Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Veechu Parotta ~ plain & eggless ~ step by step recipe!






I wonder at times how this South Indian Tawa Bread got its name!
Did it acquire from Veesu ( a throw ) colloquially adapted as Veechu ?
It makes me thinking!

When I googled for this much common South Indian nan, surprisingly I ended up with a very few search results. I came across egg veechu parottas, stuffed ones and a few more but not even a single step by step whole recipe for the dish liked by many!

Posting the step by step of this one had not been easy. The oil smeared hands had to work on both the dough and the camera which made the task seriously difficult. Shanthi my on and off maid who is an expert in making parottas, helped me with the challenging veechu/veesu part. I wanted her to make me do the rest to inspire even the beginners!

I was much prompted to post this considering the google searchers who will definitely be in need of the recipe.

The ingredients are the same as the other Parotta (we call it surul /spiral parotta); flour, oil water and salt and so as the kneading and standing part. The difference calls in the folding after the veechu / veesu / throw!

Plain Veechu Parotta (eggless)

Yields 15
Serves 4-5

You need:

Maida / All purpose flour- 1/2 kg
Milk ( I use it instead of water)- 2 cups, more or less coz it depends on the quality of the maida
oil- 2 tsps, while kneading the flour
salt- 1 tsp
Oil- 1/4 cup for smearing the balls and drizzling while cooking (you may not use up fully)

Step by step method:




Sift maida to ensure there aren't any impurities (esp if you reside in India :))




Knead maida using milk/water, salt and oil (2 tsps)




 to a soft dough.




Let it stand for at least 2 hours. I made it rest for 5 full hours which gave the best results!




After 5 hours, take it out and knead on a smooth, clean oiled surface.




Pinch out into equal sized balls with your fist.Oil smeared fist makes the job easier.




Well, now you can see the 15 balls, which I could successfully 'fist' out ;). Smear oil over them.




Roll out each into thick pooris smearing oil liberally. Stack them as you see..




Roll out pooris as thin as you can. It's definitely not easy coz the dough springs back in.




 Now comes the 'Veechu' part. Throw out as you see, (ahh.. I'm losing words of explanation here cos I failed to do it ;))




once or twice to get thin sheet..




and even thinner. Don't worry if it gets torn here and there. Fold one side




followed by the opposite side




the other end




and the fourth end making it perfect!




Maida and oil makes the rolled out dough spring in further. So throw 3 at a time and cook immediately. The pooris are kept ready for this purpose of quick work!

Drizzle oil, liberally, while they bubble up, on the hot tawa..




Cook the other side. Do not turn them over and over as harder parottas would result.




Return them to your oil smeared counter and give them a quick press with your palms on the sides. This is just to separate the layers.




Serve hot with Vegetable Khurma or any curry of your choice.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING OUT FOR THE SURUL / SPIRAL PAROTTAS, CLICK HERE FOR THE STEP BY STEP RECIPE 

 Friends, please feel free to let me know whether the pictures open up well in this post.
 I'm receiving feedback lately that they don't or takes lots of time to show up.
Was wondering  since I have almost two dozens of  'em here! :)

31 comments:

  1. My hubbie's favorite... Here in SG I have seen in parata shops. But hAve not tried or tasted :) great post Bharathy!

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  2. Really a wonderful and useful post. Thanks a lot for sharing. Bookmarked

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  3. wow...Love it...Made it once after seeing asiya omars blog...Sure want to try it again...Thanks for sharing...

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  4. Nice veechu parota..First pic tempts me.Nalla Veesi (Velasi)Erukeenga..

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  5. LOVED the step-by-step pictures! Excellent job! Reminded me of some of the best meals I've had in Kumarakom.

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  6. Home made veechu paratha, that's amazing. Looks perfect and delicious.

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  7. Lovely...looks so flaky and yummy!

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  8. a well explained post and this didnt ditch u and came out so perfect.

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  9. lovely demo! nice pics and yum looking paratha:)

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  10. Looks so perfect and tempting.. nice step by step clicks.. thanks for sharing dear :)

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  11. Parotta evokes fond memories for my Madurai bred husband. When we were in Vellankani there was this amazing parotta master who was rolling the pooris and passing it to another guy on the other end to toast them... there is even a youtube video of that i guess. We made it once when my mother in law visited and i can safely say that it wont be done anytime soon.
    But looking at your post...it looks delicious and you have perfected it... i just have to make sure that i dont open up your blog when the Mr is around or we are going to have to make it. Great work Bharathy...

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  12. OMG these are so awesome i love parottas n ur pics r making me so damn hungry..never thought that v can make parotta at home so wonderfully thanks for the step by step expln n clicks.. Will try it soon at home..

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  13. Ghosh..These look amazing!!! So soft & ready to be devoured!!! Very well explained too :)
    Prathima Rao
    Prats Corner

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  14. Wish you were next door :) I am totally drooling and feeling damn hungry for this :)Perfectly made parotta :) Challenging but your pics are going to help for sure :)

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  15. Mouthwatering and perfect parotta :)

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  16. Is this also called ceylon porotta?looks very flaky and crisp.loved the step by step pics which make the job look easier.have a doubt regarding something-will mail you:)

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  17. Just so perfect ...I have to try this some time ...

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  18. Lovely pics...This seems to be easier than the spiral ones. Regd the pics loading, I didn't have any problem. The pics got loaded with the page itself.

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  19. Nice post with stepwise...Looks flaky and perfect

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  20. so tempting dear....hv to make it today

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  21. Hi,
    I love parotas.I hope i too can do it at home.Thanks for recipe.your photos too perfect like ur other photos.Dont worry,u r an expert.
    layaa.
    i change my blog url.
    [www.aahaasuvai.blogspot.com]

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  22. Oh wow..! Very surprised to not have heard of such a parotta. The step-by-step pictures are fabulous and describe the process perfectlly. It makes the preparation very simple ! :)

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  23. That looks so perfectly done... Love it with a simple kuruma... dos wonders...

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  24. I can never roll them out so thin, yoursjust look so so delicious and perfect. Wish i had them .

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  25. Oh Gosh that looks so yum and crisp

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  26. Great presentation Bharathy...Love the crispy Parotta.

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  27. Bharathy amazing! i ve been looking every where for this recipe and here it is right under my nose. Like they say, kayila vennai vechutu neikku alanja kadhai. Making this soon. Will keep u in the loop about the outcome.

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  28. I come from Batticaloa, Srilanka. and this originated there. yes it got its name "veechhu" rotti from the verb "veesu'. changes the form to "veechu" as an adjective when describing a noun. for example "veechu valai" (a kind of valai(fishing net) that you throw to differentiate from other types of "valais". and "veech(u)arivaal"-kind of a sword or knife. as a child I was always memorized by the way the master cooks threw the dough in the air and it expanded more and more in the air with each through until it got to the thickness of a tissue paper and just when you feared it can not get any more thinner and gonna rip he would throw one more time and fold it!. then they would make egg rotti from it ( after baking on a hot plate(Tava) or shred it and make the famous roadside food "Koththu Rotti"(the name explains the action it takes to make it). I believe it came to Tamil Nadu with the first wave of people escaping the violence in Sri Lanka to Tamil Nadu. then it was called "ceylon barotta" or 'koththu barotta" in Tamil Nadu( I was there 1983 - 1987). did not see the "veechchu rotti, though, untill I left. I am not sure about now. hope I am mostly correct :)

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