle and close attention to the fire make all the difference.
- Balance the filling: A good masala is bright, salty, and slightly acidic to contrast the crepe.
How to spot a great street dosa
- Fresh prep visible on site (chopping, grinding, mashing).
- Clean, seasoned griddle that isn’t overly oily.
- Evenly golden, paper-thin crepe with a crisp edge.
- Masala that’s bright and balanced—potato, tomato, lime, and herbs.
Final thoughts and a call to try
Watching a master like Muthu Anna is a reminder that great food grows from repetition, care, and joy. This Bon Appétit feature celebrates the artistry of street cooking and how humble ingredients—rice, lentils, potatoes, and a hot griddle—become unforgettable. For anyone who loves cooking, recipes, bon apetit stories, this is a gentle nudge: go see the craft, taste the tradition, and let simple, perfect food inspire your next kitchen experiment.
This article was created from the video The Man Behind Mumbai’s Legendary Flying Dosas | Street Eats | Bon Appétit with the help of AI.
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