Akki rotti and badnekayi palya (Rice flour rottis and aubergine curry)

I can bet that anyone who eats this can't help loving it! This is a traditional Bengaluru breakfast item, deceptively simple. It involves some knack in making it! You will need a couple of tries to get it right. So if you are game, read on..

For the akki rotti you will need

1 cup (approx 150 gm) - Rice Flour
1 No. - Big onion ( very finely chopped)
1 No. - Carrot (grated/ finely chopped)
1 No. - Green Capsicum (very finely chopped)
2-3 Nos - Green Chillies (finely chopped)
4-5 Nos - Curry Leaves (finely chopped)
A handful of chopped coriander leaves
1 tspn - Cumin seeds
1/2 tspn - Asfoetida
Salt as per your taste
Water - enough to make the dough

Oil to cook

Take a large bowl and put in the chopped veggies, cumin, asfoetida, salt. The veggies for this has to be really fine chopped, you can use the food processor if you like. But make sure not to mash the veggies, just fine chop! Take everything except the rice flour in the bowl. Give it a good mix with the hand. Then add the rice flour and mix it thoroughly. Taste for the salt and spice. If you want add more green chillies or salt. Now add water little by little and make it into a dough that is soft to the touch and not squishy squashy. if you press the dough with your index, it should just sink in.

Keep the dough aside for 15 minutes. Now take a tava and pour 2 tspns of oil. Spread it on the tava with your palms so that it covers the entire surface. Take a fist sized ball of the dough, even a little smaller will do. Drop it in the middle of the tava and keep patting and turning into a round shaped rotti by spreading it on the tava. If you feel it's a little dry and cracking, dip your fingers in awater and continue patting. The trick is to make it not too thin nor too thick! Once you are done, make a hole in the centre and if you want a few at other places too. This will help cook it evenly. Now put a couple of tspns of oil, in the holes and all around the rotti and keep it on the gas on high flame to cook. Cover it and after about 3-4 minutes, keep it on sim for another 3-4 minutes. You will hear it sizzling.  When you open, it should look something like this, on the inside.

You can see the holes and the edges would have turned brown. That's when you know it is done. Switch off the gas and take it off. Now you have to wait for the tava to cool before you can start patting the next rotti! SO what we generally do is, have two tavas and keep alternating. Traditionally, at homes this is done in woks. It is trickier when you do it in deep bottom vessels, so better try on tavas first!

NOTE - The above picture has red capsicum, onions and fenugreek leaves in it.

That's the beauty of this rotti, you can make it with anything you like! And it's always yummy!

 

For the Aubergine Curry you will need -

1/2 kg - Aubergines

This long variety is really tasty.

2nos - Onions (chopped)
2 nos - Tomatoes (chopped)
4 nos - Dried Red Chillies
2 tbspn - Ground Nuts
2 tspns  - Sesame Seeds
1 tbspn - Coriander Seeds
1 tspn - Mustard seeds
4-5 nos - Curry Leaves (chopped)
1 tspn - Turmeric powder
Handful - Coriander Leaves (chopped)
Salt as required
2 tbspn - Oil
50 ml - Water (or as required)

Method -

Roast the red chillies, groundnuts, sesame seeds and the coriander seeds. Cool and grind to a fine powder. Take a wok. Heat the oil and add the mustard seeds. Once the crackle add the chopped curry leaves, onions and tomatoes. Fry nicely, then add the ground masala. Add salt and turmeric powder to this and fry for a couple of minutes. Now, add the aubergines that are cut lengthwise and allow the masala to coat every single piece! Add about 50 ml water and cover. Let it cook for 10 minutes or till the aubergine is soft. Now give it a good stir. If you want add a little more water to get the right consistency. Give it 2 minutes and garnish with coriander leaves and serve with akki rotti!