Spicy Jowar roti (Jonna Karapu appalu) : Deep fried delicacy of Telangana with a twist

It's Memorial day long weekend and my son requested me to  make his favorite breakfast, Karapu Appalu(Translates as Spicy Roti). These are a famous delicacy from Telangana usually served as breakfast but suits any meal.. They are usually made with Rice flour. But I'm out of Rice flour. I did not want to disappoint him so I came up with Spicy Jowar Rotis. And they were a hit. My son loved them. 

It is a common practice at my home to substitute Rice flour with Jowar flour in many recipes. The reason, While Rice flour is rich in carbs, the fiber in Jowar/Millet makes em low in glycemic index hence they are healthy. Millets are hence highly recommended for diabetic patients. Anyway today I transformed my usual Spicy Rice flour Roti into Spicy Jowar Roti.

The Roti is usually a festive special. Lot of people gets confused these with Chekkalu/Gare Appalu/Vada appalu (Thattai). While Chekkalu are a crispy snack with similar ingredients, these are lil crispy lil soft and the ingredients are different. Also these Rot are perishable, stays fresh for 2-3 days, depending on weather. These Roti is usually kids favorite. The spice in the recipe can be adjusted easily to suit Kids. While me and my kids love em crispy, hubby loves em soft. By adjusting the thickness of Roti during pressing, you can make em crispy or soft. Once the Roti are out of Kauai, my kids can't wait to munch on them.

These Roti are usually served with a pickle and Yogurt. Another house special is Pacchi Kaaram (Translates as Raw chutney) which is a relish made with raw green chillies and onions. It is spicy but super yummy. The Yogurt on the side will cool off all the spice. I gave the Raw chutney recipe at the bottom.

TheseRoti  can also be served with Raw Mango Coconut Chutney, Tomato Chutney. Do try my other Jowar recipes, Jowar Dosa, Jowar Atlu(Instant Dosa) or Rice flour delicacies, Sarva Pindi and Pindi. All these recipes will not disappoint you. 

The Roti are usually hand pressed but if you are not used to do that, a tip to make these Roti fast, is to use Puri press. I never use Puri press for Puri :-) but to make Spicy Jowar Roti or Spicy Rice flour Roti (Karapu appalu). Just press gently as this dough spreads easily. you can out source the job to hubby while you fry em ;-).

Love this recipe. Then do share on social media. Now enjoy the house special.

Servings: 
Four (4)
Total time:
50-60 minutes


Ingredients (I use US standard measuring; 1cup=8oz=250ml):

• 3 cups Jowar flour
• 2 tsp Cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp brown sesame seeds
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 inch ginger
• 1 medium size onion (US size:-))
• 4 Serrano chillies or any green chillies, adjust
• 3 sprigs curry leaves chopped
• Few Mint leaves optionally
• 3 tbsp Chana dal
• Oil to deep fry

Jonna Karapu Appalu (Spicy Jowar Roti) Step wise Recipe

1. Soak 3 tbsp Chana dal in warm water for 15 minutes. 
2. Mean while take 3 cups Jowar Flour (Jonna Pindi/Sorghum/Pearl millet flour) in a wide bowl.
3. Add 2 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tbsp sesame seeds, Chopped curry leaves, few mint leaves, salt to taste.
4. Chop 1 onion into small pieces.
5. In a blender, add chopped ginger, garlic cloves, green chillies and blend. 
6. To the mixture add onion pieces and pulse blender few times quickly. Onion should be very coarse and you should see few big pieces. 
7. Now add the onion mixture to flour. 
8. Add soaked chana dal. 
9. Now mix everything well with your hands.
   
10. Now add warm water gradually to make a medium soft dough. Dough should be easier to press/spread with hand.
11. Now heat oil in a Kadai to deep fry Rotis.
12. Take a big Ziploc bag and rub oil on it. Oil will prevent Roti from sticking and also makes it easy to remove.
13. Also keep a wide bowl with water handy. 
14. Now take a lemon size ball of dough, place it on oil rubbed ziploc. Press with back of the hand all sides to make a circle. Press it lil thick, not too thin.
    
     
15. You can use a Puri press to do this job. Cut both sides of ziploc keeping the bottom intact.  Rub oil. Place in the puri press so one part is up, other part down. Place dough on the bottom part of press. Press gently. Jowar dough spreads easily. Do not press too thin. Keep it Little thick. 
16. Now wet your palm slightly, remove Roti from ziploc by peeling away the ziploc. 
17. Slowly drop in the hot oil. Be careful during this step. 
18. Keep flame on medium and fry Roti on both sides till golden brown. 
19. Remove Roti on to a paper napkin to drain excess oil.
20. Serve with Pickle and yogurt. You can serve it with my Raw Mango Coconut chutney. The combo is super yummy.
21. Thin Rotis will turn crispy and thicker will be softer.you can choose which ever you like.
    

Pacchi Karam recipe (Raw green chili chutney): 

1. 3 serrano chillies, chopped 
2. Small piece of onion ( about 3-4 tbsp chopped onion) 
3. Salt
4. Add chillies and salt , blend. It should not be like a paste rather little coarse.
5. Now add onion pieces and blend till they are little coarse.
6. Top the chutney with hot oil from Kadai (oil you used to fry Roti). Serve. 
7. If you can not take this spice, mix in yogurt and serve with Roti. Super delicious. 

Tips: 

• If the Roti are breaking apart, don't worry. Try to make smaller Roti. Make em little thicker. Or you can add little bit Rice flour to the dough. 
• You can also use Rice flour and Jowar flour in equal ratio. Or you can totally substitute Jowar flour with Rice flour. Rice flour enhances taste.
• You can also use same dough and cook it on a fry pan instead deep frying. To do this spread  a tsp oil on Pan, place pressed Roti on heated fry pan. Top it with another tsp oil. Cook both sides till golden brown. Add more oil in between as needed. More oil makes the Roti crunchy and tasty. 
• You can add Grated Opo squash to the dough. In this case the dough won't need much water. For variation you can add grated zucchini too.