Make deliciously soft, melt-in-mouth Kerala special Ari Pathiri – Rice Pathiri recipe with detailed step-wise picture recipe. Ari Pathiri is gluten-free flatbread made with roasted rice flour!
Today we travel to Kerala – known as the God’s own country and for a reason, it is BEAUTIFUL. It is one of the places we have visited almost every year and we just cant get enough of its beauty. As much as I love Kerala and its beautiful landscapes, my love for Kerala cuisine has no bounds. I simply love the flavor of fresh coconut and coconut oil, simple tempering spices and a lot of fresh flavors. Even for vegetarians, Kerala cuisine has a lot to offer. Now, some of the recipes or versions of it are made in all Southern states of Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Andhra, but the subtle differences make them unique. Like this recipe of Ari Pathri – Rice Pathiri, a flatbread made with rice flour. Many moons ago, I made a Karnataka version of this recipe called Ubbu Rotti, also made with rice flour.
Pathiri, also called as Ari Pathiri or Rice Pathiri is made with three simple ingredients - Â rice flour, water and salt, with a couple of tsps. of coconut oil. It is not exactly rocket science, but if you are not an experienced cook, this recipe can be daunting! My first brush with this recipe was more than 15 years ago in a TV show (in Vijay TV) where celebrities made special dishes and one of the teleserial actresses made this Pathiri recipe. Intrigued by it, I asked amma to hand me rice flour. Poor amma, caught off guard ground some fresh rice flour for me in our mixer-grinder. The rice flour was not smooth enough and man, did I struggle that day or what?! So the next day, I went to a flour mill to get fresh rice flour made and tried the recipe again to success. Talk about repeated attempts and some kitchen failures.
After all these years I made the recipe of Ari Pathiri again recently and I served it with some Egg Roast (recipe soon!). Luckily I still have some rice flour that my mother-in-law packed for us way back in 2019 and I made good use of it by making Pathiri. The procedure itself is very simple and once you get the hang of your rice dough, it becomes easy. The first couple of testers could be difficult and as long as your dough doesn’t dry out, you can make these rice pathiris easily. The beauty of this recipe is in seeing the gluten-free rice dough roll out perfectly and the best part is seeing them puff up beautifully. No oil or any kind of fat used for cooking them. You can wrap them in kitchen tissues in a hot pack and they stay fresh for a few hours. Serve it with any spicy curry! Check out other Egg Side Dishes.
How to make Ari Pathiri | Rice Pathiri
📖 Recipe
Ari Pathiri | Rice Pathiri
Equipment
- Fry Pan
- Flat Pan
MEASUREMENT
1 cup = 250ml, 1 tablespoon = 15ml, 1 teaspoon = 5ml
Ingredients
- 1 cup Rice Flour
- 1 ¼ cup Water
- 2 teaspoon Coconut Oil
- Salt as needed
Instructions
- In a pan lightly roast the rice flour until it is fragrant. Make sure not to change its color. It should take about 4-5 mins on low flame. Remove it onto a plate.
- In the same pan heat water. Add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil and salt as needed.
- As the water comes to a rolling boil, remove from heat.
- Quickly dump all the rice flour and mix it immediately. It will be lumpy.
- When you can handle the heat, add a teaspoon of coconut oil and knead it with your hands until it is smooth. It should not have any cracks and the dough should be neither too tight nor loose.
- Divide the dough into 12 equal balls.
- Roll each ball until it is smooth.
- Now flatten the ball and dip it in rice flour, ready to roll.
- Roll them as thin as possible of equal thickness, shape doesn’t matter.
- Now take a plate with sharp edges to cut the pathiri to trim down the edges.
- Repeat this with rest of the balls of dough. The cut edges can be rolled again, until there is no more dough left.
- Meanwhile heat a flat pan on medium flame. Once hot, place a pathiri.
- Cook it for 20 secs until there are small bubbles on the surface. Flip it to the other side.
- Gently press it with a spatula and soon it will puff up. Remove it onto a lined hot pack. Repeat this with rest of the pathiri.
- Serve hot with any side dish of your choice. I served it with Egg Roast.
Nutrition
Detailed step-wise picture recipe of making Ari Pathiri | Rice Pathiri
In a pan lightly roast the rice flour until it is fragrant. Make sure not to change its color. It should take about 4-5 mins on low flame. Remove it onto a plate.
In the same pan heat water. Add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil and salt as needed.
As the water comes to a rolling boil, remove from heat.
Quickly dump all the rice flour and mix it immediately with a wooden spoon. It will be lumpy.
When you can handle the heat, add a teaspoon of coconut oil and knead it with your hands until it is smooth. It should not have any cracks and the dough should be neither too tight nor loose.
Divide the dough into 12 equal balls.
Roll each ball until it is smooth.
Now flatten the ball and dip it in rice flour, ready to roll.
Roll them as thin as possible of equal thickness, shape doesn’t matter.
Now take a plate with sharp edges to cut the pathiri to trim down the edges.
Repeat this with rest of the balls of dough. The cut edges can be rolled again, until there is no more dough left.
Meanwhile heat a flat pan on medium flame. Once hot, place a pathiri.
Cook it for 20 secs until there are small bubbles on the surface. Flip it to the other side.
Gently press it with a spatula and soon it will puff up. Remove it onto a lined hot pack. Repeat this with rest of the pathiri.
Serve hot with any side dish of your choice. I served it with Egg Roast.
Recipe Notes
- Water to rice flour ratio can vary slightly, keep some extra hot water ready if your dough is too tight or add some rice flour if it is too runny.
- You can also use Idiyappam Flour, roasting the flour removes any extra moisture and the rice flour doesn’t get lumpy/starchy.
- Make sure the dough doesn’t dry out, rolling becomes harder.
I would be delighted to know if you have tried this recipe, don’t forget to share your feedback and comments below. If you have any questions, you can e-mail me! I am also available on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter 🙂
Leave a Comment