Perfect travel companion - Minapa rotti or Dibba rotti

What do you carry when you travel and know for sure you will crave for some home cooked food? I usually make puliyogare, rotis, gojjavalakki, curd/yogurt rice in addition to crunchy snacks when we go on road trips. Minapa rotti goes on our travel menu very often. We love to drive long distances and though we eat outside on the road, I pack one or two meals worth of home cooked food. I had not heard of minapa rotti until I got married, it is a favorite food here at home. It stands travel well and is delicious eaten with a side of spicy avakkai (mango pickle from Andhra).

Since everyone at home likes it, amma makes it even during 'non travel' times for a lazy breakfast or dinner. My inlaws usually carry these when they travel and pack it with avakkai, infact every time they head home from here I get a request for 'double roast' minapa rotti and sajjige for the air travel :-). Packed with proteins, eaten with the heavenly avakkai, minapa rotti-avakkai combination is just delectable. The crispy outside is called 'pechhu' in Telugu and we have fights over who gets the most pechhu at home as all of us like the crispy part.

The rotti is called minapa rotti as it is made from minapa pappu or urad dal and also known as dibba (thick/fat) rotti since it is atleast 1/2 - 1 inch thick. The batter is very similar to idli dough and does not need as much fermentation as the idli dough. So you don't have to wait for it to ferment but can make these the same day you grind the dough.

Minapa rotti with Avakkai (Thanks Rajyam atta for the delicious avakkai)

What do you need to make Minapa rotti?
1 cup urad dal/minapa pappu/uddina bele
2.5 cups idli rava
1 Tsp methi seeds/menthilu/menthya
1 Tblsp salt (adjust to taste)
3 Tblsp cooking oil
water

How do you make Minapa rotti?

Preparation of the dough:

• Soak urad dal & methi seeds in water (the dal should be completely immersed in water) for about 4 hours.
• Wash and soak idli rice separately for about 4 hours.
• Grind urad dal + methi seeds with limited water to a smooth paste, the consistency should be that of thick cream.
• Squeeze water from the soaked idli rice and add it to the ground paste.
• Add salt and mix it all well to form a homogenized mixture.
• Cover & set aside for 4-6 hours in a luke warm place.

Batter ready for minapa rotti

Preparation of Minapa rotti:

• Heat a pan with edges, put 1 tsp of oil.
• Ladle in the dough and let it slowly spread until it reaches the edges.
• You need to put enough dough to make the rotti about 1/2 inch or more in thickness.
• Drizzle drops of oil on top, cover and let it cook in medium heat for about 3-4 minutes.
• When you shake the pan, the rotti needs to slide easily to indicate it is done, avoid lifting the rotti off its base till done. 
• Carefully flip the rotti (if you have master chefs at home, ask them to do the cool chef trick and flip it over) and drizzle drops of oils around the edges and let it cook for another 3-4 minutes without covering. 
• Crispy outside, melting soft inside minapa rotti is ready. 
• Slide the rotti into the plate, serve it with avakkai or any pickle/chutney of your choice. 

Minapa rotti flipped over

Notice the peeled off 'pecchu' from one of the pieces :)

Variations: 

• You can add thin cut onion strips - once you ladle in the dough, spread onion strips on top before covering it, this gets cooked well when you flip the rotti to the other side and forms a nice onion coating. 
• You can add grated vegetables to make it more nutritious.

Tips: 

• Minapa rotti dough should not over ferment, the taste needs to be sweetish unlike the idli batter. So do not set it aside longer. 
• Minapa rotti has to be thick and cooked in medium heat to get that crispy outside - melt in the mouth inside texture, do not spread it thin, it will not be worthy of travel and will taste like a burnt dosa or something :-).
• Do not spread the batter in the pan, help it to naturally find the edges by tilting the pan a little.