I had talked to you about a ready-dosa-mix. I had asked for your comments on the instructions I had worked out.

Wow! I never thought I will receive so many valuable comments!

Thanks to all the comments. I have read them all and made a note of all suggestions. I have selected a few common ones to include here. Read the comments and my answers.

Get back to me with more comments.

If you have not read the first post, read it here.

Indian Food - A Review

Read the comments and my answers to the comments.

First let me thank all of you for the excellent comments. Each and everyone of them is very valuable to me. I am taking your help for this whole launch. I am going to reward you for helping me.

Before I answer your comments, I would like to give you a brief background.

The instant dosa mix is a creation of my mother who has 60 + years of experience in cooking rare recipes. She is passionate about cooking and spends hours in the kitchen.

I just do not want to spend any time in the kitchen. My mother has been couriering me her own instant creations that has saved me hours of time. Many of the things she has sent me, need not even be cooked. Most of her creations are so good that they taste better than the ones made with a long drawn laborious procedure.

One of the most important thing my mother keeps in mind is the shelf life of the products. Once she couriers a packet to me I can use it for about 6 months to one year without any problem. None of these products were created for the sake of sales. A mother created these products to save time for her daughter. And that is the crucial difference that adds quality value to this product. I have used them for my own personal use and treated my guests and neighbors.

Now that my mother’s 80th birthday is nearing, I thought I would do something for her. I wanted others to taste her wonderful creations, I also know from personal experience the people who buy it, will love it.

And believe me when I say this, there are many in India who do not want to spend time in the kitchen. Yes there are more like me! We love to eat good home food, if it can be made in minutes. So this is my attempt to have a win-win situation, where my mother will be happy and my customers will be happy.

Do you believe that the taste of your food is influenced by the mental make up of the person cooking it? I do believe this from personal experience. My mother is passionate about cooking and feeding others (I have sometimes been irritated and shouted at her - enough mom I can’t eat a morsel more ). Her love to feed others and make them enjoy a good meal, adds a special flavor to all her meals, that is incomparable.

And whatever I am doing now is to say “thank you and I love you” to my mother in my own way.

Well..sorry for the non-stop chatter.

Here are my answers to your comments.

Mukesh wrote @ October 22nd, 2007 at 8:26 am

It’s perfect.

Thanks Mukesh. And the instant dosa mix powder is perfect too. You will love the taste and the ease with which it can be made.

Ramakant Desai wrote @ October 22nd, 2007 at 8:37 am

Dear Rangooben,

R C Desai

Thanks Dr. Desai. After I get the video ready, I will send it to you. I would be grateful if you can really try it and let me know. I will send you a free sample of instant dosa mix.

B.Kalyani wrote @ October 22nd, 2007 at 8:51 am

dearest rangoo, as suggested by you i read the recipe,�how to prepare dosa. it is good. but i have one suggession to make. you have asked them to buy the ready mix, let them buy. but you can add how to prepare dosa batter in our houses. whoever wants to prepare the batter in their home let them do it. thank you. kalyani

Thanks for the suggestion Kalyani. Yes, your suggestion is good and I have talked about the usual way of making the dosa batter at the following sites:

Instant Pancake Mix

Squidoo Lens Ready-To-Make Pancake Mix

I am going to have a special blog with videos. I want to include both the long way and the short way of making dosa in the video. I mean there will be two videos one for the long way and another for the quick way.

But what should not be confused is the proportion of rice and urad dal (lentils). It is different for the long and short process.

Vasantha Chary wrote @ October 22nd, 2007 at 12:58 pm

dear Rangoo,
This is only a suggestion from me. In the steps described above for making dosa, you have used the word “corner of dosa�. But dosa being round in shape a more appropriate word would “outer edge�. Also flipping the dosa comes before folding it.

Vasantha Chary

1. Excellent suggestion Vasantha. I never thought of “outer edge of the dosa”. Thanks a lot. Please keep sending me your suggestions.

