Akki Roti Recipe – A Mangalorean Breakfast Special
A healthy body, a healthy gut and a healthy mind are the three tenets of our food culture since ages. While the concept of gluten-free is a new health trend that has only gained precedence in the last 40-50 years, the concept of using alternative sources of carbohydrates and grains apart from wholewheat has been prevalent in Indian cuisine and subcultures for centuries.
Local and communal recipes passed down through generations have always used blended grains in Indian bread. While the more commonly found ones like jowar and bajra make delicious rotis, sometimes you are in the mood for something different and unique. One such gem is the Akki roti, a staple breakfast item originating from Karnataka, but prevalent all-over South India as a simple and appetising household breakfast flatbread.
What is Akki Roti?
Akki roti is a traditional breakfast staple originating from Karnataka. It is a flatbread made with rice flour, spices, herbs, and vegetables. In Kannada, ‘akki’ means rice, while ‘roti’ stands for Indian flatbread. So, it literally translates to “rice roti,” but it is more flavorful and varies from a simple ‘chawal ki roti.’ It’s a gluten-free way to start your day in the true Kannadiga fashion.
It can be accompanied by coconut chutney, majjige (spiced buttermilk made using salt, green chilies, and yogurt), chicken kori sukka, mutton korma, or injipuli, a traditional South Indian pickle. Akki roti is light, balanced, and flavourful and can be made using a number of variations to the recipe. Traditionally, there are two ways you can shape and make the rotis; on a banana leaf or parchment paper and directly on the tawa before roasting.
In this article, not only are we going to explore the classic method of making akki rotis on a tawa, but the automated Rotimatic method as well!
Recipe for Akki Roti
Traditional Method
Preparation Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Total Time: 20 Minutes
Yield: 4 rotis
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice flour
- 1/3rd teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons fresh desiccated coconut
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 green chilli; finely chopped
- 10-15 fresh curry leaves; finely chopped
- ¼ cup grated carrot/cucumber/bottle gourd
- 2-3 tablespoons onions; finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons coriander or dill leaves (optional)
- ½ teaspoon grated ginger (optional)
Dough Preparation
- Mix all the dry ingredients, spices and vegetables in a bowl.
- Add water gradually in small quantities while assembling the dough. The dough has to be moist and sticky, as due to the lack of gluten, shaping the dough depends upon the amount of moisture.
- After the dough has formed, divide into small dough balls.
Roti Preparation
Method 1 - Spreading Dough on a Cloth or Parchment Paper or Banana Leaf
- Put the dough ball on a greased parchment paper or banana leaf and spread with your fingers till you get the desired thickness, neither too thick nor too thin.
- Place the roti on a hot tawa or skillet, with the roti side facing downwards and the parchment side facing you. Roast till light golden and serve warm.
Method 2 – Making Akki Roti Directly on the Tawa/Pan
- Grease a cool pan.
- Place the dough ball on the pan, and spread it on the pan itself.
- Turn the heat on and roast the roti till light golden.
- Let the pan cool down for the next roti, or use another pan alternatively. Serve warm.
Tips and Hacks
- Always make sure that you use the right amount of water. Too little, and the dough will not spread and will be difficult to work with, and too much, then the dough will be extremely runny and sticky. The dough should be fairly soft to touch, and you should adjust the water content depending on the vegetables you have chosen to incorporate.
- While spreading the dough, always wet your fingers to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands. If the dough isn’t spreading properly, repeatedly wet your fingers while working to incorporate more moisture.
- You can switch out any of the vegetables mentioned in the recipe with ones of your choosing, as long as you uniformly and finely chop them to properly incorporate that unique flavor and texture.
- Make sure that your rice flour is finely ground and has a flour-like consistency, rather than being coarsely ground. The fineness of the rice flour directly impacts the texture and crispness of the Akki roti.
Akki Roti Recipe: Rotimatic Edition
The Rotimatic provides options to make several Indian breads, including chapati, puri, bajra, and jowar roti, etc., in the most convenient way possible. It saves your energy and labor, and is the perfect kitchen companion to help you with your dinner prep after a busy day. The beauty of the Rotimatic is its automation, from start to finish. The Rotimatic comes with three different containers for flour, water, and oil and the ability to customize the level of roasting and thinness of the roti with a nifty little smart screen. It’s a machine that saves your precious time and gives you the warmth of homemade cooking with every bite. The possibilities are endless, and our users have come up with some really creative ways to utilize the Rotimatic. Here is one such method to make Akki Roti in the Rotimatic by one of our customers, Sumangala Bhusanur.
Ingredients
Paste:
- Green chilies paste - ginger, garlic, jeera, salt, spicy green chilies
- Chopped carrots
- Chopped onions
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Dill
Flour
- 3 parts Rice flour
- 1 part Wheat flour
Preparation
- Dry roast, dry ingredients, and spices to make a fine paste.
- Mix in water and strain into the Rotimatic water container.
- Alternatively, add chopped green chilies or red chili powder.
- Finely chop carrots and onions using a food processor, and wash dry dill, hand chop it finely.
- Mix the vegetables with the flour in a separate bowl by hand to make sure there are no lumps.
- Remove any big chunks of vegetables.
- Add salt, sesame seeds, jeera. Mix everything till combined homogeneously. Fill it in the Rotimatic flour container.
- Make rotis using the hassle-free automated technology of Rotimatic at your own ease. Set the Rotimatic setting for Ashirwaad Select flour. Set the Thickness settings at 1, Roast settings at 3, and Oil settings at 2. Start the machine and wait for your piping hot Akki rotis to be made! You can even roast the rotis in a pan afterward if you are reheating them.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Just add ingredients and push a button to let Rotimatic give you gharwali rotis in just 90 seconds.
Tips for Making Akki Rotis With Rotimatic
- Double-check that all parts of the flour container are locked properly. This helps the dough balls come out round & perfect.
- Ensure the oil container has enough oil for the perfect dough consistency for all rotis.
- Pro tip: After making Akki rotis, we suggest making a couple of plain rotis with regular water. This practice helps eliminate any lingering green chili paste flavor from the water line.
Other Rotis to Explore
If Roti is something you enjoy, we encourage you to go through some other Roti variations that you might also enjoy:
Takeaway
Akki roti is your next ideal gluten-free new recipe to try out on your Rotimatic! It’s healthy, it’s tasty, it’s fragrant, and you can serve it for any meal of the day, not just breakfast! Enjoy your akki roti with a plate of fragrant mutton or vegetable korma, and wash it down with a glass of cold Majjige. Whether you choose to make it the classic way or use Rotimatic when you're running short on time but not willing to compromise on quality, akki roti is a composite dish best served warm and made with love.