Akki rotti from south india - HealthyLife

Akki or rice flour rotti is a popular breakfast item from Karnataka, India. Since, rice is staple food most of the households in Karnataka make rice flour rotti for breakfast. It is also known as masala akki rotti because of the various masala ingredients.  This is a healthy breakfast because of good amount of carbohydrate, little protein and no fat. Moreover, after eating rotti for breakfast the stomach feels full for most part of the day. It also can be a good lunch item with less messy and children love to eat rice rotti as the taste remains same throughout the day.

One can add varieties of vegetables and healthy greens into rice flour mix and make it more tasty. Rice rotti and thick coconut chutney is a famous breakfast combination.

Ingredients:  (counted for 5 people, calories from 1 rotti =152)

• Rice flour – 1 and 1/2 cup
• Chopped white onion – 1
• Salt as needed
• Green chili – 3
• Cumin seeds – 1/4 tsp
• Curry leaves chopped – 10 leaves
• Chopped coriander leaves -1/4 cup
• Warm water to knead the dough
• Grated coconut 2 Tbs
• Sesame or vegetable oil for cooking: 2-3 tsp
• Optional: finely cut dill leaves or Amaranthus leaves or grated carrot & finely chopped beans (1/4 cup)

Preparation:

Using warm or boiling water is important for preparation of rice rotti. In a vessel bring water to boil.

Mix rice flour by adding all ingredients- chopped white onion, green chili, cumin, curry leaves, coriander leaves, and coconut and if you are using any leafy vegetables or veggies add that too. Now, mix the flour.

Now, add boiling water* and initially with a help of spoon mix rice flour so that the dough comes together. Take care not make it a batter. One should be able to make round balls using the flour mix. Keep it aside for about 10 minutes. Once you feel dough is cooled down enough to touch by hand, add little oil and knead dough well.

Take a banana leaf without center midrib or a thick plastic sheet and place a tennis ball size of dough on it. Using your hand slowly pat the ball and flatten it to round shape. It should be thicker than chapatti. One can directly pat the dough on the pan. It needs some skills and if tava is hot then it becomes little difficult to pat dough on the tava.

Transfer slowly to tava and cook it on medium flame. Smear a tsp of oil on the rotti. Cover it with a lid. In between turn the rotti, and cook both sides equally. For crispier rotti leave it for little longer, otherwise, once both sides slightly turns to brown color, remove from the tava.

Serve the rotti hot with any one of the following side dish: coconut chutney, chutney powder, fresh butter, peanut chutney, coriander chutney. In interior villages rotti will be served with molasses, honey and ghee (clarified butter).

* Adding warm or boiling water makes rice rotti soft.

Image credit : https://in.pinterest.com/pin/316940892542347708/Upendra Kanda, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Recipe: www.WerIndia.com