Kori Rotti

I first had kori rotti at a family friends place years ago. Since then we have been having this combination quite often. It is a big hit with my niece and nephew. They have already told me that when they come next they want the kadak walla rotti 😊

There is an interesting episode I remember about this dish. In one of my work places the canteen was run by Shettys and we would generally have dinner there if we were staying late at work. This dish was served one day at dinner and I exclaimed that we make it at home too. My friend was surprised to know that it is an actual known dish, she had felt it was just something the canteen guys had made up 😊. Truly we do not know of the culinary gems from so many parts of the country. I just love exploring new dishes from various states and local ingredients too.

To explain the dish it is crisp rice papad kind of rotti which is served with chicken in a coconut-based gravy. I don’t think anyone makes the rotti at home, it is easily available in most Mangalore stores. To view a Youtube video on how it is made, click here.

We would generally serve this with the traditional chicken recipe of my native place, but then recently when some friends of mine came to Bangalore from Kolkatta we took them out to a Mangalorean restaurant for dinner; there we ordered this as it is quite a signature dish from Mangalore and I saw they served it with a slightly different kind of chicken gravy. So the other day when I made it again, I looked up the recipe on the net and made this version.

Ingredients

¾ kg chicken pieces with bone,

2 sliced medium sized onion,

2 cups thin coconut milk (extracted at home or store bought),

1 cup thick coconut milk (extracted at home or store bought),

½ tsp of garam masala powder,

Salt to taste,

5 spicy red chillies,

10-12 bydagi red chillies,

2 tbsps of coriander seeds,

8-10 black peppercorns,

1 tsp of cumin seeds,

A large pinch of fenugreek seeds,

¼ tsp of turmeric,

10 garlic cloves,

 1 tsp of thick tamarind paste,

1 cup of grated coconut,

2 tbsp of coconut oil or ghee

To Serve

1 packet of store bought rotti

Method

Heat a heavy bottomed pan and dry roast the red chillies (both types), coriander seeds, pepper corns cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds all one by one till aromatic and keep aside. Ensure none of this gets burnt or the curry will have a unpleasant bitter taste.

Once cool, powder this in a mixer.

Heat about ½ tbsp. oil or ghee in the same pan and add one of the sliced onions and the garlic cloves. Fry till the onions turn pink then add the coconut, turmeric powder. Saute till it is aromatic. Roasted coconut gives out a very heavenly smell. Let this cool. Add the powdered mixture to this along with the tamarind paste and grind it to a very fine paste using some water.

Mix the ground paste with the thin coconut milk in your cooking vessel. Bring it to a boil, then add the washed and drained chicken and salt to taste. Cover the pan and cook till the chicken is tender and done. Now add the garam masala powder and the thick coconut milk and let it get all heated through. Switch off the heat now.

In another pan heat the remaining ghee or oil and add the remaining sliced onion and fry till it is golden brown. Pour this entire thing over the chicken curry. Let it sit covered for about 10 minutes before serving.

To serve break the rotti into smaller pieces if they are too big in size. Heap them on a serving plate and pour the curry on top. Let is rest for a minute then have it using your fingers. This is one dish that cannot be had with a fork and spoon.

The rotti should be slightly soggy with the gravy and some of it should be crisp, that is the ideal way to have it. Ensure the gravy is hot or it will not be soaked by the rotti. My husband has this curry with ghee rice as he is not a fan of this rotti…each to his own 😊