Akki Rotti is a roti, or a flatbread from the state of Karnataka made from rice flour, spices and vegetables, usually served with a chutney or gravy on the side.
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Akki Rotti is a staple flatbread from the state of Karnataka and is a weekly staple in most homes. Akii rotti is made with rice flour, herbs, spices and vegetables.
If you’re looking for a fast meal with minimal prep time, just gather rice flour, grated veggies, and water.
I make akki rotti almost every week, with slight variations in the ingredients and serve it with different chutnies to keep it interesting in the menu.
Akki rotti is a tiffin item that people can eat at breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
It goes well with any type of chutney or gravy.
Ingredients for Akki Rotti
The chief ingredient for an akki rotti is rice flour. Akki in Kannada means rice and rotti means flatbread. To make 8-10 small size rottis, you will need 2 cups or roughly 350g of rice flour.
The ingredients to add to the akki rotti flour can be completely up to you. I typically include finely chopped onions, green chillies, grated carrots, cucumber, dill leaves, curry leaves, and coriander leaves.
The spices that I use for akki rotti are just jeera seeds. If you have the time, you can even add tempered mustard seeds.
How to make Akki Rotti
The prep part
The recipe to make Akki rotti is actually pretty simple. You just have to prep all the ingredients and bring it together with some water to form a soft and supple dough.
You start by adding the rice flour and salt in a large bowl. Peel and finely chop onions, peel and grate carrots and add them both to the rice flour.
Now, add the herbs and spices – jeera seeds, finely chopped green chillies, finely chopped coriander leaves and curry leaves.
Mix all the dry ingredients well and then start add the water slowly while mixing the dough with your hand. For two cups of rice flour, you will need about a cup of water. You may use more or less depending on the texture of the dough.
You know the dough is ready when all the rice flour has absorbed the water and the Akki rotti dough is wet and soft.
Leave it aside covered for a minimum of 20 minutes before starting to make them. Most times I make the akki rotti dough the previous night in order to use it for the next morning’s breakfast.
Rolling out/ Spreading your Akki Rottis
To roll out the akki rottis, you will either need banana leaves or parchment paper. Since I do not have easy access to banana leaves, I mostly use parchment paper.
If you have access to banana leaves, before patting the rice dough, run the banana leaf over a flame to help the leaf get a little pliable. Or else, the leaf has a tendency to tear when patting the rice flour dough out.
Uncover the Akki rotti dough, and divide them into equal parts and roll them into balls. You should get about 8 -9 tennis ball sized dough. Cover and keep aside.
Apply a little oil on to the banana leaf or parchment paper, and place a ball in the center. Start patting and spreading the dough outwards until you have the desired thickness. Make five small holes in the rotti in the middle and sides – this will help the rotti cook evenly.
(The first few times will be tough to get a nice round rotti, but don’t let that discourage you. The more you do it, the bigger and thinner you’ll be able to spread it out)
Cooking the Akki Rotti
Place an iron tawa on medium flame. Once the tawa is hot, invert the parchment paper on to the tawa and allow the akki rotti to stick to the tawa. After a few seconds, gently remove the banana leaf or parchment paper off.
Place a lid on top of the tawa for it to steam cook. The rotti should get steam cooked in about 20-30 seconds. Lift the lid and ensure that the rottis cooked. (It is ready when there are no dry spots left on the rotti. If you notice any dry spots, place the lid back on to cook some more).
At this stage, you can drizzle some oil to the sides of the rotti and the indentation (holes) made in the rotti. Allow it to cook for a few more seconds and take it off the tawa. You can allow the rotti to roast a little more by adding a little oil and cooking it on a slow flame until the bottom is crisp.
Take the akki rotti off the tawa and serve it immediately.
Serving Suggestions – You can serve akki rotti with tomato chutney or any type of chutney, gravy, curry or just with plain butter or ghee.
Few points to remember
- Adding more grated vegetables like cucumber and carrot more than the quantity of the rice flour will yield a softer rotti. This texture of rotti is good for packing in lunch boxes, as they will remain soft throughout the day.
- If you add fewer vegetables, you can make a crispy textured rotti that is perfect for immediate consumption.
- You can add any vegetable that you can grate or finely chop. A few variations of akki rotti include – Dill soppu , Averekalu, Cucumber and Masala akki rotti.
For the beginners
Akki Rottis can be prepared by those who have never made it before, since the ingredients are easily available. The only reason most beginners shy away from making akki rotti would be the part requiring the spreading of the dough.
When making it for the first time, don’t worry about spreading the dough perfectly. Just make sure it’s evenly spread, so it cooks evenly. To make the cooking part easier, you may even make more holes in the spread out dough so that it cooks faster.
The more you do it, the better you will get at the spreading/patting the dough.
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Recipe
Akki Rotti
Ingredients
- 2 cups Rice flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Jeera seeds
- 1 Onion finely chopped
- 1 Carrot large, grated
- 2 Green Chillies finely chopped
- 1 Cucumber peeled and grated
Instructions
- To a large bowl, add 2 cups of rice flour. Add one teaspoon salt, and mix well.
- Peel and chop a medium-sized onion into small pieces. Peel and grate a carrot and add it to the rice flour. Chop green chillies into small pieces and add to the rice flour too.
- Take a small cucumber, peel the skin and grate it. Add the grated cucumber to the rice flour.(If you want a softer akki rotti and also a rotti filled with veggies, add one more grated cucumber)
- Add a teaspoon of jeera seeds and mix all the ingredients well.
- Add water to the mixture little by little until you have a soft and smooth dough. You will approximately need 1 cup of water for 2 cups of rice flour. Make sure the dough it sufficiently wet, it is easier to pat the dough out when it is wet.
- Let the rice flour dough rest for a minimum of 20 minutes. You can even make this mixture and leave it in the fridge to make the rottis in the morning.
- Divide the dough into equal balls, the size of a small rubber ball.
- Use either banana leaf or piece of parchment paper to pat the rice flour dough.If using the banana leaf, run the leaf over a flame to reduce the stiffness.
- Apply a coat of oil to the banana leaf or parchment paper and place a ball of rice dough and start spreading it out. Keep a cup of water handy, to aid you with patting the dough. Once you've rolled it out, make a few holes in the centre and middle portions that will aid the cooking process. (The rotti may not be perfect the first few times, but keep trying to get the dough thinner and thinner. )
- Place a tawa on medium flame and coat it with some oil. Once the tawa is hot, invert the parchment paper on to the tawa allowing the akki rotti dough to stick to the pan.
- Press down gently so that the rotti gets transferred on to the pan. Peel the parchment paper or the banana leaf slowly as the akki rotti gets cooked with the heat of the pan.
- Once you've removed the paper/leaf, place a lid on top of the akki rotti so that it can cook in its steam for 10-20 seconds.
- Remove the lid, and drizzle oil around the rotti and in the cavities that you've made.On a low flame, you can crisp up the rotti or you may remove from heat and transfer it on to a plate.
- Eat Akki Rotti when hot along with a chutney of your choice.
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