Simple Rulav- Pitta Bhakri (Rava- Wheat Flour thick Dosa)

Simple “Rulav- Pitta Bhakri (Rava- Wheat Flour thick Dosa)” ... served with fresh homemade loni (Butter) and Ambuli Nonche (Raw Mango Pickle) ... there is nothing more heartwarming than this simple easy to prepare traditional dish from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine to be served as breakfast … crisp outside, soft within, it tastes scrumptious relished hot dunked in coconut chutney/ dalitoy/ butter or pickle … Yummilicious ….

** Bhakri is a traditional dish from GSB Konkani Saraswat prepared with rava adding a few other ingredients. This is thicker version of dosa, however unlike dosa this is not spread with spatula but the mixture is prepared into a balling consistency and prepared patting directly on hot tava. I often make with lots of variations by adding on my own concoction of ingredients and they all turn out very tasty. It's definitely a very healthy, easy and quick to prepare snack.

**. Bhakri is a dish prepared for breakfast, however I prepare it even during meals when I am observing a fast/ upvas as in my community rava items are permitted. This one is the traditional method of preparing bhakri with addition of freshly grated coconut to rava with some spices. However, with changing times, people are more aware of health benefits of adding veggies into it for a healthier lifestyle and there are many of them which you will find me posting soon.

** Here is my traditional recipe for “Rulav- Pitta Bhakri (Rava- Wheat Flour thick Dosa)” which I learned from my Amma ….

** Ingredients :

Rava (Bombay Rava) : 3 cups

Wheat Flour/ Ghenvu ka Atta/ Gonva peeta : 2-3 tblsp

Coconut/ Soyi/ Nariyal : ½ to ¾ cup freshly grated

Curds/ Dahi : 2 tblsp (Optional)

Green Chillies/ Tarni mirsanga/ Hari Mirchi : 5-6

Ginger/ Alle’/ Adrak : 1 inch

Hing/ Asafoetida Powder : large pinch

Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 5-6 fresh ones

Coriander leaves/ Dhania/ Kottambari Pallo : handful (Optional)

Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste

** Ghee/ Toop + Oil/ Tel/ Tela : 1:1 proportion for frying the bhakri.

** Add green chillies, ginger, curry leaves, coriander leaves cut into pieces into a mixer grinder and using pulse mode crush it well. Add in salt, hing, coconut and further crush all together until well combined. Do not add water nor make it to a fine paste, we just need coarsely ground in texture mixture here, so be careful.

** Add the mixture into a wide stainless steel bowl, add in curds, atta, rava and mix well to a lose crumbled texture. Now add in approximately 3-4 cups of water and mix to form a very thick textured batted/ mixture. Add more or less water depending upon the rava. The texture should be thick yet you should be able roll it a soft ball in hand.

** Note : Use normal rava (Bombay rava) and not the fine/ chiroti variety here. Addition of coriander leaves and curds is optional, however tastes great.

** Do not add in much water at one go while preparing the mixture. Addition of more or less water depends upon the rava, you can always add in more if necessary later. Cover and keep the mixture to rest aside for 15-20 minutes. The rava soaks up water and tends to get dry during this time. This step is necessary as the rava should be allowed to swell or else while frying them, the bhakri will not turn soft within and crispy outside.

** Once the resting period is over, check the consistency of the mixture. In case you find it too dry, add in some water and mix the mixture again and if too thin add in a little bit of rava and mix well. The mixture should be smooth and there should be no lumps in them. The texture should be that of bhakri/ thick batter, a ball consistency. You should be able to take a lump of it on your hands and pat it on the hot tawa into a nice round shaped bhakri.

** For frying : For frying bhakri, appo, dosa etc., I always use ghee+ oil in 1:1 proportion which is my Ammas method which she has always been following and I have blindly followed her without questioning or thinking much about it. I am sure she must have picked it from mamama (grandmother), sort of a traditional hands down. In case you want to use only oil or ghee, you may do so, it is individual choice.

** For Making of Bhakri : Heat Iron tava (any of your choice) to smoking point and then reduce heat to minimum. Brush it slightly with ghee+ oil. Take small amount of batter and pat it on tava directly to form small thick dosa, which is called bhakri. Be careful while doing this to prevent your hand from getting hurt. Keep dipping you hand in water very lightly before you pat the bhakri, this is necessary to avoid the bhakri paste from sticking your palms and also give it a nice round shape, however be careful and avoid water droplets on tava lest they sizzle and you burn your hand.

OR

** The same can be done on a thick plastic sheet, wet cloth, butter paper, banana leaf too, if not confident of patting directly on tava. Just rub over little bit of water and repeat method in the same way as you would have done it on tava, once you get small round bhakri gently remove it seeing to it that the bhakri does not crack up or break and place it on hot tava or just invert the same on tava and gently peel off the paper.

** Note : If still not confident or unsure, you can always check out the visuals either with a friendly neighbor, relative or even on You Tube. Once you understand the procedure properly it is breeze work and you will then not worry over the same.

** Pour a few drops of some ghee+ oil on outer sides of bhakri. Let cook on medium heat till cooked well on the bottom side and the paste on the upper portion does not stick to your hand when you gently touch it with finger tips. Now sprinkle a little bit ghee+ oil on top side of bhakri and then slowly flip it over to be cooked on the other side too. Do not overcook the bhakri, they should remain soft from within, yet firm and not too crispy on the outside, also it should not get burnt on any side.

** When done remove and place it on a plate and repeat the process with remaining batter following same procedure until all batter is consumed. This bhakri should be served hot, so in order to avoid serving cold, you can prepare the batter ahead or even overnight and keep it in the fridge, prepare, serve them hot as and when required. It remains good for about 2 days, however care should be taken to store it in airtight container.

** The size of bhakri depends on individual liking. You can make single larger ones, medium or smaller sized ones too. Just take required amount of mixture to prepare the same and pat it on tava. If making small sized ones you can put 5-6 bhakri on tava at a time. Having said that do not go to prepare too large sized ones like dosas, they neither look good nor will be able to be spread well, and also when you flip it over it will break. The best size are smaller one which are beauties and medium size of about inches in dia.

** “Rulav- Pitta Bhakri (Rava- Wheat Flour thick Dosa)” is done and ready to be served. Tastes best served hot from tava with homemade butter, curds, pickle, chutney, chunda, godda ravo (jaggery syrup) or any spicy dish of your choice. In my home we usually love to relish it with homemade butter or coconut chutney, sometimes pickle. This is a very easy, tasty and healthy breakfast snack that we Amchigele/ GSB Konkani Saraswat’s prepare in our home. At times these are also relish during upvas/ fasting period for meals as eating of rava is allowed in our community when observing a fast.

** Do try out and enjoy this simple snack with your family, children will love them too, if very young one’s then depending upon their taste you can lessen the spice level too or add in a dash of sugar while grinding, it tastes great, however in my home we prefer spicier ones. There are many more bhakri combinations that I prepare, with addition of veggies etc. I will be sharing them as and when prepared, so do keep visiting my blog for updates or follow me on my page or instagram. Stay Blessed, Spread Happiness.

** Sharing a common link to all “Bhakri” recipes shared in the Blog below, just browse through for more, some of them include step by step pictures too.

https://gayathrifoodbytes.blogspot.com/search?q=bhakri