Biyyam Pindi Attlu ~ Rice Flour Dosa or Crepes

For the second day of my Journey Though Telangana Cuisine, I have Biyyam Attlu or Biyyapattlu or Biyyam Pindi Attlu. There are many dishes in Telangana that start with alphabet ‘B’ and my first choice for this alphabet was Beerakaya Alsandakaya Kura. I even made it back in fall when I found some fully podded alsandakaya ~ green long beans in the local Indian store. We do get green long beans almost year round but the beans do not have any peas in it. Unfortunately I could not take any pictures when I made the curry and told myself I can take pictures of the koora when mom makes it when I am India in December. Back home, winters are the season when this vegetable is abundantly available in rural areas and in towns. We do get it even in Hyderabad but the peas are very tiny. On my request, my mother made it twice, specially for the blog but could not take decent pictures both the times and did not feel like using an iPhone photo.

a plate of biyyam pindi attlu or rice flour crepes from Telangana cuisine.

After coming back from my India trip, I went back and forth with different recipes and finally made biyyapattlu. Biyyam is rice and attlu are crepes in Telugu. These attlu are made with rice flour and are similar to chila I made for Chhattisgarh when we did Indian Cooking Odyssey couple of years ago. Unlike the chila, these attlu are flavored with chili powder, cumin, curry leaves, onion and green chilies.

a plate of rice flour dosa or gluten free crepes from Telangana India.

Before getting to the recipe, here are few vegetables and dishes that start with letter ‘B’.
Vegetables:
Bachalikura or bachali aaku - Malabar Spinach
Batani - Green Peas
Beerakaya - Turai in Hindi ~ Ridge Gourd ~ Chinese Okra
Bendakaya - Bhendi in Hindi ~ Okra ~ Ladies Finger
Boda Kakarakaya - Kantola
Dishes:
Beerakaya koora, beerakaya kandikaya koora, beerakaya pachadi, bendakaya koora, bendakaya pulusu, boda kakarakaya koora, boorelu, bakshalu (similar to puran poli)

Collage of step by step preparation of biyyam attu.

Total Time: 40 minutes
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Yields: 6 depending on the size

Ingredients:

1 cup Biyyam Pindi ~ Rice Flour
¼ - ⅜ tsp. Salt (adjust to taste)
⅛ tsp. Chili Powder
8 Curry Leaves, chopped
2-3 tbsp. chopped Kothimeera ~ Cilantro ~ Coriander Leaves
2 small Green Chilies, seeded and chopped (approximately 1 tsp)
2 tbsp. finely chopped Onion
½ tsp. Jilakara ~ Jeera ~ Cumin Seeds
1 medium sized Garlic Clove
2 cups Water
Oil for cooking attlu

Preparation:

In a large bowl take rice flour, salt, chili powder, chopped curry leaves, chopped coriander, chopped green chilies and chopped onions.
Crush together cumin and garlic clove, and add it to rice flour mixture.
Mix everything together and make a thin batter by adding water. Mix properly to make a lump free batter.
Heat a griddle or a crepe pan to prepare attlu.
When the pan is hot, drop few drops of oil on pan and spread using a paper towel or an onion. If using a cast iron griddle, wipe the pan with onion before making each attu. Cut off the tip of the onion and use it to wipe and spread oil.
Pour about ⅓ cup of batter on the hot pan in a circular motion, from the outer end of the pan, to make a circle. Do not pour the batter in the middle as we do for dosa. Start pouring the batter from the outer end of the pan. Batter will spread and fill up in the center as well and if it doesn't, then fill the center. It is not required to spread the batter. The pan has to be very hot to get pores on the attu.
Pour about 1 teaspoon of oil around the attu and on the attu. Move the pan around to evenly spread the oil.
Cook for about 2-3 minutes on medium high flame until the bottom of the attu is cooked.
Flip and add more oil if necessary and cook for few seconds.
Flip again and fold it into a half circle or into a triangle.
Transfer to a serving plate.
Repeat the same for remaining batter; steps 5 - 11.
These attu can be eat as it is without any chutney or pickle though I served with some chutney. I personally prefer it without any chutney and husband liked it with some chutney.

Note:

The main ingredients that go into these attlu are curry leaves, cumin, salt and chili powder. Some people even leave out the chili powder. Green chilies, onion, garlic and coriander leaves are optional ingredients and I like it with all these ingredients.
My mother-in-law use to pour a tempering made of cumin seeds, dry chilies and I think mustard seeds over the batter before making the attlu. Add the tempering to the batter, mix well and prepare the attlu as mentioned in the preparation.

So far in this A-Z Journey Through Telangana Cuisine,
A for Attu Tunukala Koora