232) PATHIRI

PATHIRI

YUMMY RICE FLATBREAD

Ingredients:

     1)    Roasted rice powder (see my putte podi recipe) – 1200 gm.

     2)    Salt – 1 teaspoon

     3)    Water – 1 litre

     4)    Coconut oil – 1 tablespoon

To Make:

          Set a wide wok on high heat. Pour in the water and the coconut oil. Tip in the salt. As soon as it comes to a boil, tip in 1 kilo of the rice powder. Stir well with a flat ladle. Cover with a lid and switch off the heat. After 30 minutes, carefully open the lid, dribbling the condensed steam from the lid onto the dough itself.

          Knead the dough nicely and make lemon-sized balls (see note no. 2). Put the remaining 200 gm. of flour on a small platter or on a piece of paper. Dip and roll each ball in the flour and flatten it with a rolling pin as you would make a chappati. Since rice flour does not bind as nicely as wheat flour, you can make the pathiris a bit thicker than chappatis. Later on, as you gain more experience, you will be able to roll out nice thin pathiris.

          To avoid sticking, you may need to dip the pathiris on either side once or twice in the flour before they are fully flattened. Set a non-stick flat pan on medium heat. As each pathiri is rolled out, gently transfer it to the pan. Use a flat ladle to patiently turn each pathiri so as to lightly roast both the sides.

          Wipe the pan with a dry cotton cloth before you put on the next pathiri. Pile up the roasted pathiris as soon as they come out of the pan. This will help retain the softness, the moisture, the warmth and the delightful smell of fresh roasted rice.

          Serve hot with delicious chick pea masala or with any other hot and spicy, thick vegetable, egg, fish or meat curry.

Bon appétit!!!

Pathiris with chickpea masala

Notes:

     1)    Patience, gentleness and time are needed to make perfect pathiris. If these essentials are not at hand, it is better to go in for making chappatis. However, pathiris are so much tastier to the point of being addictive. Easy to digest and a source of quick energy, pathiris are adored by children and eaten in far larger quantities too.

     2)    Beginners will find it easier to make smaller lime-sized balls of the dough. The pathiris being smaller are less likely to tear on handling. If you want perfectly round pathiris, you can use a pastry cutter.