Drumstick Savoury Dosas (Mashinga Palle, Phulla Sanna Polo)

Drumstick leaves and flowers are added to spicy, rice, lentil batter to make tiny dosas called sanna polo in Konkani. A great side dish for lunch, dinner. 

Drumstick leaves or drumstick flowers are added to a spicy batter or are added in combination to make great dosas. Makes a heavenly lunch, dinner with curd rice or with dal rice (a bowl of steaming hot rice and dalithoy).

Drumstick flowers are called mashinga phool in Konkani, drumstick leaves are called mashinga pallo in Konkani. The tiny dosas made are called mashinga palle, mashinga phoola sanna polo in Konkani.

'Sanna’ means ‘small in Kannada’, 'polo' means dosas in Konkani. The name comes from the size of these dosas. Usually, three small dosas are made on a tava/cast iron pan at a time. Sanna polos are frequently and commonly made for lunch, dinner in most Konkani homes of Udupi, Mangalore region. These dosas can be made using onions and are called 'piyava sanna polo' in Konkani, using cabbage & onions, and are called 'cabbage ani piyava sanna polo' in Konkani, pickled bamboo and are called 'kirla sanna polo' in Konkani and using drumstick leaves and flowers. All the varieties taste great. 

Here goes the recipe for making delectable drumstick dosas:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dosa rice
• 2 tablespoons of split black lentils/urad dal
• 6-7 dried red chillies
• 1 tablespoon tamarind
• Salt to taste
• 4 tablespoons of oil
• 1/2 cup drumstick leaves
• 1/2 cup drumstick flowers

Serves: 2

Preparation Time: 55 minutes

Preparation Method:

1. Soak rice for a minimum of half an hour.

2. Meanwhile heat the split lentils in a wok for few minutes until it gets hot.

3. Once soaked, wash rice well and grind along with dried red chillies, the fried lentils, tamarind, salt into a smooth paste. 

4. Add just enough water needed to grind. We want the batter semi thick.

5. Transfer the batter into a bowl.

6. Add cleaned drumstick leaves, flowers to the batter and mix well. Check and adjust salt.

Drumstick leaves:

Drumstick flowers:

Batter with drumstick flowers and leaves:

7. Heat up a frying pan, add a ladle full of batter and spread it a little. Make flat dosas. 

8. Cook closed on medium flame. Fry until they cook on one side. Add oil on top and flip it. Cook on the other side until it cooks through.

9. Serve hot dosas for lunch, dinner as a side dish. Goes great with curd rice or with rice and dalithoy.

Find more Konkani cuisine side dishes here. 

Tags: Rice dosas, sanna polo, mashinga pallo, mashinga phool, drumstick leaves, drumstick flowers.