A - Z Andhra Recipes ~ T for Theepi Dibba Rotte / Theepi Minapa Rotte

I have a traditional Andhra snack for today's recipe. For those who are joining me late, I have been posting Andhra recipes this month, in an alphabetical order and today is the turn for the alphabet 'T'.  

I am posting a sweet version of dibba rotte. Dibba rottes are Andhra version dense pancakes made with rice and black gram / urad dal batter. Either the fresh or fermented batter can be used to make dibba rottes. The commonly known version of dibba rotte is the savory one while there is a sweet version too which is not that popular. Jaggery and coconut are also ground into the batter in this version and it makes a great evening snack for kids. It is not overtly sweet and I enjoy this sweet rotte with chutney like the savory one. 
 
There are plenty of recipes online, referring to dibba rotte as dibba rotti or dibba roti. The correct name would be the first one since 'rotti' / 'roti' are not Telugu words. They are Kannada and Hindi words respectively. Theepi dibba rotte literally means sweet, dense pancakes / flat-breads in Telugu. 'Theepi' means sweet whereas the word 'dibba' is used in reference to the thickness of these pancakes and literally means dense. The first part 'di' in the word 'dibba' is pronounced as 'thi' in the word 'this'. And coming to the part 'rotte', 'ro' is pronounced as in the word 'rose' and 'tte' as in 'tay' with a stress on 't'. Dibba rotte are also called minapa rotte, a reference to the black gram used in the recipe. And this sweet version is also called bellam minapa rotte, because of the bellam / jaggery used in the recipe. The color of these sweet rotte depend upon the color of the jaggery used.
 
Freshly ground batter can be used to make these rotte and there is no need to ferment it, making this recipe a convenient one for it to be an evening snack. These pancakes are so dense that people, especially kids would be full eating just one or two slices. The flip side is dibba rottes are time taking even though you don't need to hover around the stove until it is time to flip the pancakes, which happens around 15 minutes mark. They are meant to be cooked leisurely on slow flame to ensure that they are cooked thoroughly through out. Because of the thickness, each rotte takes anywhere between 20 to 25 minutes to cook. Hurrying and trying shortcuts like cooking it on high flame or in shorter times only ruins the rotte. The inside would be under cooked though it appears well browned on outside. If in a hurry, the batter may be used to make thick dosas instead of the denser ones.

 

Traditionally, a banali / kadai, a round bottomed pan is used to prepare dibba rotte. Usually I go that route but I used a small sized non stick pan this time. When cooked leisurely, the rotte making wouldn't be difficult even when a iron kadai is used. Novice cooks can use a non-stick pan to ensure mess-free rottte making.

Ingredients:
1 cup rice / biyyam
1/2 cup black gram / minapappu / urad dal
1/2 cup jaggery powder / bellam
2 handfuls of shredded fresh coconut / pachi kobbari
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. water
Oil to make rottes

Preparation:

* Rinse and soak urad dal and rice together in water, for at least 3 hours.

* Drain the water. Grind urad dal, rice, jaggery and coconut together into a smooth, thick batter, adding water only as much as needed to facilitate the grinding. (I had to add a little over 1/2 cup as mentioned in the list above.) Don't make the batter runny. The batter should be very thick like idli batter. Transfer the batter to a container.

* Heat a round bottomed pan / kadai and pour about 2 tbsp oil into the middle of the pan. Next add about 2 cups of batter into it. 

 

* Cover and cook on low flame until the bottom side turns golden brown, about 15 minutes. Lift the pancake at one end with a spatula to see if it has turned golden brown on the bottom side. If it has, flip it carefully using a spatula. 

 

* Cook for a few minutes more until the other side cooks too. Remove and transfer the rotte onto a plate.

 

* Repeat the process with the remaining batter. 

* Slice into wedges and serve with your choice of sweet or savory condiment.

  
'T' Ingredients' list

From Pantry:
Telagapindi - Residue left while preparing the sesame seed oil
Thati bellam - Palm jaggery  

Produce:
Taati munjelu - Toddy palm fruit
Taati pandu -  Ripened toddy palm fruit
Tenkaaya - Coconut
Tella gaddalu - Vellulli / Garlic
Thamba kaaya - A broad and lengthy green bean variety vegetable 
Thegalu - Tender Palm shoots
Thotakoora - Amaranth greens

Some recipes that start with 'T':
Thentharlu & Thapala chekkalu - snacks
Thaati pandu kudumu - Sweet 
Thokkudu laddu / Bandaru laddu - Sweet 
Thotakoora pappu - Amaranath greens dal
Telagapindi koora - Curries using telagapindi
Theeya pulusu - Sweet and tangy vegetable stew
Theeya kooralu - Sweetened curries
Taddinam vanta - Dishes cooked on death anniversaries
Tomato charu - Tomato rasam
Tomato pachadi - Tomato chutney
Tomato pappu - Tomato dal

So far on my 'A - Z' Andhra Cuisine,
A for Alasanda Vada
B for Bellam Garelu
C for Chiyali
D for Dondakaaya Kaarapu Kaaya
E for Endu Kobbari Podi
F for Fine Biscuits 
G for Gongura - Mamidikaya Pappu
H for Halwa Holigalu
I for Idli Karam Podi
J for Janthikalu
K for Kobbari Koora

L for Lauzu
M for Matikkaaya Kaaram Koora
N for Nimmakaaya Kaaram
O for Ottotti
P for Perugu Vadalu  
Q for Qubani ka Meetha 
R for Ragi Sangati
S for Satyanarayana Vrata Prasadam

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63.

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