Angakar Roti: A Breakfast Staple From The Forests Of Chattisgarh
Image Credit: Angakar Roti

Extensively grown on Chattisgarh’s land, rice is a commonly produced and consumed grain in the region. The proof can be found in the special delicacies as well as the regular diet of the people. For breakfast, like many Indian states, this forested area also relies on flatbreads. India is well-known for its different kinds of flatbreads, including paratha, naan, and roti.

In Chattisgarh, a special roti is prepared for breakfast called the Angakar roti. Sounds interesting, right? Often deemed a close cousin of the akki roti of Karnataka, this angakar roti is usually made from rice flour. For a simple and easy preparation, all you need is rice flour, jeera, carom seeds, green chillies, and sometimes, cooked rice too.

Knead all the ingredients into a thick dough and then divide it into small portions to be rolled out flat and round. Cooked on both sides, this disc-shaped flatbread is then taken off the heat once it turns brown. The rotis are paired with a spicy chutney. This is the staple breakfast of most households in Chattisgarh on a regular day.

The fanfare for rice rotis, or rather, rice-based flatbreads, is not uncommon in India. Take Karnataka’s akki roti, for instance. Similar to angakar roti, this South Indian bread is made with a combination of rice flour, salt water, a few spices, and herbs.

Another interesting rice roti is the tandalachi bhakri. Belonging to the Maharashtrian region, the tandalachi bhakri is made from a dough of rice flour and water. It is a soft and pillowy flatbread that can be paired with vegetable and meat curries. Moreover, there’s Kerala's soft and thin "pathiri," and Coorg's "otti" in Karnataka, which are cushiony rice flour flatbreads often roasted to puff up on wood fires for better taste. And Andhra’s "biyyam roti", which is flavoured with coconut and served with a peanut chutney.