Jolada rotti with Uchellu podi (Jowar Roti with Niger Seeds Powder)

Jowar or Sorghum is widely grown in dry areas with scanty rainfall. It is used in many parts of India to make rotis or unleavened bread following different methods. I am posting the method followed by Kannadigas that Aaruni shared with me. Jolada Rotti or Jonna Rotte is a zero oil bread cooked extensively in Northern parts of Karnataka.

Niger seeds are called Uchellu in Kannada and are used to make a powder used as an accompaniment to all the breads.

Niger Seeds – Uchellu

Uralikaalu (huralikaalu) or Horse Gram is combined with Niger seeds to make the powder.

Uralikaalu or Horse Gram
This is my next entry for RCI Karnataka hoted by Asha of Foodie’s Hope.

Jolada Rotti/ Jowar Roti/ Sorghum Roti with Uchellu Podi (Niger Seeds Powder)

For the Uchellu podi (Huchellu Podi)

Ingredients

• Uchellu (Niger Seeds) – 1/2 cup
• Urulikaalu (Horse Gram) – 1/2 cup
• Red chillies – 12 nos
• Curry leaves – 3 twigs
• Jeera (Cumin) – 1 teaspoon
• Salt – to taste

Method

1. Dry roast the urulikaalu (horse gram) on a low flame you smeall an aroma. Add jeera and roast for a minute more and take out on a plate.
2. Roast the uchellu (niger seeds) on a low flame till it crackles. Take out on the same plate with roasted urulikaalu (horsegram).
3. Roast the red chillies it it turns dark brown. Take out on the same plate.
4. Wash and wipe the curry leaves and dry roast till dry.Tranfer to the plate.
5. When all ingredients are cool, add salt and grind to a fine powder in a mixie.
6. Store in an air tight container. Tastes good with all rotis and dosas.

Patting to form the Jolada Rotti/ Jowar Roti/ Sorghum Roti

For the Jolada rotti (Jowar Roti)

Ingredients

• Jowar flour – 2 cups+ 2 tablespoons for rolling
• Salt – a pinch
• Water – 2 cups

Method

1. Bring water to boil in a heavy bottomed pan.
2. Add the salt and sprinkle the flour evenly . After a minute stir and mix well.
3. Once the flour absorbs all the water take off the flame and knead to form a ball. Divide into 2 inch balls.
4. On a plate sprinkle some flour, take a lemon sized ball and press to form a round. Start pressing with your palm moving the roti in a circular direction to form a thin round like chapathis. You could alternatively roll using a rolling pin.
5. Remove excess flour on the rotti with a cloth and cook both sides on a medium flame in a tawa. An evenly made thin roti puffs up.
6. Serve hot uchellu podi and avarekaalina (field beans) saaru (lentils gravy).

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Akki Rotti (Rice Roti)

There are two ways of looking at Akki Rotti – you can think of Akki Rotti as unleavened bread made out of rice flour or as spicy pancakes.

Personally, I prefer “Sada” Akki Rotti (plain rice flour bread) to the many different the masala ones which have onions, grated vegetables, cumin and green chilly. Sada or Plain Akki Rotti is a zero oil bread much like the phulka and is super soft and fluffy like the Gujrathi rotlis. It is typically served with uchellu podi and ennegayi or gojju.

While one can find nifty workarounds for getting the masala ones, the sada ones aren’t that amenable to cheat sheets. The masala akki rotti has been a saviour once – when absent mindedly I made naan dough out of rice flour. Amma and I converted it into some kind of masala akki roti – dosa 🙂 – rich in milk and absolutely yummy.

Yet, nothing can beat the divine taste of plain akki rottis which I have been wanting to try for quite sometime. I faithfully followed Aaruni’s (introduced in the earlier post) recipe and method and I am glad to say the results have been fantastic for a beginner like me. I was quite delighted when the rotis puffed up. Yay, yay!!

Akki Rottis (Rice Flour Rotis) folded into a quarter

A Closer View

These are a wee bit thicker than they are supposed to be and though round, have tapered edges (booo hoo!!!).

Here’s Aaruni’s recipe that I faithfully followed:

Preparation Time: 5 minutes , Cooking Time: 30 minutes , Yield: 6 Rotis (these are slightly bigger than wheat flour rotis)

Ingredients

• Rice Flour – 2 cups
• Water – 2 cups
• Salt – 1 tsp

*cups=225ml or 8 oz measures.

