Papri, also known as Chikha or Chilkha roti, is a traditional rice bread from Jharkhand, Bihar, and parts of Uttar Pradesh. It is an everyday comfort food enjoyed regularly and consumed with regional vegetables, dal, or meat, accompanied with chutney or aachar (Pickles).
There is a great resemblance between Chilkha and Dosa however, the process to make them both is different. Chilkha requires a significant portion of rice with a fistful of any type of dal for texture. It can be prepared instantly by soaking rice for only an hour. The dosa process requires rice & urad dal (black gram lentil) to be fermented overnight. Chilkha roti is also quite thin (a reason why it is called Papri – like paper), soft, and lighter compared to a dosa. It is generally eaten without any stuffing, like plain dosa. Chikha has a milder taste compared to the fermented flavor of Dosa. Chikha roti is an everyday flatbread enjoyed in home settings that comes from rural parts of eastern India, while Dosa is a well-known dish that comes from South India in many varieties and is consumed all over the world typically with sambar, various kinds of stuffing (particularly potato), and coconut chutney.
Papri
Ingredients
Method
- Mix rice and Gram pulse/ Urad dal/ Masoor Dal (Use gram pulse for the most crispy texture)
- Soak it in water for 1-2 hours
- Grind rice in a mixer and prepare a thin consistency batter
- Add salt, cumin, and finely chopped green chili (all optional) to the batter and mix well
- Heat a flat pan, preferably a dosa pan (tava)
- Apply some oil to the surface when properly heated
- Spread a thin layer of batter on the pan
- Once it’s a little cooked, apply some oil to it
- Flip the papri to the other side
- Apply oil to the other side and cook it properly until crispy (optional)
