Dibba Rotti, Tomato Uragaya, Allam Kobbari Pachadi ~ Andhra Pradesh

Published: Mar 31, 2014 · Modified: Nov 5, 2020 by Srivalli · 30 Comments

We are starting the BM#39, a Mega Marathon running for all 30 days of April. The theme we selected was the Indian States. During the start of this marathon, there were 28 states and 7 Union Territories.

Even before we could finalize the list, there were talks of the 29th statehood being given to Telangana. We simply chose to go with what we had and out of the total 35, we selected 30 States/UT.

The first in alphabetical order in Andhra Pradesh. A state that my family is from and it became extremely important to select a region I am not familiar with.

Andhra Pradesh on a geographical basis is divided into Telangana, Coastal Andhra, and Rayalaseema. AP is mostly clubbed as one of the four states of South India. And has quite a resemblance to the neighboring states. My family is from Rayalaseema, and our everyday cooking is mostly that, with a lot of influence from Tamil Cuisine.
Andhra Dibba Rotti

I decided it has to be either Telangana or Coastal Andhra. Since I had planned to do Bread from all states, the choice was getting harder by the day.

When you talk about Indian Bread, apart from wheat-based bread, we have Dosas falling under this category as well and are common in Andhra too. Besides regular Chapatis, Jonna Rotti, Biyam Rotti, and Bajra Rotti are also made on regular basis.

Akki Roti which is supposed to be famous in Karnataka is very popular in Andhra as well. We call it Biyam Roti and all these are made for Breakfast, evening snacks, or dinner.

I then remembered Dibba Rotti / Minapa Rotti. Dibba Rotti is not typically a Dosa nor an Idli. It's more of a thick pancake, cooked in a Kadai with loads of oil and with spices, chilies, it can be eaten as such.

I was discussing this with Amma, and she remembered their friends, who were from Coastal Andhra. Dad was first posted in Tirunelveli and later moved to Dindigul. As a young bride, hardly understanding the local language, it was quite tough for Amma to manage.

Her only contact with anything she understood, was this family. She still remembers all the cooking that Aunty used to make, some she has written down, some in memory. Though the memory seems more to do with the experience, the final product than the actual recipe.

Anyway, she remembered that Aunty making these Dibba Rotti and she browsed her diary to get me the recipe. I made it for dinner along with Tomato Uruguaya and Kobbari Pachadi.

It was a delightful combination of not so soft thick Idli like pancakes, dipped in a spicy pickle, and mild ginger chutney. Since it was our first-time experience, hubby dear nor I had any idea if it was matching the recipe as it ought to be. However, Dad confirmed that's how he remembers Dibba Rotti to be.

Traditionally as my cousin who recently visited us told me, that this is mostly made with store-bought Rice Rava, which gives a typical grainy texture. So even if you are making the batter yourself, make sure you don't grind it very smoothly. The rice needs to be a little coarse.

Before going into the recipe, wanted to share some details on Andhra cuisine. For more elaborate information on what's made for each course and time, you can check Telugu Cuisine on Wiki, which has exhaustive details.

This is what we made for my Indian Thali Mela, a typical Andhra Bhojanam, though this is considered a small scale on many levels. As with most other Indian Cuisine, Andhra cuisine also places a lot of importance on a thali. A Thali is typically a plate or spreads/served on festival occasions on a banana leaf. How each dish is served in sequential order, and how many items are served is also very important.

We do have a pure vegetarian thali and a nonvegetarian thali as well. However, on festival occasions, it is always only vegetarian thali that is made. I know a single post on this topic is impossible to cover. However, it is one of my favorite topics.

So moving forward to the post, I am going to share a dish that either can be served as a breakfast or a dinner item. It is normally served with chutneys. I paired it with Andhra Tomato Urugaya, a recipe given by my Aunt. A very spicy, lip-smacking one on it!

Other similarities to this Dibba Rotti would be Thattai Idlis made in Tamil Nadu.

