Panki, Panya, Panela are some of the pan/leaf cooked flatbreads Gujarati cuisine offers. Apart from this rice flour one here, Panki has numerous other avatars. This ancient way of cooking in leaves continues to thrive in the greener regions of Gujarat. The leaves not just act as cooking contraptions but also seal moisture, retain flavours, lends aroma, provides nutritional and medicinal values. Desi Badam leaves, Teak leaves, Banayan leaves, Banana leaves are some to the popular ones used in our cooking as these trees and plant were always around either in the backyards or around the neighbourhood. This simple preparation celebrates the goodness of basic ingredients. Rice flour is the hero here, small grained aromatic rice flour I used made huge difference. The flour teamed up with the aroma of banana leaves to provide a very soothing aroma to the Panki I made.
The extremely delicate Panki makes a lite meal suitable for people recuperating from illness or when the janta in the house plans to eat lite. A Panki meal will require a little planning, as the rice flour + yogurt batter soaks for a minimum 4-5 hours. Once the batter is sorted and some edible leaves are on hand, the ingredients required are minimal – ginger+green chilli paste, little pounded cumin, salt and some ghee or oil to brush the leaves… it is an easy-breezy recipe. Rustic and rooted!! Always serve Panki in the leaf envelopes. Steaming hot with some green chutney on the side!!
Panki
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice flour
- 1/4 cup yogurt, little sour is ok
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger and green chillies
- 1 teaspoon jeera/cumin seeds, roughly pounded
- 1 tablespoon coriander, finely chopped (optional)
- 1 teaspoon ghee
- salt to taste
- ghee or oil to grease banana leaves
- fresh banana leaves, washed and cut into circles or slit into rectangles
Instructions
In a bowl, add the rice flour, ghee and yogurt. Mix well.
Now, add little water to make a cake or dosa like batter.
Cover and allow it to ferment for 4-5 hours.
After the batter has fermented, add minced green chillies+ginger, salt, jeera and coriander. Mix well.
The Panki batter will be spread over the dark green side of the leaf hence, brush the dark green sides of the leaves with some oil or ghee and bunch in pairs in a way that the greased sides tough each other.
Heat a griddle/tawa (traditional iron/roti tawa or cast iron dosa tawa works well). Iron griddles give nice charred marks on to the Panki which does not happen if the griddle is a non-stick one.
Place one leaf over the griddle (greased side up), put a tablespoon of batter on the leaf, spread a little and place another leaf
(greased side should touch the batter) over the spread batter. Quickly press the leaf so that the batter spreads a little. This pressing would help you give a thin panki. Cook for 3-4 minutes on one side. If you want cover the cooking panki with a lid. Turn the leaf panki bundle and cook for 3-4 minutes on the other side.
Serve Panki with its leaf envelop intact.
Panki tastes good with coriander chutney and ghee.
Alway serve hot.
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