Akki Roti Recipe | Akki Rotti Recipe

Vegan Akki Roti Recipe

In Kannada, akki means rice and roti means bread or tortilla and there are many varieties of this super popular dish based on the ingredients used.

Akki Roti is a melt-in-the mouth, soft Indian bread which is full of flavour. The smell of this absolutely divine dish has woken me up many a time. My friends would probably vote for these rotis as a hot favourite. I would carry extra akki rotis to school, yet they would disappear in no time. My mother would add onions, carrots and spices to the roti, so, often, it needed no accompaniment.

Recently, I met my aunt with some fresh Akki roti. She looked at my box and asked “Akki roti? But I thought rice is not good for health. Aren’t wheat rotis better?”. “Well, not these ones,” I quipped “especially because I have made them with unpolished rice. Now they are as healthy as they were meant to be traditionally”. Many of us eat rice and use rice flour that is unhealthy because it is polished and stripped of its fiber and nutrients. At PHC Lifestyle Clinic's cooking workshops, we use any of the many varieties of unpolished rice, therefore, it is highly nutritious.

In Kannada, akki means rice and roti means bread or tortilla and there are many varieties of this super popular dish based on the ingredients used. With sabbakki or dill, avarekaalu or hyacinth bean, onions and carrots or just plain salted, these rotis are a staple in many households. It is served with fresh coconut or tomato chutney.

Traditionally, we make these rotis on soft cotton cloth or a banana leaf and flip them onto the hot tava. Although you can also directly make it on the tava by patting it round with water, it requires some practice.

This recipe will show you how to make akki rotti with dill leaves, like our Shepi Kadubu. Furthermore, you can add your favourite veggies to it as well.

Recipe by Prathima Prashanth, Health Coach & Plant-based Cooking Expert, NutritionScience.in

Whole Food Plant Based Akki Roti Recipe

Course: Course 3 (Grain Dish) for Lunch & Dinner Meals
Cuisine: Udupi Recipe from North Karnataka in South India
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4 Akki Rotis

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Unpolished Rice flour or Soaked Unpolished Rice
1/2 cup Dill leaves
1/4 cup Groundnut
2 tbsp Flaxseed Powder
2 tsp Miso Paste (Healthy Salt Alternative. See Nutrition Science Highlights below)
1/2 tsp Jeera / Cumin Seeds
1 cup Water as required

INSTRUCTIONS

There are two methods to prepare akki roti, outlined below. Either of them can be used:

Akki Roti Recipe Method One

1. Soak unpolished rice overnight.
2. Blend it in the morning with little water to get a batter with a consistency like that of thick neer dosa batter. Chop dill leaves, roast groundnuts and crush it coarsely. Add it to batter along with other ingredients and water as required and mix well.
3. Heat tawa till a drop of water dances around when you splash water on it. Splash a ladle of batter so it forms a round roti. Close with a lid so it cooks well. Once done, flip it and let the other side get cooked as well. Wait until it cools fully, then serve fresh. Enjoy! 🙂
4. Serve warm with fresh coconut chutney!

Akki Roti Recipe Method Two

1. Chop dill leaves, roast groundnuts and crush it coarsely. Mix unpolished rice flour with all other ingredients and water as required to get a dough-like consistency.
2. Using water, wet a banana leaf or muslin cloth. Take a small ball of dough and press / tap it on to the leaf or cloth to get a thin rice bread.
3. Heat tawa till a drop of water dances around when you splash water on it. Gently place the flattened rotti on it and remove the leaf or cloth. Make some evenly spaced holes with a fork so it gets cooked evenly. Close with a lid so it cooks well. Once done, flip it and let the other side get cooked as well. Wait until it cools fully, then serve fresh. Enjoy! 🙂
4. Serve warm with fresh chutney!

Plant Based Chef Pro Tips for Best Akki Roti Recipe

1. If you prefer crispy rotis, flatten more and cook for longer.
2. Use onions if you wish, but this will no longer be a satwik recipe.
3. Plain akki roti can be made with another method. Boil water, pour rice flour and flaxseed powder slowly and mix it well to get a dough like consistency, and use this to make rotis.

Nutrition Science Highlights for WFPB Akki Roti Recipe

1. Why Miso Paste? Miso paste is fermented & salted soya bean paste. American Heart Association Maximum recommended maximum daily salt intake of 3.75 grams per person to minimise risk of high blood pressure, stomach cancer and chronic kidney disease. In addition to helping us restrict salt intake, replacing salt with miso paste also helps by neutralising the negative effects of salt by soya phytonutrients. You can easily make fresh miso paste at home by mixing 100 grams of cooked soya paste with 10 grams of salt, or 10 tablespoons of cooked soya paste with 1 tablespoon of salt. If making at home, ensure to use immediately, or freeze in batches to use later. Or, simply use 3.75 grams of salt or less per day per person and add 18 to 20 grams (dry weight) of soya beans in any dishes, spread through the day!
2. Why whole grains? Whole grains are healthier than refined grains such as white rice, refined flours, maida, rava, etc., as the bran layer is intact, with all its vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Whole grains have been found to be protective against a whole range of chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and lifestyle-related cancers.
3. Why cool grains? When cooked grains are allowed to cool on the counter or in the fridge, the starch crystallises to form resistant starch. This can be eaten by our good gut bacteria and also reduces the glycemic index (the rate at which glucose is absorbed), making the whole grain even healthier. For the same reason, parboiled whole grains can be used as well.
4. Why flaxseed powder? Whole grains are super healthy foods, but whole grain flours, not so much. Because of a smaller particle size, the starch from ground up grains gets absorbed much faster than from intact whole grains, causing a glucose spike and insulin spike in the blood. This is why we recommend coarsely ground whole grains as against finely ground whole grains. When we cook dishes using whole grain flours, it is wise to add an ingredient that makes the dish sticky and slows down absorption. Flaxseed is a perfect addition for making rotis. In addition, flaxseed contains high levels of omega 3 fats and cancer-fighting lignans. For the same reason, eating grain flour dishes with pulses and legumes, such as roti and dal, is a great idea too.
5. What's wrong with roasting? The brown color we get on roasting whole grains, tubers, legumes, or nuts is due to the formation of carcinogenic AGE compounds. We can reduce the formation of these compounds by roasting on a low flame, adding spices and herbs, and removing browned portions of rotis / flatbread before serving and enjoying them.
6. Why nuts instead of oil? Whole foods are healthier than processed foods. When nuts are pressed and oil is extracted, fiber and phytonutrients are lost, along with many other nutrients. Therefore, whole nuts are much healthier than oils, whether cold-pressed or refined. In addition, they provide the oil content we need to absorb fat-soluble phytonutrients from other whole plant foods! This may be why nuts are used to garnish nearly every traditional Indian dish!