Pathiri: All about Keralas Light As Air Bread

It’s easy to get distracted by the view of the Western Ghats at Augusta Heights, the all-day eatery at Great Trails Wayanad. It is the newest luxury resort in one of the most beautiful districts of Kerala bordering Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. But those sights quickly disappeared from my sight as soon as I saw one of my favorite South Indian sandwiches arrive at my table. Pathiri is a quintessential part of the cuisine of the Mappila community of Kerala in the Malabar region and is often served on special occasions and Iftaar.

Rice flour as the main ingredient of this bread also combines water and a little cooking oil (preferably coconut oil). It’s not very different from the Akki roti (rice) served in Karnataka, except that it has no seasoning ingredients and is almost a rice flour version of a light-air phulka. The tricky part is keeping track of how many pathiris you hit off the table, especially when it’s served with the traditional accompanying chicken curry.

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Pramod Shankar, Executive Chef at Great Trails suggested I try the grilled cheese (shrimp) pathiri instead of the chicken curry and I’m glad he did it his way. This is probably the best concatenation I’ve tried for pathiri. Pathiri is known by many names in Kerala including pathiri ari (rice) or beautiful pathiri. It is usually served for breakfast (with fish curries in many homes in North Kerala) or dinner. While Pathiri generally refers to a flat bread made with rice flour, there are many versions of pathiri including chatti pathiri, a layered pastry made into sweet and savory versions with flour and maida.

You can try making pathiri ari or rice pathiri with roasted shrimp at home:

Recipe -Ari Pathiri

Recipe Courtesy – Pramod Shankar, Executive Chef, Great Trails Wayanad

Element:

• 1 cup rice flour (finely roasted)

• 1 glass of water

• 1 teaspoon coconut oil

• ½ teaspoon salt

Method:

1. Sift the roasted rice flour with a fine mesh.
2. Boil three cups of water with salt and 1 teaspoon of oil in a large saucepan.
3. Add the rice flour and stir continuously (Use one cup of water for one cup of rice flour). This is an important step; Keep stirring or the dough will burn and stick to the bottom.
4. Simmer for 10-15 seconds (the water begins to boil and rise above the dough) and reduce the heat to low.
5. Apply a little coconut oil to the palm of your hand and knead the dough thoroughly with your hands. Do it in one go. Pathiri will be softer if you knead while the dough is still hot. Knead until the dough becomes uniform, smooth and less sticky to the hands.
6. Roll each small portion of dough into a small lemon ball and flatten it between your palms to shape.
7. Using a chapatti press/chapatti roller flatten each marble into thin pieces. You can apply a little oil on both sides of the pathiri pad to prevent sticking.
8. Sprinkle a little rice flour on both sides of the pathiri with your hands and set aside on a plate.
9. Heat the non-stick tawa; alternate with low to medium flame as the pan heats up. Place each piece of pathiri on it, turn it over after 10-15 seconds and use a flat spatula to press in the center and wait until it puffs up. Wait another 30 seconds. You should flip the cake when you see steam.

CHEMMEEN ROAST

Recipe Courtesy – Pramod Shankar, Executive Chef, Great Trails Wayanad

Element

• Medium shrimp 550gm
• 5 green chillies, fresh, each cut in half lengthwise, seeded
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 piece ginger, 2 inches long, peeled and finely chopped
• 15 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder, or more to your liking
• 30 curry leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 pinch large roasted cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon fish masala powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 4 tablespoons Kokum water
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 2 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil, or more as required

Method:

1. Take a large saucepan and add green chili, garlic, ginger and shallot, then add black pepper powder, red chili powder, curry leaves, turmeric powder, roasted cumin seeds, meat masala powder, coriander powder, water kokum and salt. Stir to combine the mixture.
2. Add water, stir well and cook for 2 minutes. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally.
3. Add shrimp to kadai and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly pour 1 tablespoon of coconut oil over the shrimp and stir well for 1 minute. Add a tablespoon of oil and sauté the shrimp for another minute. Add remaining coconut oil, continue sauteing until shrimp is cooked through, about 1 minute more.
4. Remove from heat and set aside, garnish with curry leaves

About Ashwin RajagopalanI’m slashie dialect – a content architect, writer, speaker, and cultural intelligence coach. School lunch boxes are often the beginning of our culinary discoveries. It only got stronger as I explored food cultures, street food, and fine dining restaurants around the world. I explored cultures and destinations through culinary motifs. I am also passionate about writing about consumer technology and travel.