GHOSALE SANNA POLO (RIDGE GOURD DOSA)

GHOSALE SANNA POLO (RIDGE GOURD DOSA)

One of the vegetables that I use often is ridge gourd, which we call "ghosale" in my mother tongue, Konkani. Elsewhere in this blog, you will find recipes for a Ridge Gourd Peel Chutney and Ridge Gourd Pepper Kootu.

In our Konkani cuisine, we make a spicy kind of dosa which we call "Sanna Polo". This is a side dish served with the main meal of rice and dal. Today's dish is called, "Ghosale Sanna Polo" as it is a dosa in which ridge gourd is used along with the usual batter. 

Ingredients:

• Ghosale, (Ridge Gourd), medium-sized, 1
• Dosa Rice, 1/2 cup
• Tur Dal, 1/4 cup
• Byadgi Red Chillies, roasted, 4
• Tamarind, small piece
• Hing (Asafoetida), a large pinch
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, to make dosas

Method:

Wash, peel and cut the ridge gourd into roundels of 1/4 " thickness

Wash and soak the dosa rice and tur dal together in adequate water for about 30 minutes

Drain the excess water

Grind together in a mixer the soaked dosa rice and tur dal along with the roasted red chillies, tamarind, asafoetida and salt, using just the required amount of water to a batter of slightly coarse consistency. This batter should not be too thick or thin

Heat the tawa and when it gets hot, dip the ridge gourd roundels one by one in the prepared batter ensuring that they are evenly coated on both sides
Place the coated ridge gourd roundels next to each other to form a circle on the tawa, filling in the gaps between them with the batter

Drizzle oil around the sannapolo, and cook covered on medium flame till it gets crisp at the bottom

Flip the sannapolo and likewise cook the other side by adding more oil

Serve hot as a side dish with the main meal

METHI SANNA POLO

METHI SANNA POLO

If in any Konkani household, you were to ask for their Top Ten Konkani recipes, I can bet you "Sanna Polo" will figure on everyone's list. This Konkani delicacy is akin to a small dosa in size and shape. In fact "Polo" is what the dosa is called in Konkani.

However, unlike the  dosa, the sanna polo is not eaten with accompanying chutney. It is like a side dish, best eaten with rice and our famous dal preparation called "dalithoi." We make sanna polos of different types. Perhaps the most common of all has finely chopped cabbage as one the ingredients.

Today, I present my favourite, which in my family we call, "Methi Sanna Polo" for short, where we use fresh, chopped methi ( fenugreek) leaves. Strictly speaking, it is called "Methiyeche Palle Sanna Polo." The addition of fenugreek leaves adds to the flavour of the dish and gives off a nice aroma too.

I may add that different people use differing proportions to make the sanna polo. Some use a different ratio of rice to dal, others may use, less or more chillies to suit their tastes. What I am sharing with you, is the way I make it.

Ingredients:

• Toor Dal, 1/2 cup
• Raw Rice, 1 cup
• Fresh Coconut Gratings, 1/2 cup
• Roasted Dry Red (Byadgi) Chillies, 10, or to taste
• Tamarind, marble sized
• Large- sized Onion, finely chopped, 1
• Methiye Palle (Fenugreek leaves) , finely  chopped, 1/2 cup
• Salt, to taste 
• Oil, as required

Method: 

Soak toor dal and rice together for 2-3 hours
Drain the water
In a mixer, grind together the roasted red chillies, coconut gratings, and tamarind till the chillies get fully crushed
To this, add the soaked rice and dal
Using a little water, grind to a paste, without making it too dilute
Add the finely chopped onions and fenugreek leaves and salt to taste. Mix well.
You now have the batter to make the sanna polos. This does not require any fermentation.
Heat the griddle, when it is hot enough pour the batter to make small sized dosas
Cook over medium flame for about 2 minutes
Pour a few drops of oil around the dosa, and flip it to cook the other side till it is done
Serve hot