Akki rotti...Karnataka Special.!!!

Akki rotti is a very famous dish in Karnataka and is my favorite too. I never get bored of this rotti and I can eat this daily provided if someone prepares this for me...:)..!!
This used to feature as a regular dish in my lunch and my mom used to give me 6-7 roti's so that her daughter could get to taste atleast one...poor mom...!!Guys believe me, my lunch box used to be a hot target for my friends.If I tell them that i have brought this for lunch,I had to run after them to chase my lunch box or else there would be just a tiny piece left for me to taste and I always ended up to go the canteen....Hmmm..So many memories with this rotti for me.My Mom makes the best Akki roti's that I ever had.They will be perfect crisp and soft at the same time.

As Hubby is brought up in Delhi and as my Inlaws are from Andhra,they never got to taste this.The very first time i prepared this after my marriage Hubby was very much impressed by the taste and has become a big fan of this and now he always asks me to prepare this rotti.


Ingredients:
2 Cups Rice flour
2 Onions finely chopped
1 Cup grated Bottle gourd(can be substituted by cucumber)
1/4 cup grated Carrot
1/4 cup finely chopped Coriander
1/4 Cup Roasted,deskinned and slightly powdered peanuts
1 tsp green chilli paste(Ground into a coarse mixture)
1 tsp jeera
salt to taste


Method:
Mix the rice flour with all the ingredients properly with hand until everything is mixed properly.Now add enough warm water to make it into a semi solid dough as shown in picture.(Rice flour varies from place to place,if you feel that your rice flour is sticky then add warm water to make the dough which in turn helps to release the stickiness of the dough,it always help better).Take a handful of dough and make it into round balls of Orange size.Smear the Rotti tawa(Non-stick/normal dosa pan) with little bit of oil all over the tawa and place the rotti dough in center and press it gently with hands and spread into a thin layer by rotating the pan by immersing the hand in a bowl in between which helps in patting the dough evenly and smoothly on the tawa.Make it as thin as possible.do not bother if small gaps are there,that makes the rotti even crispier.
Pour a spoon of oil over it and cover it with a lid and place it on fire on medium flame.Let it cook for 2 mins.Keep an eye on it to check in b/n whether it is done or not.Once you see the red patches started forming increase the flame and cook it.Try to rotate the tawa inorder to get an evenly roasted rotti.No need to turn it on the other side.Serve this right off from the flame and on to the plate with a dollop of fresh white butter and some Thokku(smashed pickle type generally made up of either mango or tomato).You can even serve it with masala dahi.




Other variations of Akki rotti:
The Basic Akki rotti contains Rice flour,onions,green chilli paste,coriander leavessalt,jeera.Try the other variations of Akki rotti according to the availability of vegetables.Grated Carrot/Bottle gourd/Cucumber/Beetroot/fresh coconut can be added to the above mixture according to our taste.Crushed peanuts add the extra taste to the regular Akki roti's.Seasonal seeds like Avarekallu(tender ones) can be used to make these.Greens like Mint/Coriander/Dill leaves/Spinach can also be added according to our tasteMix and match the above variations in order to suit your taste buds.

Important Notes:
Use two-three tawa's to make these rotti's which eases the process of making them.
Do not attempt to pat the dough on hot tawa,the dough does not spread evenly and we may even burn our fingers.Run the backside of the pan(after the rotti is done) in running water in order to cool it faster.But do not try to attempt this process for non-stick tawa's,there is a possibility of the non-stick coating coming out and the shape of the tawa gets disturbed.Always prepare it on medium flame and higher the flame inorder to get nice crispy and softer one's.Otherwise it will become very hard and chewy.The rice flour's vary from place to place.The gluten content in rice flour also varies which when attempted something like this makes the rotti very hard and stiff and will be very chewy.So try to use non-glutinous rice flour for this and use medium hot water to make the dough inorder to avoid the extra glutinous of the rice flour.Dip your hands in water in between the process which helps you to pat them evenly or you can even apply oil to your hands while doing it.
If you don't have many pans/tawa's at home,try to use a hollige paper if available to pat the rotti or you can even pat on the greased baking mat and place it on tawa with the dough side down and remove it after one minute and fry the rotti normally.
Sometimes the rotti sticks to the pan and it does not come out.The Best way to get a non-sticky rotti is "spray Pam(Oil spray) all over the hot pan and run it in the water and follow the procedure, you can really avoid that messy job.If you do not have pam spray pour 1-2 tbsp of oil on the hot pan and prepare tadka (just add mustard seeds) and remove it and let the pan cool and follow the procedure.You can still avoid the sticky- messy job of rotti's.I have shared you some important tips to make perfect and crispy Akki rotti's.Hope it might be helpful for you guys.These are the techniques which i have learnt from Mom inorder to make my favorite crispy Akki roti's.The process seems elaborate for beginners but experience makes it more easier to do them.

For a more healthy version you can even check my Ragi rotti which is equally delicious and more healthier than Akki rotti.


As a kid I never used to eat ragi rotti, In order to make it appealing for me my Mom used to pat half the tawa with the Rice flour dough and the other half with ragi flour dough which tempts me in a combo of different colours.Seems quite interesting right??Try it out to make your kids eat if they are also like me, do not accept some dark colors in their food.

This again goes to Nag's 'Ravishing Rice' Event Which was originally started by Meeta

and to "Show me your breakfast" Event by Divya of Dil se.


and this also goes to "EFM Theme - Breakfast Series" @ Srish Kitchen