Method

1. Bring salt and water to boil in a heavy bottomed cooking pot on a medium flame.
2. When the water starts bubbling, reduce flame to low and throw in the flour evenly. Do not stir. Keep on a low flame for a minute.
3. With the back of the ladle whisk the contents into a smooth paste. Remove from stove and keep aside for cooling.
4. Knead into a dough. The more you knead, the less you sweat while making the rotis. Divide into 6 parts and shape into balls.
5. Keep aside a little rice flour for dusting. Wipe a flat board/ roti rolling surface with a clean wet cloth. Wipe your belan/ rolling pin with the wet cloth.
6. Take one ball of dough and roll in the flour. Flatten the ball into a round. Roll into a round with the belan/ rolling pin (exert very little pressure), continuosly moving the roti in a circular direction. The roti should be rolled out thin. Dust off the flour and wipe the roti with a wet cloth.
7. Heat a tawa. Slip the roti in the tawa. Cook on a medium flame. When you see about two or more air pockets bloat up, turn and cook the other side. The roti would have started puffing. Turn again and cook for a few seconds.
8. Repeat for all the other balls of dough. Remember to clean the rolling board and belan/rolling pin and wet them with a cloth for each roti.

One pack of soft fluffy “a wee bit thick” Akki Rottis packed off to Asha for RCI-K.

You might want to check out few other versions of plain Rice flour breads:

• The Coorgi version from Asha’s Foodie’s Hope.
• Chavlachi Roti from Koli cuisine (Maharashtra) from Anjali’s Anna Parabrahma
• Ari Pathiri (Kerala) from Aparna’s Bhakshanam
• Tandla Pita from Shilpa’s Aayi’s Recipes and Tandlya Roti from Raaga’s The Singing Chef (Konkani)

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Thattai

Thattai is another must be item for Srijayanthi! Do use freshly ground flours (Rice and Urad dal) whose recipes have been posted earlier.

Ingredients

• Rice flour – 2 cups
• Urad dal flour – 1/4 cup
• Grated coconut – 1 tablespoon
• Channa dal 2 teaspoons
• Moong dal – 2 teaspoons
• Curry leaves – 2 twigs
• Ghee – 1 table spoon
• Pepper powder – 1teaspoon
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying
• Broken Cashew (Optional)

Method

1. Soak the channa dal and moong dal for 10 minutes.
2. Mix the flours , coconut, salt , pepper powder, chopped curry leaves, soaked dals and ghee in a large container.
3. Add water and knead to a smooth dough. The dough should be soft so that it does not break or crack while flattenning.
4. Knead well for a while. Take lemon sized balls and flatten the dough to a round of about 4 inch diameter on to a white cloth. If the thattai cracks or breaks, just add some more water to the dough.
5. To make the thattais you can also grease your fingers with little oil.
6. Finish making the rounds with all the dough.
7. Heat oil in a deep pan and Check the oil temperature by dropping a small piece in to the oil.
8. If it rises up immediately then the oil is ready for frying. Start frying around 6 thattais at a time, Frying the dried ones first.
9. Always keep the flame between low and medium. Turn the thattais to cook the other side.
10. Once the sound subsides, drain well and remove on a kitchen napkin.
11. Your thattais are ready for the neivedyam.

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More recipes for Aavani avittam

Recipes for following have been posted below:

• Parangikai Paal Kootu (Sweet Pumpkin in Milk, Jaggery and Cream)
• Poori Payasam (A Unique Pudding)
• Aama Vadai (Channa Dal based Vadai)
  

Parangikai Paal kootu (Sweet Pumpkin in Milk, Jaggery and Cream)

This is a sweet kootu which my hubby loves. I have not prepared for a long time as the tender parangikai is not easily available here. Tender paringi kotai is best for this recipe. Posting this on request for my fan Latha Balu.

Ingredients

• Parangikai(sweet pumpkin) diced – 1 cup
• Milk – 1 cup
• Jaggery – 1 table spoon
• Turmeric – 1 pinch
• Salt – 1 pinch
• Cream – 1 table spoon(optional)

Method

1. Add 1/2 cup water to the diced parangikai mixed with turmeric powder and salt and cook on a medium flame.
2. When the vegetable is soft and well cooked add the jaggery and milk and just bring to boil. Do not allow to boil for long.
3. Add the cream. If you like it thicker you can add 1 teaspoon rice flour to this and cook for a minute.

Tips

Tender vegetable is the best.

Use minimum water to get a thick kootu.

You can increase or decrease the amount of jaggery to suit your taste.

Aama vadai

Aama Vadai, Beans Parrupusali, More Kozhambu
This vadai is made using channa dal or kadalai paruppu. I use cabbage and carrot to add nutritional value.

Ingredients

• Channa dal – 1 cup
• Urad dal 1 teaspoon
• Curry leaves – 1 twig( finely chopped
• Red chilli – 1 no
• Hing – 1/4 teaspoon
• salt to taste
• Grated carrot – 1/2 cup
• Finely chopped cabbage – 1/2 cup
• Oil – 1 cup for deep frying

Method

1. Wash and soak the dals for 1/2 hour .
2. Drain well ,add red chilli, salt , hing and grind coarsely to a thick consistency. You must be able to make a ball.
3. Add curry leaves , cabbage and carrots and mix well.
4. Heat oil in a kadai and test the temperature by dropping a small piece of the batter. If it rises quickly you can start frying the vadas.
5. Make small flat rounds on your palm or a plastic sheet with the batter and drop carefully into the oil.
6. Fry both sides on a medium flame and drain on a kitchen paper.

