Parotta

{{Infobox food

| alternate_name = Porotta, Barota, Malabar Porotta, Kerala Porotta, Ceylon Parotta

| image = Malabar Porotta.jpg

| region = Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Jaffna (as Ceylon Parotta)

| type = Layered Flatbread

| main_ingredient = Maida, ghee/oil

| other =

| place_of_origin = Malabar Coast

| caption = Malabar Porotta

| associated_cuisine = Tamil cuisine, Kerala Cuisine, Sri Lankan cuisine

| variations = Roti Canai

| minor_ingredient = Eggs, salt

}}

Parotta or porotta (Malayalam: പൊറോട്ട, Tamil: பரோட்டா) is a layered Indian flatbread made from refined flour, eggs and oil. It is commonly seen in South India, especially in the states of Kerala{{Cite news |last=Nagarajan |first=Saraswathy |date=2024-01-05 |title=Kerala's signature dish, the Porotta, from Kanhangad to Kaliyikkavila |url=https://www.thehindu.com/food/features/experience-the-layered-story-of-keralas-signature-dish-the-porotta-from-kanhangad-to-kaliyikkavila/article67557335.ece |access-date=2024-10-27 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}{{Cite web |last=Ghose |first=Sandip |date=2023-08-27 |title=Paratha, parotta, prata: How a humble flatbread went global |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/web-only/2023/Aug/19/paratha-parotta-prata-how-a-humble-flatbread-went-global-2606881.html |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=The New Indian Express |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2023-01-27 |title=A Taste of Kerala: The Malabar Parotta |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/travel/a-taste-of-kerala-the-malabar-parotta-news-203829 |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=Outlook India |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2020-07-17 |title=How the parotta became South India's favourite flatbread - CNBC TV18 |url=https://www.cnbctv18.com/buzz/how-the-parotta-became-south-indias-favourite-flatbread-6366721.htm |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=CNBCTV18 |language=en}} and Tamil Nadu, as well as in Jaffna in Sri Lanka (as Ceylon Parotta).{{Cite web |title=Malabar To Ceylon: The South Indian Parottas You Must Try |url=https://www.slurrp.com/article/malabar-to-ceylon-the-south-indian-parottas-you-must-try-1677759001319 |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=Slurrp |language=en}} Variants of the bread spread by Indian Muslim traders and by indentured labourers from the British Raj{{Cite news |last=Elder |first=Kara |date=24 June 2018 |title=Buss up shut: The Caribbean roti with a catchy name |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/buss-up-shut-the-caribbean-roti-with-a-catchy-name/2018/06/08/62e07d90-4eda-11e8-84a0-458a1aa9ac0a_story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818125336/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/buss-up-shut-the-caribbean-roti-with-a-catchy-name/2018/06/08/62e07d90-4eda-11e8-84a0-458a1aa9ac0a_story.html |archive-date=18 August 2022 |access-date=27 October 2024 |newspaper=Washington Post}} are popular in South Asian, South East Asian and Caribbean countries like Malaysia,{{Cite web |last=Loh |first=Yi Jun |date=2019-05-22 |title=The Indian Roti that Became Malaysia's National Bread |url=https://tastecooking.com/indian-roti-became-malaysias-national-bread/ |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=TASTE |language=en-US}} Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Mauritius, Maldives, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago under the names roti canai,{{Cite web |last=Kirch |first=John |date=31 July 2009 |title=Roti Canai - Kuala Lumpur takes a flatbread to new heights |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124893513501192849 |access-date=27 October 2024 |website=Wall Street Journal}} roti prata, roti thitchu, farata, oil roti or buss up shut.

