Dosa (Tosai) Process - VS - Design Process

This evening, I was in the kitchen preparing dinner. 🧑🏻‍🍳 My dad has requested some hot homemade dosas as he was craving them with some spicy, sour-y fish curry that he got from a local Nasi Kandar store. Also, because he bought a new tawa (basically an Indian frying pan) for my mom, which is already 1 year old, still brand new in the box. She didn’t bother to use it. She was never a fan of experimenting with new kitchen tools or gadgets. So it has become my duty to play with these new toys. 🍳

ℹ️ … Quick disclaimer, I suggest getting a cup of coffee/tea/water as you read this, as it may get long to hear my story… Story continues…

Preparing the batter was a no-brainer - 500g of dosa flour and 6 cups of water. Well, I used almost 7 cups because I don’t listen to rules hahaha, but also because the batter was too thick and clumpy. 😅 Then, I went in with my hand to mix the batter, ensuring there were no clumps in it.

Now, before you even go “eeew, you used your hand to mix it?”. Welp... Yes.. Yes, I did. 😏 I can never understand what is with the big ick with using your hands to actually cook. I understand if it’s outside and you never know the cleanliness of other people, then I can have the same ick, but at home, where I know how clean my hands are and my family knows as well, no biggie. 🤷🏻‍♀️ How can we even guarantee how clean the utensils are at the shops we go to? And how did people in the ancient days eat before they invented something called SPOONS? 🥄

Okay, I’ve deviated from the main topic… From the moment I prepared the batter till the outcome of the crispy dosas (Yes, it was really good! Trust me, ready-made dosa flour is not that bad actually. Approved by the family too!), I can’t help but relate the dosa-making experience in the kitchen with my work as a product designer… ITS SUNDAY! Why do I have to think of work!? 🙃

The batter-making process was like the conceptualization phase, where I got the requirements from the stakeholders and prepared the initial ideas. I’d “get my hands dirty” during this process, simply trying out different things, going wild and out of the box. 🎨 I’d also analyse things like feasibility, accessibility, usability, and functionality. Just like when I make the dosa batter, I check the water levels, the consistency, and ensure no lumps. 🔎

Once the batter is done, I had to set it aside for some time so that the fermentation can take place. Like, for real, just close it, forget about it (set your alarm JUST IN CASE) and go somewhere, do something for 30 minutes. 🏃🏻‍♀️💨

In design, usually after concepts are created, I’d narrow down the options, take them to stakeholders for reviews, and usually, I’d have to iterate on the designs. Nonetheless, there were times where I let the concepts rest, especially when teams are at crossroads and expectations are just too high. 😅 Not because I don’t want to move forward, but it’s because nothing seems to be moving forward, no matter how good the designs are. This is the time where ideas get shot down, or feedback aren’t clear, or simply the “uhhmmss and not sures” that seems to slow down the design team. Though it may be discouraging, I’ve also noticed that sometimes, sleeping on an idea and picking it up later can actually generate BETTER ideas! 😃

Reminds me of a time where my ideas and my team’s ideas kept getting shot down for a Learn Page that we were working on, to the point where there was no creative juices left in any of us! 😩 So, I let that design batter rest for fermentation while I went to the mall to fill up my juices. Little did I know that the mall had the best concept idea from furniture and tech shops that I never thought of implementing in my own concepts. It was one of the best ideas and lightbulb moments I’ve ever had while working with that team. Okay, that deserves a storytime of its own… 🤣

Once the batter has rested, it’s time to fry the dosas. Scoop a ladleful of batter, pour it on the pan, then I have to make speedy circles with my ladle to make sure the dosa is big without holes and lumps in it. It gives me anxiety to make the perfect dosa… 🥲 Control is important in this step. Press a little hard, and you get holes. Too slow, you get sticky lumps. Too fast, you might end up in a super thin-paper-like dosa (You might like it or hate it. I don’t quite like it, I don’t want to be eating brown porous paper). Pour too little, you will struggle with circles (Unless you want to feed a cat with a dosa treat!). 😺

Similarly, in design, once the concept phase is done, I’d still have to get my hands dirty in designing the actual look and feel such as coming up with high-fidelity wireframes, visuals, and prototypes. Basically, producing the final outcome that is expected. I’d need to have speed and flexibility while doing it to keep up with deadlines, but I don’t think I had anxiety with designing as much as making the perfect dosa 🥲

After all these anxious considerations, you have to do the next boring thing. Stand there and WATCH. Probably one of the most daunting things to do, in my opinion. I get bored standing there and staring at the nooks and crannies getting brown, making sure they don’t turn black to match the pan colour. You really have to rely on your guts and eyes to make sure you don’t burn it or flip it too early. 🙄

During the design phase, I do have internal reviews and checkpoints so that teams are aware on the progress and get to see the design growing. This process can either be super fast, or super slow. Getting alignment from stakeholders is like making a dosa. It either would be really good, fast and crispy, OR slow, burnt, and dissapointing. I’ve had both! Hahaha… 😌

You’re probably thinking, “When is she going to take the dosa out of the pan already! It’s going to burnnn!!”. Well, friends, I’m not done… I’ve given you the disclaimer… ☺️ So, while you’re about to take out the dosa and call it a day, that’s when all the other requests enter the kitchen that never came before! Can you add some ghee to it? Can you make it rounder? What about making it a little thinner? Why do you need to fold the dosa? Does it take time to make egg dosa? EGG DOSA!? All these don’t come early, do they? They have to wait until the very last minute when I’m almost done with it. 😶‍🌫️

This experience is even more realistic in the design world! 😆 Let’s face it people, last minute request CAN COME! That’s what being agile is all about. If you can include it and its not a blocker, you just got to do it! And if you can’t, then iterate over it. That’s all. There were times where I literally finished my designs, protoypes, and even created documentations for handover when last minute concerns and request comes. These usually take me by surprise especially when the requests are way too big and calls for a redesign! Nothing gets more frustrating when your design needs a major RE-design before you even launched it. Huhu… 😰

However, since you received the request and you can’t say no because you’ll feel bad about it and don’t want to get into trouble, you still do it. 😌 Get that ghee in, crack that egg, unfold that dosa, make it rounder, and give them brown paper. Just do it!

Same in design. Defend the things you need to protect, but at the end of the day, you still have to make those changes for the people who’s actually building it, paying for it, and asking for it. Win-win… 🏆

Once you do all that, and serve it on the plate, you just have to watch everything disappear, vacuumed, and devoured. Everything that you’ve just worked on, GONE! Those round shapes, folded, unfolded, ghee, paper, thin thick - it all ends up at its same destination in the same form… (moment of silence…) 🥲

However, there’s a sense of peace and joy to see someone actually enjoying what you’ve made for them. That hard work, anxiety, and frustrations all melt away when someone feels happy and satisfied with all the things you’ve done. That’s why I enjoy design too! Creating experiences is not an easy task, but is it worth it? OH YES! 100%… 💖

Well, congratulations, now you’ve learn how to make dosa! As a Malaysian, I find it funny and weird that I kept mentioning “dosa, dosa, dosa”. Locally, we call it “Tosai”. Also, “dosa” in Malay means “sin”! Feels like I’m talking so much about sin when it’s actually food… 🤣

Plus, you also got a sneak peek into some realistic scenarios of the design world. It’s just a portion of my design space, and I’m sure it’s different for others as well. This being my first Substack post turned out into a rant session. Anyway, I appreciate you being here, and I thank you for even reading this! 🥰