May 2022 - Recipe of the month - Malabar Sweet Chatti Pathiri
Recipe by: Sarah Abraham
Photograph by: Natasha Kocherry
MALABAR SWEET CHATTI PATHIRI
This delicious snack can be eaten for breakfast or tea time. Going back to the historical Malabar region of Kerala, this dish was prepared especially for Iftar during Islamic fast days of Ramadan. With the simple ingredients of flour, eggs, milk, thin crepes are prepared and layered generously with ripe plantains, nuts and kismis!
INGREDIENTS AND PREPARATION OF THE PATHIRI
- All purpose flour - 1.5 cups
- Ghee - 1 tbsp
- Salt - to taste
- Water - as needed
- Prepare the dough and keep aside for 10 minutes with a wet cloth covering it - Divide the dough in 7-8 parts
- Roll out to a very thin round Pathiri
- Cook the Pathiri on a Tawa, 30 seconds on each side, dabbing a little ghee, Make sure it doesn’t brown!
INGREDIENTS AND PREPARATION OF THE FILLING
- Split cashews - ½ cup
- Kismis/Raisins (black and golden) - ½ cup
- Ripe plantains chopped - 2
- Eggs - 2
- White Sugar - 2 tbsp
- Shredded Coconut - 2 tbsp
- Khus Khus (Poppy seeds) - 2 tbsp (roasted)
- Ghee - 2 tbsp
- Salt - a pinch
- Heat ghee and add cashews, fry for a minute, then add Kismis and fry for a minute. Remove and set aside on a plate
- In the remaining ghee, add chopped ripe plantains, 1 tbsp sugar and a pinch of salt. Sauté till golden brown and set aside.
- Beat eggs with 1 tbsp sugar. Cook the eggs until scrambled. Remove and set aside. - Add the shredded coconut and sauté till moisture evaporates. Stir in the eggs and mix until combined. Remove and set aside.
- Dry roast the khus khus. Remove and set aside.
OTHER INGREDIENTS
- Eggs - 2
- Cardamom powder - ½ tsp
- White Sugar - 1 tbsp
- Milk - 1 tbsp
ASSEMBLY
- Beat eggs with the other ingredients mentioned above and set aside - Grease a deep dish chatti (preferably non-stick) with ghee
- Take a pathiri, dip it in the egg mixture and put it in the chatti.
- Layer with a portion of the plantain mixture, followed by egg-coconut mixture, cashews and kismis and finally khus khus (reserve some cashews, kismis and khus khus for garnish at the end).
- Continue with layering the egg mixture soaked pathiri and the fillings until even layers form finally ending with a pathiri on top.
- Pour any remaining egg batter on top
- In a low flame, cover and cook the contents for 10 minutes
- Flip the chatti pathiri carefully onto a flat tawa and let the other side cook for another 5-8 mins until browned on low flame.
- Garnish the top with cashews, kismis and khus khus.
- Cut into slices and serve warm!
