Preparation Time : 15 minutes
Cooking Time : 2 1/2 minutes for each roti
Serving : 4 members
Description
An authentic dish very own to my hubby s place . A roti made out of a coarse rice flour fried along with coconuts to dry and stored .The colour of this flour is a light cream colour . This flour is called as thengaatta maavu . I have seen this flour only in my hubby’s place not any where else . They use the flour for another dish called thakkadi which is rice flour balls cooked in mutton gravy . Any dish made with this rice flour makes you feel stuffed in the tummy and sure to put you off to sleep . Every muslim house in Nellai will surely have this rice flour stored in their homes . Initially when l was newly married , the rice flour was pound at home with a stone mortal and a long wooden pistol ( urulai and olakai in Tamil ) by women. (Nellai woman are physically strong ) . It would take an entire day for them to got the rice flour ready . The entire house would be a mess that one day . In fact my in-laws place has a separate room behind our ancestral home specially for this purpose (i followed the same and have a room for this purpose at my place to ) and the flour was fried only in a wood stove. Now a days we got the flour pounded in the near by rice mill but the frying part of the rice flour is still done the old school way of using a fire wood stove which I think gives the flour a nice smoky flavour . I have suggested puttu rice flour as substitute to this rice flour as its a difficult process to make this rice flour and not easily available any where other than the southern districts of Tamilnadu . So folks make sure to buy this thengaatta rice flour once you pass by Nellai along with our Tirunelveli special halwa :-)) .
Ingredients
Ingredients | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Rice flour ( puttu rice flour ) | 2 heaped cups |
| Boiling water | 6 cups |
| Salt | to taste |
| Coconut grated | 1 cup |
| Coconut oil | 2 tablespoons |
Method
- Mix rice flour, coconut and salt together .Pour the boiling water over the Rice flour mixture . ( Might seem a lot of water but the flour will take in all the water . ) close with a lid and set aside undisturbed for 2 minutes .
- Knead into a smooth dough . In case you need more water add little more boiling water .
- Roll the kneaded dough into apple sized balls and keep covered in a vessel .
- Place a greased plastic sheet over a flat surface ( your kitchen counter will be apt ) I usually cut white plastic bags , grease and use as the coloured plastic bags tend to ooze out colour from the cover to the rotis .
- Place one dough ball in between the greased plastic sheet .Roll with a rolling pin very gently as the level of the roti surface has to be of same level through out to about 1/4 inch thickness .
- Make a circle like for chapathis , with the help of a round shaped lid . press the lid well and remove excess dough sticking out .Heat a tawa .
- Lift the roti with the cover in your left hand and place the roti side down on your right hand and place it over the hot tawa .
- Place it undisturbed for 3 minutes in medium heat . Flip over and pour 1/4 teaspoon coconut oil all around the roti and cook undisturbed for another 3 minutes in medium heat .
- Remove and serve hot with any non vegetarian or vegetarian gravy or curry .
- This roti is served with mutton salna or fish curry usually .In the picture above i have served the roti with fish curry .
- Follow and do the same with all the dough balls .
