Ragi rotti

A finger-millet breakfast bread spread onto the hot griddle by hand and cooked crisp.

Vegan.

Ingredients

• 300 g ragi flour, which is finger millet
• 1 onion, sliced thin
• a small carrot, grated
• a handful of coriander leaves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon salt
• about 300 ml water
• 3 tablespoons oil, for the griddle

Method

1. THE DOUGH IS SPREAD BY HAND ONTO THE HOT TAVA RATHER THAN ROLLED, and its article says so in those terms: oil is spread over a griddle and A SMALL AMOUNT OF THE DOUGH IS NEATLY SPREAD OVER IT TO RESEMBLE A THIN PANCAKE. Nothing is rolled, nothing is lifted. The bread is formed where it cooks, which is why it can be made thinner than a dough this crumbly would survive being moved.
2. RAGI IS FINGER MILLET AND IT HAS NO GLUTEN, which is the reason for that. A rolled sheet of it tears on the way to the pan. Pressed out in place, the bottom sets before the top is finished and the problem does not arise.
3. KNEAD IT SOFT WITH SALT AND WATER. The article asks for the flour mixed with salt and water and KNEADED WELL TO COME UP WITH A SOFT DOUGH. Add the water in stages; ragi drinks more than wheat and the right dough is tacky, closer to a thick batter than to bread.
4. ONION, CARROT, CORIANDER AND CUMIN GO IN AT THE KNEADING. Its article offers sliced onions and carrots, chopped coriander and cumin seeds, added while making the dough. Slice the onion thin -- thick pieces tear the sheet as it is spread.
5. OIL THE GRIDDLE BEFORE THE DOUGH, NOT AFTER. Spread three teaspoons over a cold tava and set it on a medium heat. Put a ball of dough in the middle and press outward with wet fingers until it is as thin as you can get it without holes. Patch any holes with a pinch of dough.
6. A LITTLE MORE OIL OVER THE TOP, THEN COOK IT UNTIL IT IS CRISP. The article spreads oil over the surface and cooks the rotti ON THE HOT GRIDDLE TILL IT TURNS CRISP. That is five or six minutes, and it is longer than feels right -- a soft one has not had enough.
7. TURN IT ONCE, FOR A MINUTE. The underside is the face and it should be dark brown in patches. The second side only needs to dry.
8. SERVED HOT, WITH CHUTNEY. Its article says so plainly, and the bread goes leathery within the hour, so there is no point making them ahead.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under India · All recipes