Parotta or Porotta is a layered Indian and Sri Lankan

flatbread A flatbread is a bread made with flour; water, milk, yogurt, or other liquid; and salt, and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened, although some are leavened, such as pizza and pita bread. Flatbreads r ...

made from

Maida Maida may refer to: People * Maida Abdallah (born 1970), Tanzanian politician * Maida Arslanagić (born 1984), Croatian handball player * Maida Bryant (1926–2016), New Zealand nurse, politician and community leader * Maida Coleman (born 1954), ...

or Atta, alternatively known as flaky ribbon pancake. It is very common in the Indian states of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

and

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

and widely available in other states like

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

and

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...

and countries like

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Porottas are often available as

street food Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumpt ...

and in restaurants. At some places it is also served at weddings, religious festivals and feasts. It is prepared by kneading maida/wheat flour, egg (in some recipes), oil or

ghee Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from India. It is commonly used in India for cooking, as a traditional medicine, and for religious rituals. Description Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from ...

and water. The dough is beaten into thin layers and later forming a round spiralled into a ball using these thin layers. The ball is rolled flat and pan fried. It is often served with a meat curry, such as chicken, goat, beef, or lamb.

History

Parotta originated in the

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

-populated Jaffna area of

, and the migrant workers from there introduced it as "Veechu Porotta" or "Ceylon Porotta" in coastal

region of India. In Virudhunagar, traditionally, the parotta is deep fried and is called annai (oil) parotta which is very different from either the veechu parotta or the Malabar parotta. This predates the veechu parotta and has been around for a long time. Parotta became popular all over Kerala during the late 196 0s or the early 1980s. During the 1990s, street hawkers (''thattukadas'') of Kerala further strengthened its status as a local food, and it came to be known as "Kerala Porotta" or "Malabar Parotta" outside of Kerala, owing to the popularity of food from the Malabar region of Kerala which was always globally represented since British times .

Gallery

Round spiralled ball of dough.jpg, Round spiralled dough ball which gives Parotta it's flaky layers. Parotas.jpg, An image of Parotta.jpg, Parotta in Salem.jpg, Parotta.jpg, Hot Parottas Kothu Parotta (Chicken) as served in Tamil Nadu, India.jpg, Kothu Parotta (with Chicken gravy) Parota food.jpg, Roticanai bukittinggi.jpg,

Roti canai Roti canai (pronunciation: /tʃanaɪ/) or roti prata, also known as roti chenai and roti cane (/tʃane/), is an Indian flatbread dish found in several countries in Southeast Asia, especially in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thail ...

, also known as ''roti parotta'' from Southeast Asia.

Health impact

Similar to any food product made from Maida (refined flour), Parotta / Porotta has been deemed unhealthy by some doctors. This has resulted in the introduction and popularization of "atta porotta", which is porotta fully made from atta (whole wheat flour) mostly available only in urban areas.

References

External links

Parotta making - A video filmed at a Tamil market diner (Dhaba)
{{Flatbreads Flatbreads Indian breads Indian cuisine South Indian cuisine Tamil cuisine Kerala cuisine Karnataka cuisine Bengali cuisine

History

Gallery

Health impact

See also

References

External links