Biscuit Rotti

Biscuit Rotti is a very popular snack of Mangalore. It is also served for breakfast in many hotels of Mangalore. Biscuit Rotti is a stuffed poori which is very crispy and taste wise- it is  little spicy as well as little sweet. Altogether I would say it is one of the best known Mangalore snack.

Getting the recipe was not hard for me as my mother's brother own a small hotel in their village. They make this addictive snack everyday. Few years back, me and my mother had tried making it but somehow it didn't turn out crispy. We were not happy with the results and never tried after that. Two years back I tried making it again and it was a total disaster (those were the initial days in my kitchen). 
Yesterday I tried making few variations for the recipe I had (I didn't have the measurement though). I was nervous till the last step. Trust me I was totally doubtful about the taste until we gave a bite. I was happy after seeing the reaction on my husband's face. Yes, I was able to recreate a wonderful recipe for biscuit rotti. My happiness knew no bounds. We did not have patience for the photo session of the biscuit rottis:-) 
Try making this snack and I am sure you will not stop at one:-)

Ingredients:

For the outer cover:

• All Purpose Flour/ Maida- 1 cup plus extra for dusting
• Semolina/Sooji- 2 Tbsp
• Salt- To taste
• Hot oil- 3 tsp
• Water- As required

Procedure for making the outer cover:-

Take a mixing bowl and add all purpose flour, sooji, salt and hot oil. Mix it with the help of a spoon. Now add water in small quantities and make a soft, pliable dough ( the dough has to be soft otherwise it becomes difficult to roll after the stuffing is done). Keep the dough covered for half an hour.

For the filling:

• Oil- 2-3 tsp
• Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
• Urad dal/ Split black gram- 1 tsp (coarsely powdered)
• Curry leaves- Few
• Red chilli powder- 1 tsp (adjust accordingly)
• Sooji/ Semolina- 1/2 cup
• Grated coconut, fresh/frozen- 1/3 cup
• Sugar- 5-6 tsp (vary accordingly)
• Salt- To taste

Procedure for making the filling:-

Heat oil. Then add mustard seeds.

Once it starts spluttering, add coarsely ground urad dal and curry leaves. Fry until urad dal turns slight brown.

Then add semolina, grated coconut, salt and red chill powder. Mix well.

Continue frying this mixture on a medium flame for 3-4 minutes or until you get a nice aroma. Then turn off the heat.

Allow the mixture to cool completely. Then add sugar. Mix well. Taste the mixture and at this point you can add more of either red chilli powder or sugar or salt (I made the mixture a little sweeter as we both like it little on the sweeter side. But you are free to make it spicy as well). Filling is ready.

Now Assembling Part:

First divide the dough into seven equal parts.

Roughly divide the filling into seven portions.

Now take the dough ball and dip it into all purpose flour and start rolling it into a poori of size 4 inches (approximately)

Then place one portion of the filling in the middle of the rolled poori.

Now start sealing the filling by bringing the poor together (just like you do while making puran poli or stuffed paratha).

Then start rolling it by dipping in all purpose flour. Be gentle while rolling (Care should be taken while rolling and see that there is no damage in the outer covering. Otherwise the filling will spoil the oil while deep frying). The final size of the stuffed poori should be approximately 5 inches in diameter.

Now slowly put this stuffed poori in preheated hot oil. Then gently start pressing the surface of the poori with the help of the ladel (this helps it to puff up).

The heat should be medium while frying. This helps in getting a crispy outer crust. Look how it has puffed up after a gentle press at the initial stage.

Continue frying on both sides until you get a uniform brown color on both sides. Once got, transfer it to a plate containing paper towel. Allow to to cool for a while. Biscuit Rotti is ready!!

Serve it warm as a snack or even for breakfast. Above measurement makes seven big sized biscuit rottis.