Yammi
……….Roties
Food is the art of many cultures.So if
globalization of food causes to losing the authenticity of food than will my
generation next ever get to taste the actual food of their own land? What
bothers me is from Mc Donald’s to subway to dinner every alternate days and no
knowledge about what cooking was prevailed in our own land “mere khet
ki maati ke anaaz ki roti”?Rotti
is the staff of life-who knows it better than the people of our country? Every
region in India has its own rendition of the roti. It evolved with the
geographic location…..the change is usually dependent upon the type of crops
grown locally. Let’s take a look at the various types of Indian roties; let’s
talk about their taste and their nutritive values!
Talking of diets one day, a friend said she could give
up anything but roti. I said, No, the other stuff was more fun. But she said
Think about it: would you enjoy alu gosht without it? Or gobi matar? Or dal? And she was right: there
are days when I try to cut down the number of rotis in my lunch and the meal
becomes boring. However delicious the daal sabzi, they're incomplete. How does
one describe the taste of a roti? It's not salty or sweet or anything; it's a
wrapper, a foil, a base for other tastes. The roties described here surely
sandwiched the smell of their own just make and enjoy!
When I guess
back on your cereals and grains….what is the one grain that sticks out? If I
guessed wheat or rice, then you love me and that means I am a loyal person for
you. But in all seriousness, yes you people eat the same types of cereals/grains,
roti/rice everyday. And this may be very neurotic but I make sure to eat
rotties of different grains with at least lunch or dinner (or both!) each
day….why you may ask? Well I hope this isn’t too difficult, and you will see,
it gets things moving. Whenever any of my close one complain to me about their
health or……any food related issues, I always say, eat roties of different
grains each day. I kid you not, it works. And when one of the customers for
wheat flour at our local grain shop wonders why I buy 7 sac packages of
different grains at a time and asks how many milch cattle’s have you? I just smile and let him think that
yes,
we are five family members that is why I just bought out whole stock of grains in the shop, and to
save him from knowing my trick of healthy grains.
Lets talk about Some less
popular and cotemporary(multigrain) ROTI WITH some of the grain separately then celebrate the fare……
When
I was a child bajra was a staple. And grown organically in our rain fed farm.
They used to make sour rabri for breakfast, and often took the lead in a meal.
My bagri grandma knew a bajra trick or
two. But it wasn’t until I was in my thirties that I got perfection in making
bajra roties.
For
bajra roti hot water is used to knead flour using press and fold method.
Bajra roti
contains iron, phytochemicals that lower cholestoral falate, magnesium copper,
zinc, and vitamins E and B complex.it packs an additional punch since it
contains all 13 essential aminoacids. Bajra is good for bones and has higher
energy content then other flours. It is rich in calcium and unsaturated fats
which are good for the body. It’s good to eat bajra roti in the winter. .Bajra is good for bones and has higher energy content
than other flours. It is also rich in calcium and unsaturated fats which are
good for the body. Bajra roties are ideal for Anaemics.
SORGHUM ROTI
Sorghum is rich in potassium and phosphorus
and also has good amount of calcium with small amounts of iron and sodium. It
maintains the health of heart, controls arthritis and body weight..
Sorgham roti is somewhat
difficult to role, instead of rolling pin, hands are used to shape the sorghum
dough into a round, flat, thin circle. Because sorghum flour is gluten-free
flour, it’s very tough to spread the dough without breaking the shape, and one
really needs hands-on experience and many failed attempts to get the skill.
Making a prefect sorghum roti is a skill that I wanted
to master with all my heart. For me, it is not just a recipe, but an Indian
tradition that I wished to be a part of. The process is difficult to explain in
written words and pretty much useless. Again this is one of those recipes,
where one must be in the kitchen next to the cook, to know what they are
talking about. One really needs a visual experience to understand the recipe..
Prepare dough by gradually adding and mixing hot
water. After a rest period of 10 to 15 minutes, the dough is kneaded using
press and fold method and divided into lemon sized balls. Then, using palm of
the right hand, on a flat board, the dough is spread into flat, thin round. The
method description sounded very easy,
but…………don’t know why?
I
have never been successful with sorghum roties though. For all other roties ,
yes, but sorghum roties always come
out cracked and fringed edges. I have
never known what that might be, but this
time decided to be especially careful when kneading dough for these sorghum
roties (see the picture). I love kneading, it makes me feel authentic and
strong, and that moment when you feel the dough turn very smooth and know it’s
done, it rocks. Whether it was that extra care or just the benefit of
experience I don’t know but I’m glad to say
these roties were perfectly round and smooth on edges. Here a shot of these yammy roties.
The
shape is a bit peculiar, but it had a good crisp crust about which I am
particularly pleased.
THE BEST ROTI OF ALL
THE rule of
the thumb to get the healthiest roti is combining the flours. roti’s are one of
the best ways of adding in different grains. It's ideal to mix various flours
with wheat to get the best of all. Eating only a particular kind of flour can
cause deficiencies of specific nutrients. Don't ignore wheat if you are not
allergic to it because it is high in folic acid and is also easier to digest
than other flours. Refining of the whole wheat grain drains out most of the
nutrients and hence mixing other flours can make it more wholesome.
Not to say about roti’s
with different grains each day, roti with mix of several grain flour is fairly
standard fare in my household. I always mix flour of different grains to prepare it to make roti, usually I
prefer a grain a day for each day of a
week. This particular roti was so yum that I have to share. The
combination of flours sort of elevates it beyond ordinary. If you've
never had a multigrain roti at your house you're really missing out. These
roties are delicious and are, apparently, scandalously healthy.
Use your excretion to choose your roti and inculcate your
own palate from above roties only then
you will feel that Indian food is really Naturopathic and so good for
you.
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