Akki Rotti

Akki rotti always tastes the best when made by patting the dough on the kadai directly after cooling it. We call it BaNLe-rotti, translating to rotti made on kadai. Mom makes wonderful rottis which are so smooth and yet crisp. Adding a lot of onions, veggies is a secret to wonderful rottis.

Here in Sweden, in the initial days, when we had not yet discovered places around, we had to shop only in the neighborhood supermarkets and carrots and onions were some of the most common veggies that would make their way home with us. And with limited options to cook a full meal, some of the meals would be like this one, with a couple of rottis and a chutney.

Here’s how you make akki-rotti:

Akki Rotti

Preparation time       : 15 min

Cooking time             : ~3 min per rotti

Serves                         :  4

Ingredients:

Rice flour        - 2 cups

Onions             - 1 cup, finely chopped

Carrot - 1 cup, grated

Beans / greens            /spring onions - 1 cup, finely chopped; any combination or all of them

Coconut - ¼ cup, grated, optional

Cumin seeds    - 1 tsp, optional

Cooking oil      - 2-3 Tbsp

Ginger             - 1 tsp, grated

Green chilies   - 2-3, optional

Coriander        - 2 Tbsp, finely chopped

Salt                  - ½ tsp or as per taste

Method:

• In a wide pan, add rice flour, cumin seeds, chopped coriander and curry leaves, green chilies, grated ginger, salt and finely chopped or grated vegetables and mix
• Add water and mix to a soft dough. Do not make the dough too watery, neither too tight. The consistency should be soft enough to pat it with fingers easily, without sticking
• Take a skillet, preferably non stick, or otherwise a well seasoned one, and smear a teaspoon of oil on the inside, till about ¾ths from the centre
• Take a ball of the dough (for a medium sized kadai take a small orange sized ball) and place on the centre
• Pat it with your fingers, and spread it evenly till the ¾ths, where oil was already smeared
• Make sure that the rotti thus patted is evenly spread. Try to pat it thin.
• Smear another half a teaspoon of oil over it
  

• Place the kadai on medium high flame and cover with a lid/plate
• After half a minute, remove the plate and let it crisp for another half a minute as per your choice
• Once done, the rotti comes out of the skillet very easily with hardly any effort to remove it manually
• Cool the skillet and repeat the same for the other rotties (See tips below)
• Serve hot with a chutney

Notes:

• Use at least two skillets if you have to make this for 2 to 4 people. Use one, by the time it is cooking pat on the other. When the second one is cooking, cool the first one and reuse. This way, time can be managed well
• To cool the skillet keep it under running cold water, inverted. Do not wet the inside, only outside should get wet and cool
• Any sized kadai can be used. The small, iron skillet used for making tempering is the best. Vary the size of the dough taken and the cooking time based on the size

If you are pressed for time and cannot afford to cool the pans and pat each rotti, then, here’s an alternative:

• Use a thick polythene sheet and cut it into a circle of desired size (size that fits on you tawa), or use a plantain leaf
• Smear the sheet with oil and pat the dough on it.
• Heat the tawa and invert the sheet over and after a few seconds remove and let cook on the tawa on both sides. Meanwhile pat another one and keep ready before removing the first one
• This is easier in preparation, saves time and also consumes less resource like heat and water. However, you’ll be compromising a great deal on the taste. I do not say it tastes bad, but the one made on skillet cannot be compared for sure.