Roti. The word which is not only familiar, but is also undeniably the basis of our very existence. Yes, for an Indian, Roti is so much part and parcel of our everyday life, that it goes to an extent of getting unnoticed. From the very day we learn to grab our first bite, we have roti to accompany us silently in our journey of food. It is so much present in our life that we do not have an alternative for roti. We cannot imagine our mothers not to challenge our patience and our capacity with ‘ek aur roti’(one more roti), or the entire family coming together and not having a hearty laugh over a hot phulka (fluffy rotis), or to not feel the warmth of mother’s love when she leaves everything to feed us hot rotis freshly cooked from a griddle. Coming to the basic we cannot even imagine our kitchen without atta, the only necessary ingredients apart from water required to make roti.
Also, it would be unfair to restrain the popularity of rotis only to India. Who else can ignore or underestimate the popularity of Tortilla, Dhalpuri Roti, Farata, Pita etc. The ease of making rotis or flatbread and the benefits offered in a bite would not surprise anyone the reason for its popularity and the presence of roti across the world since ages (as per few historians, the cultivation of wheat can be traced back to as old as Indus Valley Civilization 3300 BC – 1300 BC).
With a food which is so simple and yet close to perfect, one can rightly assume that this humble combination of wheat and water will go to every mouth without any hassle. Unfortunately, this is not completely true. In this perfect planet, perfectly distanced from sun, there exist some imperfect creatures like me, who is yet to discover the taste receptor cell that can understand the perfect taste from the bite of a simple roti. Hence, there should be created variations in some way or the other to make the roti acceptable to these kinds of creatures. One such variation is Rotizza – The Roti Pizza, which is nothing but giving a pizza like appearance to the regular roti with the help of cheese and some vegetables. Thus, making it more exciting and interesting for non-roti eaters.
This Rotizza or The Roti Pizza is not only appealing in its appearance, but is also healthy, owing to the presence of variety of vegetables and the fact that the very base is made of whole wheat flour, which makes it more fibrous and full of energy. It is comparatively easy to cook and can be tried with different kind of toppings, basis your mood and availability of ingredients. As versatile as your regular roti, Rotizza or The Roti Pizza, can be part of your breakfast table, your lunch box and what not. And above all the delight of the kids to show off their Mom’s creativity is no more a secret.
So, what next? I believe throwing a brunch party for your friends is the only rescue. Afterall, show off is also an emotion that needs to be addressed 😉
Click here and give these recipes a chance to mesmerise you.
Recipe: Rotizza – The Roti Pizza
Kneading Time: 30 minutes Chopping Time: 20 minutes Per Pizza Preparing Time before Baking: 5 minutes Baking Time: 40 minutes (excludes pre-heating) Equipment used: A bowl to knead dough, cutting board and knife, rolling pin and board, oven, oven tray and grater Yield: 8 Pizza
Ingredients:
- 2 cups whole wheat flour (atta)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon refined oil
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- Water for kneading
- 2 green bell peppers
- 2 medium sized tomatoes
- 8-10 spinach leaves
- 1 garlic
- Butter brought to room temperature
- Around 150 gm cheese
- Oregano, Italian or all-purpose seasoning
Method:
- Combine the flour with oil, salt and baking powder
- Knead the dough with hand by adding little water at a time until the dough is firm
- Cover the dough with a muslin cloth and keep it aside
- Take out the oven tray and brush the oven tray with little oil, while simultaneously pre-heat the oven at 180°C for 20 minutes
- Chop the bell-peppers, tomatoes and garlic and clean the spinach leaves
- Take out the kneaded dough, and roll small balls of dough of approximately the size of a lemon
- Flatten the dough to the size of a regular roti (or around 12.5 cm diameter) with hand or using a rolling pin and board, after dusting the hand or rolling board with powdered flour
- Brush each flattened dough with butter, followed by sprinkling grated cheese, chopped tomato pieces, chopped bell pepper pieces, pieces of spinach leaf, chopped garlic and all purpose or Italian seasoning
- Bake the flattened dough for 40 minutes or till the base is crisp, to arrive at crispy and crunchy base Roti Pizza or Rotizza
Add salt to the flour.
Followed by oil.
And baking powder.
Combine the ingredients properly.
Knead the dough by adding little water at a time.
Cover the dough with a muslin cloth.
Take out the oven tray and brush the oven tray with little oil.
Pre-heat the oven simultaneously.
Chop bell-peppers.
Chop tomato.
Chop garlic.
Clean the spinach leaves.
Roll small dough balls of approximately the size of a lemon.
Flatten the dough and brush the flattened dough with butter.
Sprinkle grated cheese, chopped tomato pieces, chopped bell pepper pieces, pieces of spinach leaf, chopped garlic and all purpose seasoning or Italian seasoning on each flattened dough.
Bake the flattened dough for 40 minutes or till the base is crisp.
Tips:
- Knead the dough like you do for usual chapatti
- Don’t make too much effort to knead the dough soft, that we usually do for chapattis. Baking in oven will ultimately make the dough crisp
- Although, sometimes it gets difficult, but try to keep the shape of flattened dough round as much as possible, by rotating the rolling board or dough time to time, while flattening the dough
- Check the User Manual of Oven for pre-heating. The pre-heating temperature and time for oven vary depending on various factors
- The flattened dough should be little thick than the usual chapatti
