There Are No Easy Answers - Ande ka Dosa (Egg Dosa)

It has taken me years to become a good listener. There is an art to everything. The art of photography, the art of medicine, and the art of listening. They are all important, each in their own way.

I vividly remember our white coat ceremony during the first weeks of medical school. It's all fun, with the excitement of starting medical school and posing for pictures with family and friends. But there are serious ideas behind all the fun and pomp. Parents and friends gather as we receive our white coats and recite the Hippocratic oath. From the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, it dictates the principles of practicing medicine. Do no harm. Respect your patient. It is one of the first things you learn about.

On this moral foundation, I learned how to become a physician. I studied gross anatomy, histology, pharmacology. In each one, you slowly learn the basics of medicine. And then you build on this and learn to take a history and questions. You learn how to examine patients and find what is wrong. You learn how to care. After years of learning, I became a surgeon. I rely on my skills and my judgment every day. Everyone asks, will this work for me? Will this help me? Will I be cured? But nothing is certain. And we, as physicians, don't have all the answers.

Not everyone is cured or does well. My mother's brain cancer had no cure, no light at the end of a long dark tunnel. Kind, compassionate physicians and surgeons treated her, but in the end, her cancer won. No amount of medical knowledge and skill or advancement could change that.

And so, I've slowly realized that listening and not just treating or fixing is so much a part of medicine. Sometimes we don't have all the answers, and so often, we all just want to be heard. One of my long-time patients comes in every year to the day. We talk about everything, from the weather to how our year has been, the kids and family. The last topic is how her medical condition is doing. We talk about it, both knowing full well that there are no easy answers. And maybe that is ok.

Egg Dosa

Egg dosa are crispy fermented South Indian crepes topped with eggs. They are a delicious variation on a classic. Serve with masala potatoes, chutney or ghee.

Serves 8-10

• 2 cups rice (long grain)
• 1/2 cup urad dal
• 1/2 tablespoon fenugreek seeds
• 4 eggs (beaten)

1. Rinse the rice and the urad dal. In a large bowl, combine the rice, urad dal, fenugreek seeds. Cover with 3 inches of water. Let soak for 5-6 hours or overnight.

2. Strain the rice and dal mixture into a blender. Add about 1 - 1 1/2 cups of water, just enough water so blender can grind the dal. The mixture should be thick like pancake batter. And it should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If it's on the thick side, that's ok, you can let it ferment and then add water to thin it later.

3. Ferment the batter in a warm place for about 10-12 hours or overnight. You can put it in a bowl, cover with a towel and leave on the counter overnight. I can't do this unless its summer. You can preheat the oven to 185 degrees and then turn off. Leave the covered bowl in the oven to ferment overnight. I like to use the instant pot on yogurt mode. It works well. Once the batter is fermented it should be almost doubled in volume and thick and bubbly.

4. Head a griddle or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Give the batter a few stirs. Oil the griddle. Pour about 1/4 cup in the center and using a circular motion spread it out in a circle. Spray the edges with oil.

5. Gently pour 1/4 cup of beaten eggs in a thin layer on the dosa in a circular fashion.

6. Cook for 3-4 minutes until golden and crisp. Flip and cook one minute.

7. Serve hot with masala potatoes, coconut chutney or ghee.