Poori payasam

Ingredients

For the pooris

• Rava – 1 cup
• Ghee – 1 tablespoons
• Oil – 1 cup for deep frying

For the paayasam

• Milk – 1/2 litre
• Sugar 3/4 cup
• Ghee 1 table spoon
• Cardamom- 3 nos
• Cashew nuts 6 nos
• Saffronleaves – 6 leaves
• Milk – 1 tablespoon for soaking saffron.

Method

1. Mix the rava and ghee with little water and knead like a poori dough.Leave to soak for 20 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a kadai. Knead the dough once again. Make small balls with the dough and roll into thin pooris.
3. Test the heat of oil by dropping a small piece of dough into the oil. If it rises quickly oil is ready for frying.
4. Keep the flame in medium and fry the pooris on both sides and drain the oil and take out on a kitchen paper.
5. Heat milk in a deep pan on a low flame. Break the pooris into big pieces and add to the milk.
6. When the pooris are cooked add sugar, cardamom powder and saffron leaves soaked in milk.
7. Take off the flame and garnish with cashews fried in 1 table spoon ghee.

Tips

Do not allow the paayasam to boil after adding sugar.

Pooris must be fried in medium to low fire so the they stay white.

The pooris should be rolled super thin.

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Express Cooking: Rotis with Snake Gourd in Lentils (Pudalangai Kootu)

Comfort food in our house means rotis with kootu, “thayir “(curd) and pickles. Dry vegetables can be, well, too dry for Chennai, and gravies can become too spicy. Besides there aint any quicker way to prepare vegetables than the classic Tamil Kootu way. There are of course a few ways in which one can make these mildly flavoured lentils depending on vegetables. I have made a plain version similar to what is usually used for cabbage.

For the actual Poricha kootu version, refer to the Drumstick Kootu I had posted earlier.

This is my entry for Shaheen’s Summer Express Cooking event. But this isnt really an express meal, in fact its pretty relaxed!!! And takes under 20 minutes.

Preparation time: 5 mins, Cooking time: 15 minutes, Serves: 2-3

Ingredients
For Kootu

• Snake Gourd – 250 gms
• 3/4 cup Moong Dal
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
• 2 tbsp Grated Coconut
• 2 nos Red Chillies
• 4 twigs Fresh Coriander
• a pinch of Hing/ Asafoetida
• 1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds
• 1/2 tsp Urad Dal
• Salt to taste
• Oil for Cooking

For Rotis

• 1 1/2 cups Wheat Flour
• 1 tsp Ghee
• Water to Knead
• Salt to Taste

Method

1. Put Moong Dal with 2 cups of water and turmeric powder to steam in a pan or pressure Cooker.
2. Fry Red Chillies in a 1 tsp for oil. Turn off the heat and add Grated coconut. Keep aside for cooling. The coconut should have just a mild golden colour.
3. Wash the Snake Gourd. Cut it length wise into two, remove seeds and slice into small semi circles.
4. Wash and roughly chop the coriander leaves.
5. Turn off the Cooker or Pan.
6. Put the Snake Gourd in a Microwave Safe Bowl with Hing, sprinkle a few drops of water and Micro on High for 6 minutes.
7. While the Snake Gourd is cooking, knead the Wheat Flour with salt and water into a firm dough. Knead till the dough is elastic. Add the Ghee to the dough towards the end, divide into 10 rounds and set aside.
8. Grind the roasted red chillies and coconut to a fine paste with 1 tsp water.
9. The Snake Gourd would have finished cooking in the Microwave and pressure released from the Cooker. Remove the Moong Dal and mash lightly.
10. Add the Moong Dal, Salt and Coconut-Red Chilli Paste to the Snake Gourd in the Microwave Container. Mix well, and Micro on high for four minutes.
11. Set the Roti Skillet on a low flame. Take a plate or a basket with a clean cloth on it to set aside the rotis.
12. Press one round ball of the Roti Dough flat lightly with your palms on a flat surface. Roll over the pinwheel evenly, turning the flattened round slowly. Bring sides together and roll out into a circle again. This should give you a perfectly shaped (ok, may be fairly) round roti.*
13. Put the roti on the skillet. Cook both sides for a few seconds on a low flame. Increase flame to high when small whitish or pinkish spots or air pockets start to appear. Cook the other side. Repeat this until brown spots appear on both sides.
14. Proceed similarly with all the other rotis.
15. Remove the Snake Gourd Kootu from the Microwave. Add chopped coriander leaves. Mix well with a ladle.
16. Splutter mustard seeds and urad dal with a little oil on the stove. Add this tempering to the Snake Gourd Kootu.

Serve Hot with Curd and Pickles.

*It is always better to use dough that has been set aside for at least 20 minutes. Fresh dough may not puff much. Folding dough and rolling out again helps.

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