Onion Roti (thin Indian bread made with Ragi flour)

16 Sep Onion Roti (thin Indian bread made with Ragi flour)

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In my parents house growing up, our morning breakfast that wasn’t frosted mini-wheats, cinnamon life, french toast or other typical staples in 1980s America, was comprised of South Indian favorites like dosa or idli with sambar. Another breakfast dish that was my absolute favorite back then– and still is today–is the onion roti. I’m not even sure if the term roti is correct here, but my mom always called it onion roti, so I’ll stick with that. This dish is a very thin, crispy bread that is somehow so satisfying that you can eat it on its own. But, I prefer it with this concoction of chutney pudi (powder) with homemade yogurt or greek yogurt as a dipping sauce.

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The main ingredient in this onion roti is ragi flour (however you can substitute with kala chana flour). What helps with the binding is semolina, as well as cottage cheese, which also brings added protein. Maybe one of the reasons I love this dish so much is that it has a similar profile to Mexican food with the red onion and cilantro. And find any spicy pepper you have, whether it’s serrano, jalapeno or a thai chili pepper.

Mince and mix

Mince all of your ingredients, ie the red onion, cilantro, spicy pepper. Mix all of it it together with the cottage cheese. Then add the flour and semolina. Slowly start to incorporate the water til you get a slightly sticky dough. This recipe makes 6-8 rotis depending on size, and it helps to separate out balls of dough so you have equal proportions.

Press the dough into the tawa (concave pan)

It’s best to have multiple tawa pans, but in my case, I only had one, so I also used a crepe pan. The rotis take a little bit of time so you want to cook more than one at a time. You’re going to want to spray the pans with oil, and then you take a ball of dough and press it into the pan. Keep a cup of water near you and dip your fingers in the water between each press to prevent the dough from sticking to your fingers. You want to press it into the pan tightly so it creates a very thin layer of dough around the whole pan. Then place the pans on medium heat on a gas burner and watch for the dough to get darker. You can use a pot cover to expedite the cooking process. Once it’s nice and dark all the way around, spray the roti with oil again, and flip. Let it cook till you get your desired crispiness. I typically like it extra crispy.

Prepare your chutney pudi dipping sauce

Chutney pudi is simply a dry chutney powder made primarily of roasted chana dal, urad dal and a few other ingredients. You can find it at an Indian store or if you’re lucky like me, you can steal chutney pudi from your parents pantry (and they get it shipped from India)! While most Indian people will just add some chutney pudi on their plate next to some yogurt, I decided to mix it together to create a dipping sauce that’s got the consistency of a paste. While it may be a bit weird to most Indian people, I prefer it this way. And I just of this… It would probably go really well with chicken wings!

Recipe

Serves 2 (3-4 rotis is one serving)

Ingredients:
– 1 1/2 cups ragi flour (or 1 1/2 cups of kala chana flour)
– 1/2 cup semolina
– 1 cup cottage cheese
– 1/2 large red onion or 1 small red onion
– 1/2 cup luke warm water
– 1 cup chopped cilantro
– 1 thai chili pepper (or serrano)

1. Mince the onion, cilantro and pepper, and mix together with cottage cheese.
2. Add ragi flour and semolina and stir together. Slowly start incorporating the warm water. You’re making a light sticky dough, so make sure to mix the water in well. Make 6-8 smaller balls of dough to evenly proportion.
3. Spray your tawa pans with oil. Set up a cup of water next to your pans, and gently use your fingers to press one ball of roti dough into the pan. With each press, dip your fingers in water so the dough doesn’t stick. You want to evenly press so that you create a very thin layer of dough that’s evenly distributed throughout the pan.
4. Place your pans on your burners at medium heat. Use a pot cover to cover the roti to cook faster. You want to see the dough get dark all around and crispy at the edges. Then you’ll spray the open side with more oil and flip.
5. Cook for 5-10 minutes per side depending on how hot your burners get. And cook til your desired crispiness. I prefer it extra crispy.
6. Serve with chutney pudi and enjoy!