Charolia is a famous Himachal Pradesh Recipe. It is one a rice flour recipe which is made very often in Himachal Pradesh.
In my home, Charolia are made especially on Diwali. It is like, kind of a must have dish on Diwali. Otherwise, all year round we enjoy it for breakfasts.
What are Charolia
Charolia is a jaalidaar (net like) roti/ chapati. It is made with rice flour. It is a quick recipe and so very easy to make. Many people confuse it with the neer dosa from south but it is different from that. It needs only two ingredient, rice flour and water. That’s it! Sounds simple , right? Well it is simple and needs just a little tip to make it perfect.
Rice Flour
Rice is a staple food in almost all the homes everywhere. Not only in India but in many other countries too, it is an inexpensive and widely used staple at homes. Almost half of the population in world consume rice on daily basis. It is grown in many countries, especially in Asia and Africa. As it is widely grown and easily available there are many different dishes made from rice and rice flour too.
Rice is consumed in different ways in different places and countries. When boiled it is made into different dishes like boiled rice, Jeera rice, Biryani, fried rice, Pulav etc. Then in other form it is made into flour and then some other dishes are made with it, like dosa, idli, uttapam, idiyappam, rice cheela etc. Many people use rice flour and make chapatis also with it. Rice is also used to make rice wine from it. A few other recipes use rice and milk or water and make porridge from it. In Japan, the traditional dish Sushi uses rice in another flavourful way. So there are innumerable ways in which rice is cooked.
Charolia uses rice in its flour form. For rice flour you may either buy it from the stores or get it from local flour mills too. Otherwise at home also you can make the rice flour. It is very simple to make. For making rice flour, soak the rice in enough water for 2-3 hours and then strain them. Then let them dry on a kitchen towel for about 30 – 40 minutes. Then grind in a grinder and use as required.
Important Points for making Charolia
Making Charolia is very easy. It is indeed a very easy Himachal Pradesh recipe. All you need is two ingredients, i.e, rice flour and water and a special pot for making charolia in the traditional way. Don’t worry… I have a jugaad for this traditional pot also… so keep reading and see how I made charolia without the traditional pot.
1. Rice Flour – Rice flour used for making charolia should not be very old. The flour tends to smell bad and some worms might form in the flour if it’s old. So better to use fresh flour or make rice flour fresh ( I have mentioned above how to make rice flour at home).
2. Water – Water used is at normal temperature. Also there is no set quantity for water to be used because of two reasons. One is that every flour is different and it’s moisture retaining capacity is different. So I might use 1 cup water and you might use a little less or little more water for the same quantity of flour. Second, some people like thick charolia and some like to make them little thin and crisp, just as I like. So water quantity for these will differ.
3. Traditional Pot (Kujju) – There is a traditional pot used by people for making charolia in Himachal Pradesh. Even my mom uses it. It is an earthen pot called as Kujju. It is small in size and has a spout on one side just like a tea-pot. You can check out the video below and see how my mom uses how kujju to make Charolia.
4. Jugaad (make shift pot) – I don’t have a kujju to make charolia and honestly speaking it takes some practice to make charolia using the little earthen pot. So I have my own Jugaad or make shift pot from using which I make charolia at my home. You must check that out in the video, as it is a simple way of making perfect charolia.
5. Seasoning – The authentic recipe of Charolia doesn’t include any seasoning. It is made bland without salt or sugar. You may add some salt if you like but we always make it without it.
Some other important recipes from my blog and YouTube channel;
- Madra Recipe (Chickpeas in Curd /yoghurt gravy)
- Kadai Paneer Recipe (Restaurant style Cottage Cheese Recipe)
- Mahni / Chane Ka Khatta (Black Gram, spicy, sweet and sour curry) Vegan recipe
- White (APF) Bread Recipe/ Beginner’s Recipe
- Patrode (Colocassia Leaves Fritters) Vegan Recipe
- Bread Pakoda (Bread Fritters/ Street Style Indian Snacks)
Recipe Video of Charolia
I have made a quick video of this Charolia, for a better understanding of this recipe. You can take a look and check all the important steps in just few minutes. Do Subscribe to my YouTube channel “flavourhome by Sutiksha” and press the BELL icon too, so that you get instant recipe updates, as soon as I upload them and also to support my efforts. If you like these videos, kindly like and share them with your family and friends and COMMENT under the video or in blog to let me know.
How to Eat Charolia
Yes, there is a traditional way of eating charolia. This Himachal Pradesh Recipe is an absolute delight and to get the traditional flavour of charolia, you must eat it in traditional style too.
So in traditional style, hot milk is taken in a big plate with some sugar and Desi ghee (clarified butter) in milk. The Charolia is broken in small pieces and dipped in this milk and enjoyed. Many people eat charolia with ghee (clarified butter) and jaggery powder. It tastes amazing in both the ways. Yet some people eat charolia with Mah ki Dal (black gram whole).
You can however eat charolia in your own style and taste with some chutney, curry, podi, achaar (pickle) etc.
It is just yummm…with whatever you eat!!
Yes, you need to try it once to believe how simple, easy and delicious this dish is.
Ingredients
- Rice Flour
- Water
- Ghee (clarified butter) optional
NOTE : Ghee is generally used to make charolia but you may skip it if you are using a non-stick pan.
Method
1. Take some rice flour in a deep bowl. The quantity of rice flour depends on how many charolia you are making and how thin or thick you want them to be.
2. Start adding water half cup a time. Do not put large quantity of water in one go as it will lead to a lumpy batter. When batter is smooth, then adjust water quantity by checking the consistency of the batter. For correct batter consistency please check the video above.
3. Now take a non – stick pan or gridle. I prefer non-stick as it is easy to make it on non – stick pan. If you take some normal gridle, then I highly recommend using ghee for making charolia. Heat the pan nicely.
4. Now pour out the batter on gridle in spiral form, from the Kujju or from the other pot as shown in the video and make a round roti on the gridle. Be very careful while pouring the batter as gridle/tawa will be very hot and the moment you pour batter on it it will stick on it. So it is important to adjust the consistency. Also if the tawa/ gridle is not hot enough the charolia with stick to it and will be difficult to remove later. To check the correct temperature of the tawa/ gridle you should note the small bubbles that appear when you pour the batter on tawa/ gridle. If these bubbles do not form then your tawa/ gridle is not hot enough.
5. Once Charolia is cooked from the first side then flip it over and cook from the other side. Use ghee( clarified butter) as required.
6. Once done from both sides, serve it hot with your favorite accompaniment or as described above.
I would love to hear from you if you try this Charolia, a Himachal Pradesh recipe. Do mention about it in my comments section how you liked it or if you made any changes to it. Also if you make charolia and share its pics on social networking sites, remember to add #flavourhomebysutiksha and tag me there, so that even I can appreciate your efforts.
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