Rice Roti with Peanut Chutney

My memories of India are few and sometimes fleeting. I visited as a kid and only for a couple of weeks at a time. My memories are from these visits and the stories my parents would tell us of their childhood. I mostly remember visiting family and eating home-cooked Indian food (biriyani, chai, roti, repeat). We were showered with affection from family we barely knew. Who was that uncle again? Long before I truly understood the meaning of family, I was perplexed by how these relatives could speak to my parents as though they had just seen each other yesterday. I remember hot nights sleeping under mosquito nets and big fans, making sure there was no little crack in the netting that the little guys could get in.

We would drive back and forth to Bangalore. My father grew up in a small town south of the bustling city. We would drive to Bangalore to go shopping or visit (more) family. Back then, it was a long drive, not like how fast it is today. The road was tree-lined with large tamarind trees that would hang beautifully over the road giving shade to everyone who traveled. We would drive in an old Ambassador car. Ambassadors were solid, big cars made in India and based on a British design from the 1950s. They had heavy doors and dark leather seats, which I distinctly remember being hot. It was an experience.

On one of our drives from Bangalore, the car overheated, and we stopped by the side of the road. There were many smaller huts and small homes along the way. While the driver looked our car over, the locals invited us in for a meal. Food again as a bridge between people, it was a humble house with a dirt floor and thatched roof. None of that mattered as we had a fantastic meal—this delicious, hot, crispy bread cooked over an open fire and shared with us. The roti was prepared on a tawa or grill and served with a fresh and spicy peanut chutney. The kindness of strangers is a wonderful thing.

My mom would make rice roti often for breakfast or lunch. Chawal ki roti or rice roti is common throughout India. In Karnataka, it is called akki roti. It is traditionally made with rice flour, vegetables, and a few spices, often cumin. Rice roti goes well with a simple chutney. My mom's recipe used cooked white rice in addition to rice flour. The cooked rice does add a bit of softness to the roti. It's a great way to use leftover rice, but can be easily left out as well and made only with rice flour.

Rice roti has a great soft texture, and the sweetness of the rice tastes great with just a little heat from green chilis and a crunch of onions. Cooked rice is blended with a bit of water, then mixed with the onions, chilis, and a little rice flour to come together to make a firm dough. Gently flatten the dough and cook on a skillet until just browned on the edges.

I love eating rice roti with peanut chutney. Roast the peanuts and grind them. Then mix them with coconut, dried chilis, and tamarind. The chutney has a little sweet from the coconut, heat from the chilis, and tartness from the tamarind. All of these characteristics make for a great chutney - sweet, salty, tart, and spicy—a delicious meal for breakfast or lunch.

Rice roti with Peanut Chutney

Rice roti is a delicious soft flatbread made with cooked rice and rice flour. Just a little savory with onions and green chilis. It can be made with leftover rice and rice flour or rice flour alone. Serve it with a sweet, tangy and spicy peanut chutney. 

Serves 4

Makes 6 6 inch round rotis

• 2 cups cooked rice (room temperature or warm)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup rice flour, additional 1 tablespoon rice flour for rolling rotis
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 onion (sliced thickly)
• 2 green chilis (chopped)
• 1/8 cup cilantro (chopped, optional)
• 2 teaspoons neutral oil

Peanut Chutney

• 3/4 cup roasted peanuts
• 1 cup fresh or frozen coconut
• 6 red dry chilis
• 1/2 tablespoon tamarind concentrate
• 1/2 cup water

1. In a blender, add cooked rice and 1/2 cup water and blend until smooth, about a minute. The batter will be pretty thick, kind of like thick pancake batter.

2. Add the rice batter to a large bowl. Then add salt, onion and green chilis. You can also add fresh cilantro. Add rice flour and knead the dough on a well floured rolling board. Knead well for about 2 minutes. Form the dough into 6 balls. The dough will be very sticky so flour your hands well. Knead until dough is not sticky.

3. On a floured board, lay out parchment paper and again flour well. You can use rice flour or all purpose flour. Flatten the dough with with your hand until about a circle that is a quarter of an inch thick. You can also use a rolling pin, which I found was a little easier. Again, the dough is very sticky so use rice flour liberally. Really flour your hands or it will stick to everything.

   I like to roll the rotis on parchment paper as they are hard to transfer without breaking. Slide the parchment paper with the roti onto a plate.

4. Heat a skillet over medium heat, add a teaspoon of oil. Gently slide the roti off the parchment paper and plate into the skillet and cook roti about 4 minutes a side. The roti will be a little brown on the edges and cooked through.

5. Serve warm with peanut chutney.

Peanut Chutney

1. Heat a saute pan over medium heat, roast coconut until they are golden brown but not black, about 6-8 minutes. Set aside in a bowl. Now add the red chilis and roast for a minute or so. They brown quickly!

2. In a blender, add peanuts, coconut, dry chilis, tamarind and water and blend well. You want the chutney to pretty smooth with no peanut pieces. You may need to had another 1/4 of water or so to get a smooth consistency.

3. Serve with rice roti.