Cholko – A piece of leaf. Usually a piece of banana leaf is called ‘cholko’ in Konkani. Vayli – on top of ‘Cholkya vayli bhakri’ or ‘cholkya bhakri’ means a rotti prepared on banana leaf. I have no such explanation for the name ‘mumbri’ :).
As I mentioned here , this is one of my favorite breakfasts. Aayi serves this rotti with chutney pitto -ghee or vaygana bajji or ‘dhidir chutney’ (Mix 1/2 cup grated coconut with 3/4 tea spn chili powder, 1/2 tea spn sugar and salt. Mix well with hand) or coconut chutney . My personal preference is Mumbri with Vaygana bajji and dhidir chutney.
I have seen sweet bhakri also where this dish is prepared with jack fruit. I loved the simple non-sweet version among all.
In the last 9 months, I searched every possible store here for banana leaves. But last week when I found a frozen packet in Chinese store here, I immediately grabbed it and prepared my favorite breakfast. It tasted heavenly. I do not think any paper(like parchment paper) can replace the banana leaf, because banana leaf leaves a nice aroma when it is fried.
All the pictures for this post were taken at my native.
Ingredients: 1 cup rice flour 1/2 cup coconut(fresh or frozen) 1/4 cup onion(optional) Ghee Salt
I did not use onion while taking the picture.
Method: Mix all the ingredients into a soft dough with water (do not make it too hard, there should be some water to make spreading easier).
Take a piece of banana leaf. Spread a thin layer of dough on it(use a little water if it is difficult to spread).
Cover with a banana leaf of same size.
Heat tava and fry the roti. When the bottom side leaf looks a bit brownish, turn over(along with the leaf).
Remove the brownish leaf slowly and discard. Again turn and remove the second leaf. Fry on both sides(without leaf). Apply ghee if desired.
Serve hot with any of the above mentioned sides.
Serves : 2-3 Preparation time : 15mins
Note: The softness of this rotti depends largely on rice flour. In Bangalore, I had tried it many times and always felt it was not up to the mark. At my native, Aayi’s version is always very soft. Then she told me the flour which I bought in Bangalore was not very fine. With same proportions I tried here and it was superb. So make sure to use very fine rice flour.
This daal is an adaptation from 2-3 recipes. I always loved the North Indian type ‘daal palak’ and Andhra ‘pappu’. I learnt the Andhra version from my friend Lakshmi. I experimented a lot on the authentic dish. I absolutely loved all the versions. I usually make this a bit thick compared to Konkani daal , but a bit watery compared to the Andhra version. I do not like it too much sour, as sourness overcomes the taste of this dish.
Spinach or fenugreek leaves can be used for this. I tried this daal with toor daal, masoor daal, moong daal and sometimes mixture of all the three daals. Even our friend who loves only non-veg dishes is always ready to eat this dish :).
Ingredients: Daal(toor/masoor/moong or a mixture of all of them) 1 cup Onion 1/2 cup Fenugreek(methi) leaves or Spinach(palak) 1 cup (1-2 frozen blocks) Tamarind extract 1/2 tea spn Garlic cloves 2-3 Ghee 1 tea spn Green chilies 2-3 Rasam powder 1 tea spn Turmeric a pinch Salt
Garlic cloves and rasam powder are optional. But they make the biggest difference in taste. I love this daal with both of them included. If using normal tamarind instead of ready made extract, soak tamarind in warm water for sometime and extract the thick juice (around 1tbl spn). Usually the ready made extract is more sour, so be careful while using it.
Method: Cook daal and greens with a pinch of turmeric. Mash them with a spoon. Heat ghee and add chopped garlic, green chilies and onion. When onions turn slightly brownish, add daal, tamarind, 1-2 cups water, salt and cook for 6-7mins. Add rasam powder and cook again for 3-4mins. Do not cook for a long time after adding the rasam powder, the aroma of the powder goes off by cooking longer. Serve hot with rice.
Serves : 3-4 Preparation time : 30mins
