We are starting the BM#39, a
Mega Marathon running for all 30 days of April. The theme we selected was Indian States. During the start of this marathon, there were 28 states and 7 Union Territories. Even before we could finalize the list, there were talks of the 29th statehood being given to Telangana. We simply chose to go with what we had and out of the total 35, we selected 30 States/UT.
The first in alphabetically order is Andhra Pradesh. A state that my family if from and it became extremely important to select a region I am not familiar with.
Andhra Pradesh on a geographical basis is divided into Telangana, Coastal Andhra, and Rayalaseema. AP is mostly clubbed as one of the four states of South India. And has quite a resemblance to the neighbouring states. My family is from Rayalaseema, and our everyday cooking is mostly that, with lot of influence from Tamil Cuisine.
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| Andhra Dibba Rotti |
I decided it has to be either Telangana or Coastal Andhra. Since I had planned to do Breads from all states, the choice was getting harder by the day.
When you talk about Indian Breads, apart from wheat based breads, we have
Dosas falling under this category as well and are common in Andhra too. Besides from regular
Chapatis,
Jonna Rotti,
Biyam Rotti and
Bajra Rotti are also made on regular basis. Akki Roti which is supposed to be famous Karnataka, is very popular in Andhra as well. We call it Biyam Roti and all these are made for Breakfast, evening snack or as dinner.
I then remembered Dibba Rotti / Minapa Rotti. Dibba Rotti is not typically a Dosa nor an Idli. It’s more of a thick pancake, cooked in a Kadai with loads of oil and with spices, chilies, it can be eaten as such.
I was discussing this with Amma, and she remembered their friends, who were from Coastal Andhra. Dad was first posted in Tirunelveli, and later moved to Dindigul. As a young bride, hardly understanding the local language, it was quite tough for Amma to manage. Her only contact to anything she understood, was this family. She still remembers all the cooking that Aunty used to make, some she has written down, some in memory. Though the memory seem more to do with the experience, the final product than the actual recipe.
Anyway she remembered that Aunty making these Dibba Rotti and she browsed her diary to get me the recipe. I made it for dinner along with Tomato Uruguaya and Kobbari Pachadi. It was a delightful combination of not so soft thick Idli like pancakes, dipped in spicy pickle and a mild ginger chutney. Since it was our first time experience, hubby dear nor me had any idea if it was matching the recipe as it ought to be. However Dad confirmed that’s how he remembers Dibba Rotti to be.
Traditionally as my cousin who recently visited us told me, that this is mostly made with store bought Rice Rava, that gives a typical grainy texture. So even if you are making the batter yourself, make sure you don’t grind it very smooth. The rice needs to be little coarse.
Before going into the recipe, wanted to share some details on Andhra cuisine. For more elaborate information on what’s made for each course and time, you can check
this out, has exhaustive details.
This is what we made for my Indian Thali Mela, a typical
Andhra Bhojanam, though this is considered small scale on many levels. As with most other Indian Cuisine, Andhra cuisine also places lot of importance on a thali. A Thali is typically a plate or spread/served on festival occasions on a banana leaf. How each dish is served in sequential order, and how many items are served is also very important.
We do have a pure vegetarian thali and a non vegetarian thali as well. However on festival occasions, it is always only vegetarian thali that is made. I know a single post on this topic is impossible to cover. However it is one of my favourite topic.
So moving forward to the post, I am going to share a dish that either can be served as a breakfast or a dinner item. It is normally served with chutneys. I paired it with Andhra Tomato Urugaya, a recipe given by my Aunt. A very spicy, lip smacking one on it!
Other similarities to this Dibba Rotti would be Thattai Idlis made in Tamil Nadu.
How to make Dibba Rotti
Dibba Rotti
Ingredients Needed
Raw Rice – 2 cups
Urad dal – 1 cup
For Seasoning
Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
Curry leaves handful
Green chilies – 2 -3 long
Oil for cooking
How to make Dibba Rotti
Wash and soak these separately for 4 hrs soak
Then when you are ready to grind, change waters, and grind urad dal to a smooth paste. Remove
Then add the raw rice to the grinder and grind to a coarse batter. Mix in salt and give the batter a good stir. Let it ferment for two hours.
