Happy Eid to one and all!
Eid calls for a peek in to the famous Malabar cuisine.
Malabar cuisine is an integral part of Keralan cuisine. The flavours of Arab, Brahmin, Zamorin and Chirakkal cuisines have been incorporated into Malabar cuisine, making it quite distinctive. Kozhikode and Thalassery, known as the centres of Malabar cuisine, are close to my hubby's heart. Hence I try my luck on malabar cuisine when ever I can. This recipe is sourced from
thas, with a few alterations by yours truly :-)
Chatti pathiri aka chatti pathil aka adukku roti is a unique preparation with its tastes taking u back to those malabar routes. Did the Italian borrow our recipe to make his lasagne? Interesting thought eh?
While u r pondering this idea, let me tell u how chatti pathiri is made.
Ingredients
1- Chicken breasts - 2, cut in to small squares
2- Red chilli powder- 1 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Garam Masala- 1 tsp
Turmeric powder- a pinch
Salt to taste
3- Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Ginger paste - 1 tsp
Green chillies- 2 slit in half
4- Oil- 3 tbsp
Fennel seeds- 1 tsp
Onion- 2, large chopped fine
Salt to taste
5- Plain flour - 1 1/2 cups
Water- enough to make a thin batter
Egg- 1
Salt to taste
6- Egg - 2
Ground pepper- 1/4 tsp
Salt a pinch
7- Ghee roasted cashew nuts +/- almonds +/- raisins
8- Ghee- 2 tbsp
Method:
- Marinate the chicken in (2) for about 15 minutes.
- Cook the marinated chicken in a saucepan, cover with a lid. The sweat from chicken will create enough water for it to cook itself.
- Once the water has evaporated, add 2 tbsp of oil and saute for a few minutes.
- Remove from the heat and let it rest . Once cooled down, shred chicken using a fork or your fingers, keep aside.
- Heat oil in a pan and saute onion till translucent.
- Add ginger/garlic paste and slit green chillies to this and saute for a few more minutes till onion turns light golden in color.
-Add cooked and shredded chicken, combine well and cook for another few minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool down.
- Iblend flour, water, egg and salt, to a smooth thin batter.
- Heat a non-stick pan over high heat on the smallest burner in ur hob , pour 1 ladle -ful of batter to the pan and using the back of the ladle spread it in to a round shape. This way ur pan is not too hot that batter becomes lumpy, but is hot enough to cook the ottada (yes that is what crepes are called in malabar) in 30 secs.
-You will know when the bottom side cooks,as the edges start to lift themselves up from the pan. Flip it over and let the now bottom side cook for a few secs.
- Keep aside the cooked crepes.
- Beat 2 eggs along with 1/4 tsp ground pepper and salt. This the glue that keeps ur cake together.
- For the finale, use a small to medium size non-stick saucepan to get a chatti pathiri shaped like a cake.
- Grease the saucepan with ghee, place it over low heat. Dip the first crepe in beaten egg. Place the crepe as the bottom layer in the pan. Spread the chicken filling evenly over the crepe. Repeat the layering till all the prepared mix is used up and the top layer is crepe. Pour over left over egg mix. Drizzle with 2 tbsp of ghee over the top layer.
-Cover the pan with its lid and cook for 10 to 15 minutes on low flame. In this time the bottom layer would have become a beautful light golden in colour. Turn off heat.
- Cover the pan with a plate and flip over your 'lasagne'
- Garnish with ghee roasted cashew, almonds and raisins.
- Let it cool down and using a knife cut as if you would a cake.
This can be very filling brunch, but is equally tasty as dinner main.
Tips:
Use any kind of filling: mutton, beef mince, paneer, vegetables or egg.
