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Ruchik Randhap

Food & Memories of Mangalore

Sajjige Rotti/Rulavachi Bhakri (Semolina Pancake)

My blogging obsession has kind of caught up with most of my family members by now. While most of them generously share their recipes whenever I meet them some go a step ahead in collecting crockery or ‘props’ as I call them – kitchen utility items which are either of no use in their own kitchens or those that they chance upon during a trip to the supermarket.
Last year when my mum had come to visit me in Mumbai, just before we moved to Dubai, I saw her going through my collection of Mangalorean cook books and making corrections to some of the recipes and then inserting little slips of recipe variations in addition to those printed in those books.
She also jotted down her own recipes on sheets of paper and quickly slipped them in between the pages. I love the little notes that she writes below each recipe. Her recipes are full of clarity and leave no room for doubt. She also gives cross references to incidents and mistakes that have possibly happened in the past.
One such recipe was the Sajjige Rotti which she had jotted down. This was something she used to prepare as a tea time snack when I was in school. Somehow, years down the line it was put on the back burner and we never ate much of it. Just the other day I was wondering what I could prepare for my son’s lunch box. It’s always a pain to think of something that’s both nutritious and quick for him to eat. I refrain from packing him store bought things with little nutrition. Since he has almost 9 hours to go between breakfast and lunch, I pack him 3 varieties of snacks to be eaten during breaks. The Sajjige Rotti was very well received as it was tasty, filling and easy to eat when rolled up.
Sajjige (semolina as it is called in Kannada in Mangalore) Rotti (pancake) is a typical Mangalorean breakfast/tea time snack that is prepared in homes and available in tea stalls (hotels) too. There are two variations of it, I will post the other one soon. For now, its the savoury version with bits of green chilli and curry leaves that makes it looks so inviting.

Sajjige Rotti / Rulavachi Bhakri (Semolina Pancake)
Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 15-20 mins | Yield 8 small pancakes

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup fine semolina / bombay sooji/rawa
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 3 tablespoons freshly grated coconut
  • 1 small-medium (approx 1/2 cup) finely chopped onion
  • 2 small green chillies minced (adjust to taste)
  • 1 inch ginger grated or minced
  • 3 tablespoons thick curds/yogurt (use less if it is too sour)
  • 1-1/4 cups water (add in parts)
  • 4-5 curry leaves minced
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander
  • 1-2 teaspoons sugar or powdered jaggery (optional but recommended)
  • salt to taste
  • ghee or oil for shallow frying

Method:
1. In a bowl add the semolina, wheat flour, grated coconut, onions, green chillies, ginger, coriander, curry leaves and mix well. Add the curds and water in parts to form a thick batter almost like idli batter. Add salt & sugar/jaggery to taste and keep aside for 15-20 mins. This will help the semolina to fluff up a bit and cook faster. After 20 minutes if you feel that the batter is too thick add a few teaspoons of water or curds at a time to loosen it up a bit.
2. Heat a cast iron tawa or a non stick pan and spread about 2 heaped tablespoons of the prepared batter in the centre of the pan. Using the back of the spoon/ladle gently help the batter to spread out using a circular motion.
3. Cover the pan and cook on a medium heat for approximately one minute. Open the lid, drizzle some ghee around the sides of the rotti and some drops over the surface and flip. Cook on the other side as well till golden brown. Remove and place in a hot box/casserole.
4. Serve hot with chutney, sambhar or simply a dollop of fresh butter.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  6. Kanthi says

    February 26, 2014 at 9:48 pm

    Hi Shireen
    My friend had mentioned about your website and I googled and there you are!!
    Tried Sajjige Rotti yesterday and it came out really nice. Fried few in the morning and brought some to work for bfast.
    I am sure I am going to make them more often. Thanks for sharing all your recipes with motivating beautiful pictures of the finished product. You are doing a great job. Appreciate all your efforts and time spent on this blog.

    Reply

  8. Shireen Sequeira says

    February 27, 2014 at 7:08 am

    @Kanthi: Thanks a ton for your lovely feedback 🙂 I am so happy to know that you enjoyed the sajjige rotti and the other recipes and pictures too! I am encouraged with your lovely comment,. thanks so much!

    Reply

  9. Shireen Sequeira says

    February 27, 2014 at 7:13 am

    @ Preethi: Well, Bombay rava is broken wheat to my knowledge, broken so fine that it looks white but does not undergo 'refining' or maybe doesn't get bleached like all purpose flour maida.

    This is the funda I got from Wikipedia "Modern milling of wheat into flour is a process that employs grooved steel rollers. The rollers are adjusted so that the space between them is slightly narrower than the width of the wheat kernels. As the wheat is fed into the mill, the rollers flake off the bran and germ while the starch (or endosperm) is cracked into coarse pieces in the process. Through sifting, these endosperm particles, the semolina, are separated from the bran. The semolina is then ground into flour. This greatly simplifies the process of separating the endosperm from the bran and germ, as well as making it possible to separate the endosperm into different grades because the inner part of the endosperm tends to break down into smaller pieces than the outer part"

    I am not sure if maida falls in the refined flour or bleached flour category. Here's the difference ""Refined flour" has had the germ and bran removed and is typically referred to as "white flour". "Bleached flour" is any refined flour with a whitening agent added."

    Reply

  20. Shiro Crasto says

    April 19, 2016 at 1:40 pm

    when I tried to spread the batter using a spoon, it got stuck to the spoon. had no idea wat i was doin! end result was something else but the taste was awesome! thanks!

    Reply

  22. Shireen says

    April 20, 2016 at 6:56 am

    @ Shiro Crasto: Maybe your tawa was too hot or the batter too thick. Next time heat the tawa on a medium high (if it gets too hot sprinkle some water on it like they do in restaurants by throwing water on a hot tawa) and also loosen up the batter by adding a little curds or water, a few tablespoons at a time

    Reply

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