Monday, June 21, 2010

Kandyachi Bhakri/ Onion Bhakri

Bhakri is a traditional Maharashtrian flat bread which is mostly made from jowar flour, bajra flour, nachni/ ragi flour, rice flour or even wheat flour and is a staple diet in rural Maharashtra. Typically, the dough for this bhakri is made by adding the basic ingredients such as salt and water to the flour. In Maharashtra, the pitla bhakri and junka bhakri combo is very popular. It is also common to serve them with a red/ green chilli thecha (thick red or green chillies are fire roasted and pounded in the mortar pestle into a coarse paste) , garlic chutney and raw onions.

One such bhakri variety which I grew up eating is this Kandyachi Bhakri/ Onion Bhakri. My mom made this quite often at home particularly when she was out of veggies and I loved eating these with her spicy peanut chutney. This bhakri is basically seasoned with finely chopped onions, green chillies, cilantro and fresh grated coconut. For soft thin bhakris I usually steam the dough (see procedure below). But if the rice flour is very fresh, you can directly make the dough in warm water. Traditionally you spread the bhakri into a round circle with the help of your palm and fingers. I use the fast and fool proof ziploc method where in I place a medium sized ball of dough inside a greased ziploc bag and roll it into a round bhakri using my rolling pin. This method never fails and yields thin and even bhakris every single time. We love these bhakris with this quick potato bharta. All you do is mix together some peanut chutney, yogurt, finely chopped onions and chopped/ mashed boiled potatoes and serve it with warm bhakris for a traditional maharashtrian meal.

Makes @ 7-8 bhakris
Ingredients -
1 cup water
1 cup rice flour
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
2 green chillies – slit in the middle and chopped into medium pieces
Handful of cilantro leaves – finely chopped
3 tbsps fresh grated coconut
1/4 tsp sugar (optional)
Salt to taste
Oil as needed

Method -
1. Boil a cup of water in a pan and add salt and 1 tsp oil to it.
2. Switch off the stove and add rice flour to the hot water little at a time and constantly stir the mixture. Cover it and let it cool down before you add the other ingredients.
3. When the dough it slightly warm, add the onions, green chillies, cilantro, coconut and sugar.
4. Knead the mixture to form a soft dough and apply some oil to your palm to help with kneading the dough. You may need to add little more rice flour if the dough is very sticky.
5. Adjust the salt according to your taste. Let the dough rest for half hour.
6. Heat a skillet while you prepare the bhakris.
7. Take a medium size ziplock bag and cut it open on 2 sides. Place the Ziploc on the rolling board/ polpat. Apply some oil on the inside of the bag and place a medium size ball of the dough on it. Cover the dough ball with the ziploc and roll it with your rolling pin into a round bhakri just like chapattis.
8. Slowly lift the bhakri and roast them on the hot skillet on both sides. Drizzle few drops of oil on each side and fry for some more time, till they turn slightly golden brown.
9. Serve hot. Goes well with peanut chutney or potato bharta.



This goes to Healing Foods -Onions event hosted by Priya for the month of June and started by Siri of Siri's Corner.

9 comments:

Aruna Manikandan said...

sounds interesting and new to me..
Thx. for sharing :-)

Priya Suresh said...

Very interesting bhakri, sounds like Akki rottis, thanks for sending to HF Rachana, ur q'n regarding my nonstop posting, its all coz of my large family, yeah i have three kids, who keeps me always busy in cooking:)..

Sanyukta Gour(Bayes) said...

love bhakaris with thin curry preparations....weekly we make jowar/bajra/rice/makai roti...looks so delcious with shengdana chutney i guess...yummmmm

notyet100 said...

wow this mus have tasted so good,..

Rachana said...

Wow! I love this recipe :-) I am gonna make this for lunch today :-)

Unknown said...

Rachna, that looks simply yummy !!! I just ate jowar bhakhri once and loved it.

Shabitha Karthikeyan said...

Bhakri is a new one to me..I prepare ragi roti the similar way..Will try it soon !!!

Panchpakwan said...

I loves these bhakri..we do also call thme akki rotti..Looks so delicious.

Rachana said...

Aruna - Thanks!

Priya - Will have to check out Akki rotis on your blog. I have a toddler who keeps me busy with cooking and grinding all the time...3 kids must be even more challenging :-)

Sanyukta - Yeah, its shengdana chutney..these bhakris go well with curries too.

NotYet100 - Yes. Thanks


Rachana - I'm glad you liked it. Let me know how they turn out.

Priya - Thanks! I havent had jowar bhakri in a long time.

Shabitha - We make ragi bhakri too...If you make these, do let me know how they turn out.

Panchpakwan - Thanks!