What is pathiri made of?

Just three things: fine roasted rice flour, water and a little salt (with a touch of coconut oil). It's a soft, thin rice-flour flatbread - the everyday bread of the Malabar Muslim table, eaten with curry.

Which rice flour should I use?

Fine roasted rice flour sold as 'pathiri podi' or idiyappam flour. The fineness is what lets you roll the pathiri thin and keeps it soft.

Why is my pathiri hard or cracking?

Usually the dough was too dry or kneaded cold. Add the flour to properly boiling water, and knead the dough while it's still warm for a smooth, pliable result.

What do you eat pathiri with?

Most commonly chicken, beef, fish or egg curry. Pathiri is also the base for stuffed variants like irachi pathiri and the layered chatti pathiri.

Ari Pathiri recipe (Malabar soft rice flatbread)

Two rules for soft pathiri

Boiling water (not warm), and knead while warm. Get those two right and the pathiri rolls thin and stays soft; get them wrong and it cracks and turns leathery. Pathiri is also the foundation of irachi pathiri and the layered chatti pathiri. More on pathiri in our glossary.

The recipe

Ari Pathiri recipe (Malabar soft rice flatbread)

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 20 min
Total: 35 min
Yield: 8 pathiris
Cuisine: Malabar
Category: Bread

Ingredients

2 cups fine roasted rice flour (pathiri podi / idiyappam flour)
2.5 cups water
1 tsp coconut oil
0.5 tsp salt
Extra rice flour, for rolling

Method

Boil the water Bring the water to a rolling boil with the salt and coconut oil.
Add the flour Lower the heat. Add the rice flour all at once and stir hard with a wooden spoon until it comes together into a single soft mass. Take off the heat, cover, and rest 5 minutes.
Knead warm While still warm (but handleable), knead the dough until smooth and pliable. A smooth, soft, non-sticky dough rolls into the thinnest pathiri.
Roll thin Take a lemon-sized ball, dust with rice flour, and roll into a thin round (about 15 cm). A pathiri press or a flat plate helps get an even circle. Cut clean edges with a lid if you like.
Cook Cook on a hot tawa for about 30–40 seconds per side. It should change colour and may puff. Press gently with a cloth to encourage puffing.
Serve Stack and keep covered so they stay soft. Serve warm with chicken, beef, fish or egg curry.

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Frequently asked

What is pathiri made of?
Just three things: fine roasted rice flour, water and a little salt (with a touch of coconut oil). It's a soft, thin rice-flour flatbread - the everyday bread of the Malabar Muslim table, eaten with curry.
Which rice flour should I use?
Fine roasted rice flour sold as 'pathiri podi' or idiyappam flour. The fineness is what lets you roll the pathiri thin and keeps it soft.
Why is my pathiri hard or cracking?
Usually the dough was too dry or kneaded cold. Add the flour to properly boiling water, and knead the dough while it's still warm for a smooth, pliable result.
What do you eat pathiri with?
Most commonly chicken, beef, fish or egg curry. Pathiri is also the base for stuffed variants like irachi pathiri and the layered chatti pathiri.