As the sun rises, the tantalizing sizzle of griddles awakens our senses, signalling the start of another day and reminding us of our beloved breakfast staple: Dosa. With its golden, crispy texture best enjoyed piping hot, few other dishes can only match the universal appeal and cultural significance of dosa. Across India, dosa holds a cherished place in the hearts and palates of millions, inspiring culinary innovation and celebration.

To mark its 100-year journey, MTR Foods wanted to make the celebration better — to create a dosa like no other. Measuring 123ft long, this gesture of celebration has won the Guinness World Record for the longest dosa ever made. With this, MTR broke the previous world record of longest dosa of 54 ft. However, this achievement didn’t come easy. After 110 failed attempts and six months of relentless effort, a dedicated team of 75 chefs, finally succeeded in creating the longest dosa in the world.

You may wonder how they made the dosa. Regi Mathew, head chef of the team, explained the efforts behind this. “Our initial plan was to make a 100ft dosa, to mark the 100-year milestone of MTR Foods. However, we wanted to challenge ourselves and decided to make the dosa as long as we could. There were many challenges. You see, the most important thing was to figure out the optimal temperature and pH level of the batter to make this stunt. For example, when we started the trials, it was winter, and now it is summer. Without understanding this, dosa would be a flop,” he said.

After many such trials, Mathew and his team figured out the optimal temperature for the tawa, which is 120C and is brought down to 90C when the batter is poured. “First, the tawa is brought up to the desired temperature, which takes us a few minutes to prepare. After this, we temper it with water and as the temperature stabilizes, we sizzle some oil. We’ve used a machine which we can roll on the tawa to pour the batter evenly. We’ve used 75 kg of batter to make the 123 ft long dosa. There are two sets of people near the tawa, 15 on one side and 16 on the other, who slowly sliced the dosa and flipped it,” said Mathew.

Students from the govt school in Hebbagodi had a taste of the longest dosa. Sunay Bhasin, CEO of MTR, said, “From being a humble South Indian dish, it is now recognized and loved worldwide. The world record is a celebration of our bond with our consumers and their favourite dish.”