Last Updated on December 14, 2020 by Chef Mireille
Pathiri – Indian Gluten Free Rice Bread
This flatbread made with rice flour and coconut milk is soft and pliable and perfect to eat with all of your favorite Indian curry dishes!
It’s time for Bread Bakers!!!
. This month, the Bread Bakers are making Indian Flatbreads/Parathas, a theme chosen by Renu from Cook With Renu. And don’t forget to check out all the amazing Indian Flatbreads/Parathas done by our talented bakers.
One of the reasons Indian food has become so popular in the West is because of Naan bread. That fluffy bread coming out of the Tandoor onto your plate, smothered with ghee and sprinkled with cilantro is just heavenly.
However, hopefully Naan opened your world into the variety of Indian flatbreads. From baked ones to skillet cooked ones to deep fried ones, there are so many varieties of flatbreads from the different regions of India.
What’s fabulous is that there are many varieties of gluten free breads made with rice, corn, millet or sorghum grains like this Rice Cheela & Bajra Ki Roti (Millet Bread).
Pathiri is one of these gluten free breads from the Malabar coast of Kerala in southwest India. Malabar cuisine is one of my favorite Indian cuisines with their abundant use of coconut.
Kerala has a very long coastline, which leads to it having a very diverse climate, culture and cuisine. If you’d like to learn more about this interesting state of India, read all about it in my introduction here.
Pathiri – Indian Gluten Free Rice Bread is very light on the stomach and easy to digest and can be served simply with chutney or also eaten with curry.
Rice flour breads usually dry out very quickly. That is not the case with this one. The coconut milk that it is brushed with after cooking keeps the bread soft and pliable to dunk into curries like Squid Masala Curry or Kerala Syrian Style Okra Curry.
Before we get to today’s recipe, let’s check out some other Kerala recipes you might like to try!
Kerala Recipes
- Malabari Coconut Paneer
- Malabar Stuffed Plantains
- Kai Pola – Gluten Free Plantain Cake
IN THE MAKING – HOW TO MAKE PATHIRI
Pathiri - Indian Gluten Free Rice Bread - #BreadBakers
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup boiling water
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ½ cup coconut milk
Instructions
- On a dry skillet, roast the rice flour, until it becomes fragrant.
- Transfer to a large bowl and let it cool.
- Add salt and stir to combine.
- Slowly add water a little at a time, while kneading to a soft dough.
- Shape into a ball and coat the outside with the oil.
- Leave to rest in a bowl for 10 minutes, covered with plastic wrap.
- Shape dough into a cylinder and cut into 6 pieces.
- Dust a work surface with rice flour and roll each dough into a 6” circle, using a bowl to keep it in the shape of a circle.
- Carefully remove from work surface with a dough scraper.
- Heat a skillet/tawa.
- Place each rolled out dough on the skillet and cook for about 2 minutes until there are a few golden spots.
- Flip over and cook 1 more minute.
- Remove to a plate and brush both sides with coconut milk. The bread will absorb the coconut milk and stay soft.
- Repeat for the remaining pieces.
Nutrition
BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.
- Aloo Paratha from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Bedmi Paratha from Ambrosia
- Hyderabadi Parathas from Sneha’s Recipe
- Masala Paratha from All That’s Left Are The Crumbs
- Roti from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Pathiri – Gluten Free Rice Bread from The Schizo Chef
- Puran Poli from A Messy Kitchen
- Spicy Lamb Murtabak from Food Lust People Love
- Stuffed Bajra Paratha |Pearl Millet Flatbread from Cook with Renu
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Good to have a gluten free option when it comes to flatbread! Thanks for this, Mireille!
yes gluten free breads are a necessary addition nowadays to any dinner!
Thanks for sharing a gluten free version. It is always good to have that option available.
nowadays with so many people being gluten free, it’s always good to have these options when presenting meals with guests
Pathiri has turned out nice. Yes rice flour roti is a bit tricky and it gets hard at times, but I love the brushing with coconut milk to keep it soft. Nice tip.
yes the coconut milk keeps them soft and pliable though I am not sure if that is reflected in the photos
So simple, and I really like the addition of the coconut milk.
yes it adds flavor and moisture to the bread
You got those so thin you can practically see through them! Beautiful.
well without any leavening, there really is no rise so that is why they are so thin.
I’ve been trying to eat more gluten-free products. This is a good one and will be pinning!
A great alternative to the classic Naan bread with Indian food
I would love to visit Kerala one day! I here the food there is out of this world. Love the idea of putting coconut milk so it doesn’t dry out!
so would I. It is supposed to be one of the most beautiful states of India. It is definitely on my bucket list!