How to make Dibba Rotti

Dibba Rotti

Ingredients Needed

Raw Rice - 2 cups
Urad dal - 1 cup

For Seasoning

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves handful
Green chilies - 2 -3 long
Oil for cooking

How to make Dibba Rotti

Wash and soak these separately for 4 hrs soak

Then when you are ready to grind, change waters, and grind urad dal to a smooth paste. Remove

Then add the raw rice to the grinder and grind to a coarse batter. Mix in salt and give the batter a good stir. Let it ferment for two hours.

Then refrigerate until usage

When you are ready to make the Dibba Rottis, season a Kadai well. The vessel used for making this Dibba rottis, should be curved in.

Remove a portion of batter that you want to use, add cumin, curry leaves, finely chopped green chilies. Mix well.

Once the Kadai is hot, add about 2 -3 tsp of oil and spoon in a 2 -3 ladleful of batter. The thickness should be around 1 - 1 ½ inch. The batter will automatically spread. You don’t have to move or spread as you would do with an Appam.

Simmer, sprinkle oil on all sides. Cover with lid and cook for nearly 5 -6 mins.
After that, gently tilt the pancake and check if the underneath is cooked well. If the bottom is not cooked yet, cook for some more time. Then flip over the other side and cook again.

Then remove and serve with chutney.

Notes:

It’s important to use Rice Rava, if you grind it as smooth consistently as you do for regular idlis, the Dibba roti will turn out very differently.

The batter once ground need not be left ferment as well. You can use it right away. Since I was making it for dinner, I left it out for 2 hours and then used it.
How to make Andhra Tomato Uragaya

Andhra Tomato Uragaya

Andhra Tomato Pickle

Ingredients Needed:

Naatu Tomato - 1 Kg
Tamarind - 200 gms
Dry Red Chilies - 15 - 16 nos
Methi - 1 tbsp
Mustard - 1 tbsp
Oil - 250 gms
Salt - 1 tsp

For tempering

Hing - 2 pinches
Mustard - 1 tsp
Curry leaves handful
Garlic - ¼ cup
Dry Red chilies - 5- 6 nos

How to make the tomato uruguaya

Dry roast the methi, mustard, and dry red chilies. Once cooled, powder it finely.

Saute the chopped tomatoes, salt in a Kadai till the moisture evaporates

Once the moisture leaves, add the tamarind extract, simmer till the paste becomes thick.

Add the mustard, methi, and red chili powder.

Heat oil in another pan, add hing, mustard, red chili, garlic, curry leaves. Then pour on the cooked tomatoes and mix well.

Notes:

My aunt says the local variety of tomato is best suited for this and not the Bangalore Tomato.
This is a long shelf life Pickle, so always use a dry spoon to scoop out.
Serve Dibba Rotti with Tomato Uragaya and Allam Kobbari Pachadi
Allam Kobbari Pachadi | Ginger Coconut Chutney

Ingredients Needed:
Fresh coconut - 1 cup
Green chilies - 5
Ginger - 2"
Tamarind - 1 inch
Water - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste

For tempering:

Mustard seeds, Urad dal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 8-10
Oil - 1/2 tsp

Method to prepare:

Grate the fresh coconut or cut it into small bits so that it is easy to grind them in the mixer.

In a mixer, take all the ingredients except the seasoning items, pulse it to a fine paste. Add water as required.

Remove to a bowl, heat a pan with oil, add the mustard and urad. When it starts spluttering add the curry leaves and immediately pour over the ground chutney.
Most times, we place the curry leaves on the chutney and pour the hot oil over the leaves. This way the leaves don't lose their freshness.

Notes:
We also add Fried gram to this chutney.
Since this is made with fresh ingredients, shelf life is very short. Also, it tastes best when you don't add fried gram.

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Apart from getting the recipe from Amma, I had also checked out the Dibba Rotti versions from my blogger friends.

Kamini
Padma
Suma's
Prathibha

An InLinkz Link-up

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