Sindhi Koki|Flavoured Flatbread With Onion

Sindhi cuisine is relatively unexplored one, at least in the Indian F&B market. Though the cuisine boasts of several beautiful recipes – Sindhi Kadhi, Daal Pakwaan or Sindhi Koki, for instance – they remain largely unknown. Most of these dishes are prepared regularly in Sindhi households, and that is about it. This post of mine is a little attempt to change that – to speak about a cuisine that deserves to be highlighted, whatever little I know about it.

Today, I present to you the recipe for Sindhi Koki, a flatbread that is quite simple to make. With just a few ingredients required, these can be made within a matter of minutes, with no prior preparation needed.

The koki might look deceptively simple from the outside – just like any ordinary flatbread – but one bite into it will surprise you. This flatbread is rich with flavours! The finely chopped onion, green chillies and coriander that go into it render it super flavourful, as do the other aromatic dry spices that are added in.

Sindhi Kokis are traditionally made crisp and chewy, with loads of ghee going into them. Thanks to this texture, they keep well for at least 2-3 days, and make for great travel companions. Personally, though, I prefer making them a little softer, so my aged parents and daughter can enjoy them too.

Here is how I make these Sindhi Koki.

Ingredients (makes about 12 pieces):

1. 2 cups whole wheat flour
2. Salt to taste
3. 1 large onion, finely chopped
4. 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
5. 2 green chillies, very finely chopped
6. 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander
7. 1/2 teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain)
8. 2 pinches asafoetida
9. 1 tablespoon amchoor powder, or to taste
10. 1 tablespoon coriander seed powder (dhania powder), or to taste
11. 2 tablespoons oil + more to cook the koki

Method:

1. Take the whol wheat flour in a large mixing bowl.

2. Add in the salt to taste, coriander seed powder, asafoetida, amchoor powder, red chilli powder, carom seeds, as well as the finely chopped coriander and onion.

3. Add water little by little and bind a dough that is soft but firm.

4. When you are almost done with binding the dough, add the 2 tablespoons of oil to it. Mix well. Bind the dough to a soft but firm texture. Cover the dough and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.

5. Get a dosa pan nice and hot.

6. Meanwhile, make lemon-sized balls out of the dough. Use a rolling pin to roll one ball out into a circle. Dust with more whole wheat flour as needed.

7. Place the rolled-out dough on the hot dosa pan. Reduce the flame to low-medium, and spread a little oil around it. When the bottom of the flatbread gets brown, flip over. Cook on the other side till brown. Make sure the flatbread is well cooked on the inside, but doesn’t burn.

8. Prepare all the Sindhi koki in a similar manner. Serve hot.

Notes:

1. Cumin seeds (jeera) can be used in place of carom seeds (ajwain).
2. Adjust the quantity of red chilli powder, salt, amchoor powder and coriander seed powder as per personal taste preferences.
3. Traditionally, ghee is used to cook the Sindhi Koki. I have used oil instead.
4. Typically, the dough for the Sindhi Koki needs to be soft, yet firm. This will yield koki that are crisp and chewy, yet soft. I did not make a firm dough as I wanted soft koki that I could feed my little daughter too.
5. If you are making this recipe for small kids, you might want to skip using the green chillies altogether.
6. Traditionally, anardana (pomegranate seed) powder is added to Sindhi Koki for flavour. I did not have any, so I have used amchoor (dry mango) powder instead. I loved the flavour that the amchoor powder added, but you could use anardana powder instead, if you wish to make the koki as close to authentic as possible.
7. Cook the koki on low-medium flame. Ensure that they are cooked well from the inside, and at the same time, do not burn.
8. You can add in more oil while binding the dough, if you so desire. Typically, a whole lot of oil is added to the dough, which gives it a softness in spite of its firm texture. I restricted myself to 2 tablespoons.
9. Serve the Sindhi Koki piping hot. This flatbread goes with any kind of gravy-based sabzi or daal, pickle, curd or raita. I served these with a very South Indian tomato thokku, and we absolutely loved the combination.
10. If you find it tough to roll out the kokis, you may use a sheet of plastic, butter paper, or parchment paper on top of your rolling surface.

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This recipe is for the Foodie Monday Blog Hop. The very interesting theme for this week is ‘Indian Flatbreads’.

I’m also sharing this recipe with Fiesta Friday #237. The co-hosts this week are Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook and Diann @ Of Goats and Greens.