MENTHYA SOPPINA BALIDA ROTTI/METHI GREEN RICE ROTTI/

Menthya soppina balida rotti is the result of an attempt at preparing morning breakfast with a very reluctant mind set to enter the kitchen yet with a challenge to churn out some thing that could fit the bill of  a good /healthy/ sumptuous breakfast. If you donot believe here is how it started. I had rice flour which I could use to make rotti, yet no patience to prepare tattida rotti bandli rotti or ubbu rotti. I had fresh methi green which I wanted to use. I had coconut but did not want to make chutney feeling lazy. I believe in fortifying food using nourishing and health boosting ingredients keeping in mind  taste, texture and ease. So I decided to bring all the available  ingredients together with least effort ( read lazy, reluctant) and make it into a rotti. Creative stress  played the trick. I had a eureka moment and result was a really really tasty, lip smacking menthya rotti - flavourful, addictive and very healthy.

A little background about akki rotti as it is prepared here in Karnataka - 

Akki rotti is a very popular breakfast dish in Karnataka. Akki rotti takes different avatars such as bandli rotti (prepared in a kadai/wok), tattida rotti (patted on a banana leaf and roasted on a tava/skillet), ubbu rotti, the one which puffs up, and balida rotti, a rotti that is prepared by smearing on a hot skillet.

My mother never used to prepare balida rotti so I  had never heard of  it till I visited a relative in Tumkur a town close to Bangalore. I would watch in awe as this lady made hot rottis and served the same with bitter gourd gojju and ghee. It was heavenly. I incubated the desire to prepare this variant of the rotti ever since and I  literally felt triumphant the first time I prepared this and got the nod of my MIL.

Difficulty - moderate, rotti making skill comes with practice

Preparation time - 30 minutes
Cooking time - 5 - 7 minutes for each rotti
Yield - 8 - 10  rottis ( 10 inch dia)

Ingredients 

• Rice flour  - 400  gms
• Methi greens - 1 big bunch
• Green chillies - 4 as per taste
• Grated coconut - 1 big cup
• Asafoetida - 1 generous pinch
• Salt to taste
• Oil to drizzle on the rottis

Method

• Clean, wash and drain water from the greens 
• Grate coconut
• Chop the greens and chillies finely ( I use mechanical veggy chopper )
• In a broad bowl/ basin place rice flour, chopped greens, grated coconut, salt and mix  thoroughly. Add water slowly and prepare a dough that is sticky and wet (not firm) and leave it for 10 minutes.
• Heat a skillet, sprinkle water to check if the skillet is hot and maintain low heat.
• Drizzle oil  on the skillet and place a tennis ball sized dough on the skillet,  pat it with fingers and start spreading the dough in a circle  by sprinkling water as and when required. take care to see that the thickness is uniform throughout the rotti.
• Drizzle oil and cook the rotti covered with a lid
• Check for roasting, the colour should be golden brown.
• Remove the rotti from he skillet and serve it hot with ghee/ pickle/ chutney pudi. 
• Repeat the process for rest of the dough.

Note

• This rotti can be prepared with chiroti sooji (semolina), red rice flour, little millet flour
• Dil can be used in the place of methi greens
• Sprinkling water will aid in sreading the dough while making rottis
• Practice will result in better rottis