Malabar Moodi Pathal/ Pathiri(Rice pancakes)
These soft, pan-poured rice pancakes is one of the most staple breakfast and dinner rice pancakes in Thalassery, and other parts of northern Kerala. Can also call it a distant cousin of dosa 😅 w/o the fermentation.
Moodi pathal, unlike the commonly known pathiri which is a flatbread made of rice flour is rice soaked for half an hour and ground into a paste along with shredded coconut and cooked rice, made into a thin batter and a ladleful of the batter is pour into a pan and swirled to get a round pancake which is immediately covered with a lid, allowing the pancake to cook from both sides simultaneously. Hence the name Moodi Pathal, “Moodi” means covered/ lid and pathal means pancake/ flatbread.
The addition of shredded coconut, though not necessary, but adds in a lot of flavor profile to the rice flatbread. Usually enjoyed with coconut milk and sugar, spicy malabar fish curry aka mulagittadh/Fish Varattiyadh (you can find the recipe by tapping the link), or any curry of your choice.
Ingredients: (Makes for 2)
- 1 cup White rice (Basmati and the likes of it also can be used)
- 2 tbsp leftover cooked rice (ponni, kuruva, matta rices)
- 1/4 cup Shredded Coconut
- Salt
- 1 and 1/2 cups approx Water (can be a little less or more)
- 1 tbsp Coconut oil
- Ghee for smearing on the pathal
Instructions:
- Rinse and soak the rice for half an hour at least or upto 2 hours and in a mixer grinder, add in the soaked rice, leftover cooked rice, shredded coconut, salt and half cup water.
- Transfer the batter to a bowl and add water to the required consistency (quite loose but not too watery either)
- Heat a well seasoned cast iron pan on high, and smear with coconut oil, once water sprinkled jumps, you may pour in a deep ladle full of batter into the pan and swirl it to get a nice round rice pancake. Cover it immediately and allow to cook on medium heat for around 2 minutes and transfer the pathal into hotpot or plate, smear ghee and cover it with a lid.
- Enjoy with coconut milk and sugar or with spicy malabar fish curry (mulagittadh) or your choice of curry.
Tips:
- Make sure you do not add too much of cooked rice, which can turn out to be a messy situation.
- Make sure the pan is on medium high flame, preferably a well seasoned cast iron pan, may feel like a crispy dosa, but once smeared with ghee and covered in and kept for couple of minutes in a hotpot or a plate, you will see how nice and soft it becomes.
- Make sure the batter is quite loose, not very watery either.
- The first couple of them might turn out with cracks, if the pan isn’t well heated and at the right temperature and make sure you cover the pathal immediately after pouring and swirling.
- Make sure to grind the rice with very little water, or else you will end up with a batter than isn’t ground properly.