Then refrigerate until usage
When you are ready to make the Dibba Rottis, season a kadai well. The vessel used for making these Dibba rottis, should be curved in.
Remove a portion of batter what you want to use, add cumin, curry leaves, finely chopped green chilies. Mix well.
Once the kadai is hot, add about 2 -3 tsp of oil and spoon in a 2 -3 ladleful of batter. The thickness should be around 1 – 1 ½ inch. The batter will automatically spread. You don’t have to move or spread as you would do with an Appam.
Simmer, sprinkle oil on all sides. Cover with lid and cook for nearly 5 -6 mins.
After that, gently tilt the pancake and check if the underneath is cooked well. If the bottom is not cooked yet, cook for some more time. Then flip over the other side and cook again.
Then remove and serve with chutney.
Notes:
It’s important to use Rice rava, if you grind it as smooth consistency as you do for regular idlis, the dibba roti will turn out very differently.
The batter once ground need not be left ferment as well. You can use it right away. Since I was making it for dinner, I left it out for 2 hours and then used it.
How to make Andhra Tomato Uragaya
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| Andhra Tomato Uragaya |
Andhra Tomato Pickle
Ingredients Needed:
Naatu Tomato – 1 Kg
Tamarind – 200 gms
Dry Red Chilies – 15 – 16 nos
Methi – 1 tbsp
Mustard – 1 tbsp
Oil – 250 gms
Salt – 1 tsp
For tempering
Hing – 2 pinches
Mustard – 1 tsp
Curry leaves handful
Garlic – ¼ cup
Dry Red chilies – 5- 6 nos
How to make the tomato uruguaya
Dry roast the methi, mustard and dry red chilies. Once cooled, powder it finely.
Saute the chopped tomatoes, salt in a kadai till the moisture evaporates
Once the moisture leaves, add the tamarind extract, simmer till the paste becomes thick.
Add the mustard, methi and red chili powder.
Heat oil in another pan, add hing, mustard, red chili, garlic, curry leaves. Then pour on the cooked tomatoes and mix well.
Notes:
My aunt says the local variety of tomato is best suited for this and not the Bangalore Tomato.
This is a long shelf life Pickle, so always use a dry spoon to scoop out.
Serve Dibba Rotti with Tomato Uragaya and Allam Kobbari Pachadi
Allam Kobbari Pachadi | Ginger Coconut Chutney
Ingredients Needed:
Fresh coconut – 1 cup
Green chillies – 5
Ginger – 2″
Tamarind – 1 inch
Water – 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
For tempering:
Mustard seeds, Urad dal – 1 tsp
Curry leaves – 8-10
Oil – 1/2 tsp
Method to prepare:
Grate the fresh coconut or cut into small bits so that it is easy to grind them in the mixer.
In a mixer, take all the ingredients except the seasoning items, pulse it to fine paste. Add water as required.
Remove to a bowl, heat a pan with oil, add the mustard and urad. When it starts spluttering add the curry leaves and immediately pour over the ground chutney.
Most times, we place the curry leaves on the chutney and pour the hot oil over the leaves. This way the leaves don’t loose their freshness.
Notes:
We also add Fried gram to this chutney.
Since this is made with fresh ingredients, shelf life is very short. Also it tastes best when you don’t add fried gram.
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Apart from getting the recipe from Amma, I had also checked out the Dibba Rotti versions from my blogger friends.
Kamini
Padma
Suma’s
Prathibha
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 39
30 comments
Trust u that you will come with a fabulous Andhra treat, u didnt disappointed me Valli, Dibba rotti,tomato pickle and chutney all together makes me drool..
good to see the post, valli. the dibba roti looks a lot like the 'cheena chatti dosa' my grandma used to make for us. I remember it still 🙂
Looking forward to the rest of the series!
What an elaborate post about a recipe that i had no idea it existed! The Dibba roti looks really luscious and filling and hats off to you for choosing breads from all the states. Mothers are the best source of information and you have proved it right once again. looking forward to your rest of the posts 🙂
Nice write up Valli,I am very much excited about the mega Bm..BTW dibba roti looks so delicious and tempting,its in my to do list ..
