Jolad Rotti

If I were to pick my favourite food and had to choose only one, then this would be it. My absolute number one favourite! I think I attribute it to my Amma (granny). I used to loathe naps in the afternoon and so used to stay awake when all my other brothers and sisters used to nap. After everyone’s lunch, sometimes my granny would have just a little hot rotti remaining. So she used to take the “birasu” rotti from the previous day and I’d eat a few bites with her. I think that taste has just struck a string in me. This is called bhakri in Marathi. Anyways, here goes the recipe.

Ingredients:

Jowar (Jola in Kannada) or Sorghum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorghum) flour, water, a pinch of salt

Process:

• Take finely ground Jowar ata (flour) 250 grams in a wide mouthed vessel with shallow depth. It can also be a large plate with long edges.
• In a separate vessel take just little water (1/2 a cup) and bring it to boil. Add the boiling water to make a dough from the Jowar flour which is already taken in the shallow pan. This dough is called jigatu in Kannada.
• Now take this jigatu and add dry jowar flour and knead it thoroughly with just enough water to make dough of such consistency as chapati dough (may be even less water than that).
• To make rotti you should press/beat the circular dough with the palm of your hand on a flat surface such as the kitchen platform. Initially use the right hand to beat it in the form of a circle and use the left hand to maintain a circle (video coming soon!).
• Dry flour may be used to avoid the dough sticking to the flat surface while preparing the rotti. This is the crucial step!!
• Once the rotti is ready, it should be carefully transferred to a hot Tawa.
• When the lower part of the rotti gets slightly dry apply water on the upper surface of the roti with a piece of soft cloth and allow it to remain until the water just evaporates a little.
• Then carefully reverse the rotti and bake the other side, pressing this side while baking- if pressed gently with a cloth , the roti puffs separating into two layers with steam in side.
• Remove it from the Tawa and serve it hot!! 

Tips and Tricks:

• The rotis if do not get consumed may be eaten later as birasu rotti.
• If you want to make crisp rottis like sajji rotti, then you need to make them very thin and bake on very low heat for long time (5-8 mins on low low fire). Typically you can keep two tawas, so once the rotti is cooked, you transfer it to the other tava and bake it on it for about 5-7 minutes turning 2-3 times.
• This is a cumbersome procedure!! If one practices for a few days, this is very healthy food (no oil!)
• If the rotti starts crumbling when you try to make it(no jigatu), try to put boiling water in the entire flour to make the dough instead of using jigatu. This applies for jowar flour got in grocery stores abroad. The flour is not fresh and so it loses the stickiness (jigatu) as it ages.
• When you get fresh jowar flour, keep it in the refrigerator to prevent it from losing the jigatu (this holds especially for folks who get jowar flour from India :-)).

 Typically Served With:

Stuffed bell pepper, stuffed brinjal (yengai), hesar kaaLu, jhunkad vadi and any fresh salads. Some chutneys that go well are Shenga hindi (kind of peanut chutney with garlic), aradidda khara etc. Another way to eat it is with hot jhunka or pitla – called jhunka bhakri or pitla bhakri. This is a famous combination in Belgaum and Maharashtra.