I need to create two sets of instructions - one for Indians and one for non-Indians. I am still struggling with it. One of my American friend has sent me a measuring cup and a set of spoons. She told me they talk in ounces or table spoons and not in gms like we do.

I am learning a lot from the whole process.

2. About flipping the dosa, I do not want them to flip it before folding. This one cooks very easily and hence if you just fold and flip and cook the other side for about 30 secs, you are done. Some people find it difficult to flip the whole dosa. That is why I do not advice it. You can also cover the dosa with a lid while cooking.

3. If you are in Chennai, you can directly collect your commissions from the address given on this page - Want2Learn Pancake

If you are selling it to people in Chennai, the price will be less in case they can collect the packet directly. The price now includes courier charges.

You will get $0.50 for 500 gms, $1 for 1 kg, $15 for 10 kgs and $150 for 100 kgs. If you have more questions please send them to Ask Rangoo.

Geetha Menon wrote @ October 23rd, 2007 at 7:44 am

This is not the way one should try to teach a person how to make dosa. You are talking about a ready-made mix. What if the mix is not available. You should write the ingredients required and their quantity so that the person can grind it if required. Instant mixes in the market are not that good. And it helps only if one is in a hurry.

You are right Geetha. In the previous question I have mentioned where I have included the instruction. I am also going to have videos for this as well as for other items.

One important point I want to mention. This is not similar to the ready-mix available in the shops. This is not available anywhere else up to now. This is a dry powder and not a wet-mix. This has a shelf life of more than 6 months.

Right now at home, I have kept my mix in fridge, because I want to keep it for one year. But the ready-mix the customers are going to get will be made after the order is placed. Remember that they are going to send a check or pay through PayPal. After the payment is made, the mix will be prepared and sent to them. So they can safely keep it for 6 months or more.

About “And it helps only if one is in a hurry” - I agree with you that there are many who love to spend time in the kitchen and do it through the old process. But I personally know many who would love to save the time spent in the kitchen. If I am hungry or if I have an unexpected guest, I just take a cup of this powder, mix it in water, make dosas (they do taste as good as the ones made the usual way). The guests are happy and I am happy.

Sultanali wrote @ October 24th, 2007 at 3:52 am

The recipe is explained well. The price for Indian market is on the higher side considering the fact that most people particularly in South India can make dosas quite comfortably. Also you must take another factor into consideration is that now ready mix with very limited shelf life is available readily.

Sultanali

Thanks a lot Sultanali. I do agree with you the dosa mix available in shops now have a limited shelf life. That is because they are wet-mix. What I have is a powder, a dry mix that has a long shelf life.

The price will be less for those who can collect it directly. Now the price includes courier charges. Once it is available in all supermarkets from where it will be easily picked up by consumers, there will be a discount on the price.

yasmeen wrote @ October 26th, 2007 at 1:33 pm

hi rangoo
i am a housewife myself so i have prepared dishes from many ready to cook packets. but the instructions provided by you r too lenghty and elaborate which makes the reader a little confused . i would advice you to make the instructions a little more precise.

hope this comment is helpful to you.

I agree with you Yasmeen. I am trying to work out a set of instructions that are comprehensive and at the same time short.

This is where I need help from all my loyal subscribers. Thanks for telling me.

Shanti wrote @ October 27th, 2007 at 6:26 pm

The instructions are simple and easy to follow for someone who has seen a dosa made. However for a newbie I think more elaborate instructions will be needed such as how much water needs to be added to the batter, whether or not to add salt to the batter, how hot the tava needs to be before the batter is spread, how to spread the batter, how long to let it cook and when to remove it from the tava.

Yes Shanti, you are right. You can also read Yasmeen’s comments who thinks the instructions are too lengthy. Arriving at a set of instructions that will fit all types of people from newbies to experts is the challenge. Add to this, customers from India and from abroad. A video will solve some of the problems.

But I need all your inputs in making this as comprehensive and as simple as possible.

Please keep sending the comments. I have received many through emails also. I have answered some of the common ones here. I assure you, I read all the comments and keep your valuable suggestions in mind.