Porottas are often available as street food{{cite news | title=Flavours from the footpath | url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/flavours-from-the-footpath/article4318011.ece | date=18 January 2013 | first=T. | last=Saravanan | access-date=22 December 2019 }} and in restaurants, and are also served at weddings, religious festivals and feasts. In the South Indian state of Kerala it is commonly served in roadside foodstalls called thattukadas{{Cite web |title=Visiting Kerala? Here's why you should eat at a thattukada |url=https://www.onmanorama.com/food/features/2024/09/18/why-you-should-eat-at-thattukadas-on-your-kerala-visit.html |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=Onmanorama}}{{Cite web |title=7 Iconic Dishes You Must Eat From the Famous Thattukadas in Kerala |url=https://www.holidify.com/pages/thattukadas-in-kerala-1747.html |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=www.holidify.com}}{{Cite web |last=Jose |first=Jasmin |date=2019-12-09 |title=The Kerala 'Thattukada' (Street Food) Experience |url=https://theculturestore.home.blog/2019/12/09/the-kerala-thattukada-street-food-experience/ |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=The Culture Store |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2014-08-08 |title=Hot and happening |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/Food/hot-and-happening/article6295770.ece |access-date=2024-10-27 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}} and in local toddy shops called kallushaaps.{{Cite web |date=2023-10-22 |title=Kerala Toddy Shop - Toddy Shops Where You Can Dine with Family |url=https://keralatoddyshop.com/ |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=Kerala Toddy Shop |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Bruner |first=Joel |date=2020-04-30 |title=Toddy Shop Food Experience for Kerala's Most Tasty (and Spicy) Meal |url=https://www.migrationology.com/toddy-shop-food-kerala-india/ |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=Migrationology - Food Travel Blog |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Vyas |first=Niviya |date=2024-07-16 |title=Toddy-Kallu: Kerala's Intoxicating Cultural Heritage |url=https://www.theculturegully.in/post/toddy-kallu-kerala-s-intoxicating-cultural-heritage |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=The Culture Gully |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=admin |date=2016-03-28 |title=India Off the Beaten Track: Exploring Kerala Toddy Shops |url=https://www.onfoodietrail.com/kerala-toddy-shops/ |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=On Foodie Trail |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Why an afternoon in a tiny toddy shop is the ultimate foodie experience in Kerala |url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/palm-wine-kerala-toddy-shops |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=Lonely Planet}} It is prepared by kneading maida, eggs, oil or ghee and water. The dough is rolled or tossed and stretched into thin layers and then spiralled into a tight dough ball. The ball is rolled flat again and pan-fried, and then beaten to release the flakey layers{{cite web | title=Kerala Paratha Recipe | date=10 August 2013| url=http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/kerala-paratha-kerala-parotta/}}{{cite book |title=The essential Kerala cookbook |last=Kannampilly |first=Vijayan |year=2003 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=0-14-302950-9 |page=179 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fxdHAAAAYAAJ&q=Kerala+Porotta }} It is often served with a meat curry, such as chicken, goat, beef, or lamb.

History

Archaeologist and culinary anthropologist Kurush F Dalal says that the Malabar Porotta is likely to have come with Arab traders from ancient West Asia. He explains: "Kerala has always had trade links with West Asia, right from the pre-Islamic period. So, this must have travelled with the sailors and traders and found a place in North Malabar’s culinary palate." He points out that though porottas are made of refined flour, Kerala is not a wheat producing state and so its origins clearly lie beyond the seas. Food journalist Sonal Ved stated that Persia, Central Asia and the Middle East have their own versions of layered flatbreads.

Muslim traders, and later migrant laborers from Southern India are said to have spread its popularity in South East Asia, giving rise to the Roti Canai (so named allegedly after the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu), Roti Prata and other variants.

Indentured labourers from British India also introduced the bread to the Caribbean, where it is called the "buss-up-shut roti" referring to the way the bread is beaten after cooking to free up the layers until it looks like a 'bust-up shirt', as well as to Mauritius, Maldives and Guyana, where it was given the names farata and oil roti.

The Ceylon Parotta variant is said to have originated in the Tamil-populated Jaffna region of Sri Lanka, migrant workers from there who were employed at the Tuticorin port in India are said to have introduced it to coastal Tamil Nadu. Other variants popularized in Tamil Nadu are the smaller, circular Coin Parottas, and Kothu Parottas made of chopped up leftover Parottas mixed with spices, eggs and chillies.