Porotta- south Indian layered, flaky flat bread

Porotta- south Indian layered, flaky flat bread

Porotta is undoubtedly the tastiest flat bread in this planet. No one who has ever tasted a good porotta will ever doubt this. Like making a perfect buttery croissant, porotta making also needs a little practice and a lot of ‘resting’ in between. Try to get the dough consistency just right. Then the rest will be a cinch!

Combine all-purpose flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. (The baking powder is not a leavening agent here. It helps in rolling out the dough. Porotta dough should develop a lot of gluten. This will fight a lot and shrink back when you try to roll or stretch it. This is why the dough should be rested after each handling.) Add in the remaining ingredients except the oil to make sticky, shaggy dough. Knead in your food processor to get a smooth dough that does not stick to the sides of the bowl but clings to the beater paddle. This feels very much like bread dough now. Add in a little bit of water or flour if needed to get the right consistency. This is very, very important. Coat the dough with one teaspoon oil, cover and let rest for 15-30 minutes.

Divide the dough into 5 (for larger porottas) or 8 (small porottas) smooth balls. Try to shape them like buns- smooth and seamless. Rest again for 15-30 minutes. Oil a marble surface and press a dough ball flat. Apply oil on both sides and stretch it with your hands to get very thin dough sheet. Apply more oil on top of the sheet and pleat the dough like a paper fan. Coil this fan to make a ‘dough rose’! Repeat to finish all the dough balls. If you make any mistakes, just re-roll the ball, let it rest, and restart.

Heat a heavy skillet over medium high heat. Roll the dough rose into a 6 inch circle. (Mine were the smaller dough balls) Cook till the porotta puffs up a bit and is golden. Add a bit of butter or ½ tsp oil or ghee while cooking. Stack 2-3 cooked porottas on the counter, while they are still warm, and give them a nice beating to bring out the layers J.It is like clapping your hands- your hands making a right angle with the counter- with the stack of porotta in the middle so the that they scrunch up. Serve with chicken/any meat curry or vegetable korma!!