I also did Dibba Rotti!!! so excited for this month's marathon!!! Yours is looking super good!!!
Valli, nice choice for the this state. I heard of dibba rotti only after stated blogging and I am from AP.. 🙂 This so emphasizes how the cuisine varies from region to region in a state. Nice write up too.
Loved reading about the different regions of Ap and I want to try that ginger coconut chutney
Wow such an great dish to start the marathon 🙂 very deliicous dibba roti and yummy pachadi to go with 🙂 Makes me hungry dear !! Am too very excited and curious to know what our members have made 🙂 very yummy dish to start !!
Love the Dibba Rotti, Valli. We also make this with Idli batter and if someone desires the grainy texture, we add the rice rava to the idli batter. The tomato pickle and chutney are awesome combos.
Wow beautiful beginning with Dibba Rotte. This was my first choice too…and ever since Suma posted it I have been making it..really like the combination of chutneys. .the next time I will combine with chutneys.
Wonderful.
Awesome pick for AP, Valli. My mom makes dibba rotti at least 3~4 times a month and I probably made it may be 3~4 times in my life — such is my laziness to grind batter.
Looking forward to the rest of ur series.
Wonderful treat from AP , couldn't take my eyes off from the delicious feast.
I almost forgot about this dish from andhra ..this is such a great choice and now i understand what you mean when you have to select tougher dishes from natives..this is great energy…thanks..i want to make this roti soon…with the dish i prepared and loved the last click
The making looks very similar to the thavala dosai valli, amma makes it with broken rice and pulses mixed with buttermilk.
Good info about the cuisine too. My bro's wife is a hardcore telengana!!! She goes gaga over the pickles and all spicy stuff and literally jumps in happiness when she gets someone to talk in telegu here.
Love the dibba roti and in specific the tomato pickle!!!! 🙂
tis is jus awesome.. i never knew the name of tis.. my ammmamma makes it very often..thats a grt series…looking fwd for such interesting recipes..
Awesome!!!! Do rocking….Everything is perfect…all the best for your marathon
never heard of this..this is some treat……looks yummylecious 🙂
very much ike the Thavala Adai my pati used to make… I remember Pratibha's post for this, and this has come out so fab !
The pickle and chutney is way too tempting Valli – might ask u to parcel me some :-))
Good start to the BM ! look forward to the series !
such lip-smacking chutnies. definitely must try chutnies. noting them down. Love the dibba rotties. These dibba rottis look like thavala adais that we make at home but thaval adai batter contains lentils as well I think. Nice overview of Andhra cuisine.
So excited to start this Marathon Srivalli 🙂
I too had bookmarked this from Prathibas blog. But made another dish for AP. So sweet of mom to help you with this recipe and as you said the memories associated with the dish is better than the dish itself!
And the side dishes look like perfect match to the dibba rotti.
Delicious platter!
Valli, This is one of my favorite dish. The crispy outer look is irresistible for the roti & of course the chutney looks colorful & flavorful too.
Lovely story about the old memories. Enjoyed reading it. A very interesting pancake and nice pickle. Will try it sometime.
Awesome. OMG my hubby will love this.Valli I love it now this another to try.
I once made this roti and we liked it very much. The combination of chutney pickle and roti looks so inviting. Looking forward to all your mouthwatering breads…
Yummy dibbarotti! I still do prepare for Break fast as dibbarotti is my husband favorite dish.I prepare exactly the way u prepared.. As I'm a native of coastal Andhra I can truly relate the taste..chutney is delicious.
That's a lovely combo Valli.
New recipe to be me and sure it would taste great with tomato urugayai. Thanks for this wonderful recipe.
Ahhh my favorite breakfast looks sotempting Valli I like those three cute bowls so beautiful..
I love this name Valli "dibba". Somehow gives a smile. 🙂 🙂 Nice pics and this recipe is totally new to me. Bookmarked and will be tried for sure.
Idid the same mistake with your blog too. That comment from Gautam's name was mine. Sorry for my mistake
Dibba roti looks so soft and perfect dish for lunch or dinner.