So over the weekend, I went on a date with someone other than my husband. Hold your horses! It was a date with my son 🙂 He was down with a viral fever last week and after recovering he just wanted to chill out. I suggested that we stay at home and catch a movie together but he had better plans. The lil’ foodie had watched a trailer for the movie ‘Chef’ starring Saif Ali Khan and wanted to watch it so off went mother & son to the nearby cinema. Although the movie was nothing out of the word, it was simple and nice, none of the usual Bollywood melodrama in it thankfully. To give you a gist of the movie, Saif Ali Khan plays the role of a Michelin star chef living in the US, Roshan Kalra, a divorcee with a son who lives in India. Being an absentee father during his son’s early years, Roshan finally gets the opportunity of spending time with his son. Although I would’ve loved to see more of food and less of his personal journey in the movie, I didn’t complain as we got to view Saif making rotzza after rotzza in his moving food truck. Hey, by the way, the rotzza is nothing but a kaati-roll (frankie) that dons the avatar of a quesadilla (pronounced as ‘key-sa-diya)! I won’t ruin the movie for you if you want to watch it. My son loved it. I thought the story was okay. What I really loved about the movie was that most of it was shot in Cochin, Kerala and for once the filmmaker didn’t show us the same scenes of Kerala that we are so used to. There is so much more to Kerala than its backwaters and coconut trees and since it is one of my favourite places on earth, I felt so connected when I saw the beautiful homes unlike what I’ve seen in other movies.
The movie seriously treats you to a sneak peek of its beautiful traditional homes with a modern touch and everyday life. So many parts of the movie felt like the shooting was done in Mangalore. Well, the coastline is the same, isn’t it? So beautiful!
So. So. Beautiful.
So coming back to today’s recipe, the rotzza is super delicious, believe me! This is my own recipe from whatever I recollected from the movie scene. I think I should have added some bell pepper (capsicum) too but my son doesn’t fancy it so I left it out, you may add some if you like. I served them plain, packed some for my son’s lunchbox. Leave out the tomato ketchup as the filling is tangy enough. Serve with some green chutney or cheesy dip if you must. If you are not a paneer person, try some kheema (minced meat) instead. It will taste delish no matter what the filling.
Rotzza
Ingredients
- For the dough
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 few drops of oil
- 1/2 cup or less water
- salt to taste
- For the filling
- 1 cup crumbled paneer
- 1 med-big onion finely chopped
- 3 fat cloves of garlic minced
- 2 medium sized tomatoes
- 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1-2 teaspoons tomato paste/puree store bought
- 2 tablespoons oil
- To garnish
- 1/2 cup (or more) grated cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander
- 1-2 teaspoons butter salted or unsalted
Instructions
- Place the tomatoes in a small saucepan and cover them with water. Bring to a boil and allow them to blanch for 7-8 minutes. Then transfer into a bowl of cold water and when cool enough to handle, peel and mash them to an almost smooth puree like consistency.
- While the tomatoes are blanching, prepare the dough by placing the whole wheat flour in a wide, flat bowl. Sprinkle some salt & drizzle a little oil. Using a little water at a time, knead the dough till it is soft & pliable. Cover the dough ball with another bowl and allow it to rest for 15-20 mins
- Heat oil in a heavy based wok/pan and add the chopped garlic, fry them for a few seconds before adding the chopped onions. Let them fry till translucent (pale pink), then add in the freshly prepared tomato puree. Add salt to taste and reduce the heat and fry until the oil begins to separate. Add the tomato paste (store bought) too and fry for a few seconds
- On a low heat, add the red chilli & cumin powders and fry for a few seconds, then add the crumbled paneer and mix gently. Add the chopped coriander and turn off the heat. Keep this mixture aside
- Prepare the roti/chapati by pinching out gooseberry (amla) sized portions of the dough. Roll one portion between your balms till smooth and crack-free. Flatten the ball slightly to make a patty. Dust some flour on the rolling board and roll out into a small palm sized (approx diameter of 4 or 5 inches). Make 2 of these per rotzza. Each rotzza can be then cut into 4 parts but ideally 1 rottza easily serves 1 adult
- On a heated tawa/skillet fry both the chapathis on both sides. Keep one aside. Drizzle some oil around the one that is still on the skillet. Reduce the heat. Place the prepared filling over it leaving a small gap around the edges. Top up with grated cheese and chopped coriander. Cover with the second chapati and press it down gently with your palm to help it become compact.
- With one palm still on the rotzza, with your other hand flip it gently using a spatula and let it fry on the other side as well for another 15-20 seconds. Then gently move it onto a clean, flat surface/chopping board and cut it into 4 parts using a sharp (preferably not serrated) knife. Serve immediately with or without ketchup.
Disclaimer
The nutritional values are only indicative.
Click image to save it on Pinterest!
I really liked the way of making Rotzza. Even i came to know of it after watching Chef movie. Cooking was my passion now changing into profession. So your Article gave me an opportunity to try it on my new venture. Thanks again.
Hi Shridhar,
Happy to know that my post was useful to you! I hope you try this recipe in your new venture and it is enjoyed by all!
Don’t shoot the messenger, i.e. moi, for saying this but to make this easier instead of making the dough (crust) one could just use flour tortillas. The crust looks just like a flour tortilla that’s been heated up.
I did see the movie “Chef’, which I enjoyed, and that’s how I heard of Rottza.
Hey Clemente,
Thanks for the tip! No, I won’t shoot you 🙂 But the whole point of making the rotzza was because roti dough is more commonly available in Indian kitchens than flour tortillas. This is a fusion recipe and not a traditional quesadilla.
veri nice post
Thanks a lot!