The April Daring Cooks Challenge was brought to us by Joanna from What’s On The List. She taught us all about Pathiri and challenged us to create our own version of this inspirational Indian dish!

I made a Chatti Pathiri.Chatti pathiri if you are not familiar with it is basically layered pastry or crepes made in the North Malabar and Malabar region, of Kerala, India. It is made in both sweet and savoury variations. The dish is very similar to the Italian lasagna in concept but instead of pasta; pastry sheets / crepes are used.

The filling depends on the variation desired. The sweet ones are made with sweetened beaten eggs, nuts and raisins, seasoned with cardamom. The savoury ones are made with a meat filling.  Traditionally pathiri crepes are made out of rice flour, but like many traditional recipes, new adaptations use different types of flour and different crepe recipes.

Having tried a savory crepe in one of our sourdough surprises challenges, I was really looking forward to this month’s challenge and it did not disappoint. The Pathiri was almost like a lighter lasagna with Indian flavors. We all loved it but the kids loved it so much that they were actually looking forward to the left overs the next day!Thank you Joanne for an amazing challenge.

I served my pathiri with a quinoa salad on the side.

I stuck to Joanne’s Chatti Pathiri recipe with a few changes. I doubled the crepe recipe because I wanted more layers and I increased the amount of chicken used and added some mushrooms as well.

Chatti Pathiri:

Ingredients:
For the crepes:

4 large eggs
2 cup (500 ml) milk
2 teaspoon (10 ml) white vinegar
2 tablespoon (30 ml) grape-seed oil or neutral-tasting oil
2 cup  (240 gm) all-purpose (plain) flour, sifted
pinch of salt
Butter for crepe pan

For the filling:

400 g  boneless chicken, I used a mixture of thighs and breast
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 tablespoon coriander powder
1/4 teaspoon roasted curry powder*
1/2 teaspoon white pepper powder
1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
1/2 teaspoon garlic paste
1 large red onion, diced

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
20 almonds, roasted, ground
Handful of spinach leaves
1 tablespoon (15 m) (½ oz) (15 gm) ghee
2 teaspoons ghee additional
salt to taste
1-2/3 cup (400 ml) coconut milk
1/2 tablespoon coriander leaves

*feel free to substitute garam masala

Directions:

For the crepes:

1) In a jug or mixing bowl add vinegar to milk; allow to sit for 5 minutes.
2) In a bowl (or larger jug), combine milk mixture with remaining ingredients; refrigerate for at least one hour.
3) Heat pan coating pan lightly with butter; remove excess  with paper towel.
4) Pour batter to desired size; flip when edges start to lift.

NOTE: 
Do not pour batter into a pan that is not hot enough as it WILL stick.

HINT AND TIP:Crepes do freeze well, so you can do this challenge in two steps if you are tight on time. Prepare the crepes and filling one day, layer and finish cooking the next. Just make sure  to store the crepes  in a sealed Ziplock bag

1) Cut chicken into bite size pieces and remove any excess fat.
2) Place in a food processor and mince; set aside.

3) Place almonds in a pan; roast under grill (broiler) for 5 minutes or until lightly toasted; remove. In a food processor or mini grinder, grind almonds until fine; set aside.
4) In a small bowl, combine turmeric powder, coriander powder, and roasted curry powder; set aside.

4) In another small bowl, combine ginger paste, garlic paste; set aside.
5) Prepare (i.e. dice) red onions; set aside.

7) Add ginger, garlic paste; sauté for 30 seconds.

May need to lower heat “slightly” if pan ingredients start to splatter.

8) Add red onions; sauté for about 5 minutes or until soft; move onions to one side of pan.

ASSEMBLY

In a bowl, pour your coconut milk ; set aside.

Use the ghee to oil the bottom and sides of the pan (I used an 8 inch cake pan with a removable base and I wrapped it in foil to prevent leakage )

Dunk one crepe in the coconut milk, remove it and place it in the pan

Remove from the oven