karnataka cuisine – CafeGarima

Akki rotti/roti from Karnatka, the second destination of my Dakshin Samyaal 😀
This Masala Akki is a vegetable filled crunchy delight. And so healthy! I have discovered a smart way to feed my kids lots of fresh seasonal vegetables and have been able to sneak in a load of never-appreciated veggies like beets, red cabbage, radish, cucumber and beans.

This time the theme at our blogger buddies group was to use a hitherto unused fruit or vegetable. I picked Indian broad beans/ Sem ki phali. The recipe is adapted from my friend Aruna’s wonderful blog Aahaaram.
This recipe gives about 6-8 akki rotis.
1 ½ cups rice flour
1 medium onion, chopped fine
½ cup of broad bean seeds ( Peel the beans to get the seeds inside. I used the peels to make a quick stir fry with potatoes )
¼ of a small cabbage, chopped fine
1 small carrot grated
2-3 green chillies, chopped fine
2 Tbsp Malai/Fresh cream (the original recipe uses oil, but I found Malai keeps the akki rottis softer for a longer period of time. Else they tend to dry up)
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp asafoetida
3-4 tbsp milk, used as needed to get the dough together ( the original recipe uses water)
Oil to cook the rottis
In a big bowl add all the chopped vegetables, rice flour, salt, asafoetida and cream.
Mix well with fingers and add milk slowly to make a soft and supple dough.
Knead the dough just when you are making the rotis. This doesn’t keep well when made ahead and stored.
Heat a non stick pan and brush lightly with oil.
(Traditionally the dough is flattened directly on the pan. This is how I did it)
Take a plastic sheet and smear lightly with oil. Even a banana leaf works well. Also grease your palms and fingers.
Take a lemon sized ball from the dough and flatten in on the plastic sheet with your fingers, sealing the edges with the other hand.
When rolled out to a regular chapatti size disc, make a hole in the middle of the roti with your fingertip and poke 5-6 holes around the periphery of the rotti. This helps in cooking evenly.
Gently, lift the roti off the plastic sheet/banana leaf and put it into the hot pan.
Reduce heat and cook covered till brown spots appear. Brush the top with a little oil and flip and cook from the other side till done.
Serve with coconut chutney, tomato chutney or just fresh curd!

This blog post is part of the monthly “Cooking With Friends” themed blog post challenge. This challenge was started by a bunch of virtual friends united by their love of food, with the aim of tackling a different food related theme each month. If you want to try this month’s theme, please feel free to do so and link your recipe in the comments section. We’d love to check it out.
Meanwhile, check out what the others in the group have come up with this month.