Akki Roti Recipe (Spiced Rice Roti)

Akki Roti is a delicious staple breakfast from the Southern Indian state of Karnataka. These tasty savory gluten-free flatbreads are made with rice flour, veggies, coconut, herbs, spices and seasonings. Choose from two easy-to-follow methods to make a tasty Akki Rotti recipe. Serve these savory and spiced Rice Flour Roti with your favorite chutney, butter or ghee.

About Akki Roti Recipe

Akki Roti is a special and unique dish from Karnataka state in South India. These are traditional flatbreads made with rice flour and veggies.

The Kannada word akki means rice and roti or rotti refers to a flatbread. They are also known as rice flour roti or rice roti.

A point to be noted is that akki rotti is not your plain simple rice roti. A simple rice roti is made with a handful of ingredients – rice flour, water and salt. The rice flour is mixed with hot water and then kneaded to make soft rice roti.

Akki roti recipe includes veggies, coconut, herbs and seasonings added in the dough that make it very flavorful and tasty.

Unlike regular wheat flour based bread recipes you do not need to use a rolling pin to flatten the rice flour dough.

You have to pat the dough with your fingers on a banana leaf, a zip lock bag, a moist cotton napkin or parchment paper instead and then cook on a skillet.

It takes some skill to make these flatbreads because rice flour does not have gluten. This can make it tricky to shape.

In the step-by-step recipe, I am sharing two methods of how to flatten the dough. Feel free to choose the method that you prefer.

Practice a few times to make the perfect akki roti. Add the correct proportion of water to the flour to get the best results.

If you add less water the roti will become dense. Conversely, if you add too much water to the dough it becomes pasty and sticky.

Serve akki rotti for breakfast or lunch with coconut chutney or any other chutney variety of your choice. You can serve it with a side of ghee (clarified butter) or butter.

How to Make Akki Roti

Get all your ingredients ready before you begin making the rice flour dough.

1. Rinse, peel and grate 1 small carrot.
2. Peel, rinse and finely chop 1 medium onion.
3. Rinse, peel and finely chop 1 inch ginger.
4. Rinse throughly a handful of dill leaves and some coriander leaves separately in water using a strainer or colander. Finely chop them.

Next gather the spices, rice flour, seasonings and set aside.

Make Rice Flour Dough

1. In a mixing bowl or pan add the chopped veggies:

• ½ cup of chopped dill leaves (Feel free to skip the dill leaves if you don’t like the taste.)
• ½ cup of grated carrots
• ½ a cup of finely chopped onions
• ⅓ cup of chopped coriander leaves

You can also add 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of finely chopped curry leaves.

2. Add 1.5 teaspoons of finely chopped ginger and 2 to 3 finely chopped green chillies (about 1 to 1.5 teaspoons finely chopped) to the bowl.

3. Next add ⅓ cup of fresh grated coconut and 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds.

4. Add 1.5 cups of rice flour and salt to taste. Use a finer rice flour and not coarser variety.

5. Mix well. Then cover the mixture and set aside for 15 to 20 minutes. In this time the onions and dill leaves will release water into the mixture so you can add water accordingly later.

6. Add water in parts to the mixture, mix and knead until a dough forms. I have added ⅔ cup of water. Add water as required depending on the quality of rice flour.

7. Knead into a soft dough.

Method 1 – Flatten Dough On Plantain Leaf

1. Rinse a plantain leaf well using water. Use a paper towel or a clean kitchen towel to dry the leaf and then grease it lightly with oil.

Take a small portion of the leaf which can easily be kept on the tawa or skillet.

2. Roll a handful of the rice dough into a ball and place it on the banana leaf.

3. Next, use the palm of your hands to flatten the dough to get an even-sized roti. Make sure the akki roti is not too thick or very thin.

You can lightly moisten your fingers with water while patting and flattening the rice dough.

4. Press some holes into the dough with your fingers. This is an optional step.

5. Meanwhile, heat a tawa or skillet. Once the tawa is hot, spread some oil on it using a spoon. If you are using a tawa then make sure that it is well-seasoned tawa.

6. Lift the plantain leaf gently and bring it near the tawa.

Cook Akki Rotti

7. Gently place the side with the roti facing down on the tawa.

8. Wait for a few seconds and then gently lift the leaf from the akki dough.

9. Cook the roti on a medium heat.

10. Drizzle about ½ teaspoon of oil or as required in the holes and on top of the rice roti dough.

11. When the base gets light golden and crisp flip the akki rotti.

12. Cook this second side for a light golden and crispy akki roti. Add a bit of oil if needed. Remove and serve akki roti with coconut chutney.

Method 2 – Flatten On Tawa & Cook

1. Place a tawa or a skillet on the stovetop. Grease some oil on the tawa and do not heat the tawa.

It has to be cold, meaning the tawa has to be at room temperature. It must not be heated or hot.

2. Then take a handful portion of the rice dough and shape it into a neat ball between your palms. Place this rice flour dough ball on the tawa or skillet.

Flatten the portion of the dough on the tawa with your fingers to a neat roti ensuring it is neither too thick or too thin.

Dip your fingers lightly in a small bowl filled with some water and then flatten the roti dough.

3. After you complete flattening the roti dough, turn on the heat and let the tawa or skillet become hot on a medium flame. As the tawa becomes hot, it will cook the roti.

Cook the akki rotti as mentioned in the above steps. The roti should be light golden in color.

Feel free to prepare akki roti recipe using your preferred method. For the second method, you can choose to keep two tawa or skillet side by side to prepare akki roti.

Once the roti has cooked on one the skillet or tawa, switch it off and then use the second tawa.

This will help you to alternate between the two while making akki roti. While you use one, the second tawa becomes warm or cools down.

4. Akki Roti is best served hot with coconut chutney, any other chutney of your choice, with a side of ghee or butter.

In the photo below I have served the akki roti with capsicum chutney and it was simply mouth-watering!

Expert Tips

• Water: When preparing the dough you will need to add water to make it moist and soft. Touch the dough as you add the water as you want a fairly soft dough and add water as required. Depending on the water content in the vegetables, add less or more water while kneading the dough.
• Vegetables: One of the great things about this recipe is that any veggies of your choice can be added to suit your taste. For this recipe, some options to choose from are: cabbage, carrots, drumstick leaves, dill leaves, bottle gourd, fenugreek leaves, cucumber, zucchini, spinach and amaranth. These veggies work perfectly and add a lot of flavor to the akki roti. Also remember to finely chop the veggies and herbs.
• Rice Flour: The texture of rice flour is important to make a soft as well as lightly crisp akki roti. Ensure that your rice flour is finely ground and has a floury texture. It should not feel granular or have a semi-fine or coarse consistency as this won’t give you a soft akki roti and while rolling the rice roti dough can break.
• Veggie free: You can still enjoy this recipe if you are not too keen on vegetables. Add or skip them altogether to make a veggie free akki roti recipe. The remaining steps in the recipe will remain the same and don’t forget to make sure that the dough is soft after kneading.
• Batch: Feeding a crowd? This recipe can be altered by doubling or tripling the ingredients.

FAQs

Akki roti recipe from the archives was first published on May 2017.