Akki Rotti

Akki rotti (rice flour pancakes) is a traditional South Indian snack. It is largely made as breakfast or an evening snack. In Karnataka, there are many varieties of akki rottis specific to the region/district. The one below is what I have grown up on at home. It is hand patted, crisp on the outside, and soft inside. The best part of these rottis is that they can be made absolutely thin and crisp or soft and fluffy - it all depends on how it is patted and spread on the tawa/girdle.

Ingredients:
Rice Flour: 2 cups
Finely chopped onions: 2
Cumin/jeera seeds: 1/4 cup
Chopped green chilies: 8 or as per taste
Chopped fresh coriander: 1/2 cup
Grated fresh coconut: 1/4 cup
Fresh curds/yogurt: 1/4 cup
Water: 1/4 cup
Salt to taste

Oil/Ghee for frying

In a mixing bowl, combine the above ingredients except oil/ghee to form a soft pliable dough. The consistency should be firm, soft and should be able to form a ball. Make sure the dough is not hard/dry as that can make brittle rottis. Keep aside for 10 minutes.

Grease a tawa generously with oil using your fingers. (Note: do not pre-heat the tawa as it is essential to grease the tawa with hand and also to hand-pat the dough)

With your greased palm, take a small ball of the dough and pat onto the greased the tawa to form a rotti/roti of desired thickness. With your index finger, make a small hole in the center of the rotti and fill it with oil. Cook on medium flame till golden brown. Flip the rotti to lightly cook the underside.

To quickly make the next rotti, flip and hold the underside/bottom of the hot tawa with the help of tongs/kitchen gloves under running water in the kitchen sink ( it will cool down the tawa immediately) and you can proceed with patting the next rotti.

Serve hot with chutney, tokku or pickle. You can also drizzle some ghee/butter for added flavor.

Note: You can store the dough and use it for up to two days by refrigerating.

Mango Mania: Mango Cheesecake

Ever since my last post on mango gojju, not a day has passed without eating mango in some form or the other. And when mango and cheese is combined, it is a killer combo. Layers of fresh ripe mango pulp, cheese and cottage cheese on a bed of crushed biscuits is just what the family needed as a sinful sweet indulgence on a hot Sunday afternoon.

Ingredients:

Cheese spread - 1 tub (I used Amul creamy cheese)Cream - 100 gms (I used Amul)

Cottage Cheese - 250gms (I used Amul paneer)

Sugar - Half a cup 

Mango puree from 4 ripe mangoes

Gelatin - 1 tbsp (I used Lion vegetarian gelatin)

Hot Water - 1/4 cup

Digestive biscuits - 2 packets (I used Marie biscuit)

Unsalted butter, melted - 75 gm 

Method:

Crush the biscuits in a food processor to form a coarse powder. Add the melted butter and mix well. Press into a spring form pan or a loose bottom dish, or individual glasses. Refrigerate till rest of the cheesecake is ready. 

Blend the mango pulp with sugar and set aside. Add gelatin to hot water till completely dissolved. Add this to the mango puree and stir well. 

Blend together the cheese spread, cottage cheese and cream. To this cheese mixture, add half the mango pulp and beat till well incorporated. 

Pour the mango-cheese mixture over the biscuit layer as a second layer and refrigerate for a about 2 hours. As a third layer, pour the mango pulp gently over the mango-cheese ensuring the layers do not get mixed. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Mango Mania : Maavin Gojju

It’s that time of the year! And my favorite - the KING of fruits is in plenty. Luckily for me, my family is crazy about mangoes so we've been hogging polly/totapuri cut mangoes with salt and chili powder, poori -aam rus, just good old ripe mangoes, Alphonso jam and today the irresistible mango/maavin gojju. 

Maavin gojju is a popular dish in most Kannada homes. It is spicy, tangy and rich in flavor  For this you need the small round variety of ripe mangoes – pairi if possible. Grind together dry roasted urad dal, dry red chilies, dry coconut, jaggery and some tamarind juice. Cook this on low flame and dunk the peeled mangoes in whole. Bring to a boil and finish it with a tadka of mustard seeds, curry leaves and hing/asafoetida.

What I love best is the versatility of this gojju – you can have it with steamed rice, chapatti/poori, akki rotti, or as an accompaniment with rasam rice or curd rice, or you can even just slurp up just the gojju in all it’s splendor.

Bite into the gojju covered mango for a beautiful blend of flavors - sweet and pulpy mango with spices and the tangy after taste.