Chatti Pathiri (Meat filled layered Pancakes)

Wishing all my Muslim friends a very Happy and Blessed Ramadan.
This time I could make it on time :D

Have something here to share other than the recipe for "Chatti Pathiri"
Its about this Frankincense/ Kunthirikkam which is part of a good Christian prayer as its burned in Churches, also in my State (Kerala) we burn this at home to clear the air inside from any insects or bugs (that's my best guess)
We also burn this when a child is born, so I associate this smell with new born babies 👶 😛

The reason why I write about this here is ....I don't know why .....Do I expect Jinn from this smoke like the one Aladdin had ??

I burn this in my home once in a week, just trying to follow the traditions , also that light sweet smell inside my home makes me feel good, though Soccer Man hates it for some reason ,  he says this gives him headache so I sometimes burn it purposely when I need a break from him then runs out and I enjoy siting idle at home  😂  how's that idea ? 😉

There's one more reason why I write about it here, that's  because I usually get the charcoal and the incense burner from UAE, my sister in law is my supplier, they get really good incense from Dubai and this has something to do with the Middle eastern tradition too, 

I am not sure though.

Now to the Chatti Pathiri recipe, honestly I am no expert in making this dish, this is just my first trial   second trial but it came out really well for me.Though have heard much about this dish, never ever tried making it because I haven't tasted it too and by its looks it seems complicated to me.
I got to taste it in an Iftar party hosted by my good friend this time, and I decided to give it a try.

Ingredients 

For the Crepes 

All purpose flour - 2 cups approx
Egg - 1 no
Water - as needed to make crepe's batter(Dosa Batter)
Salt to taste.


For Filling 

Minced Meat - I tried it with minced chicken the first time & Beef this second time.
Crushed ginger and garlic - 1 tsp each
Green chili's - 2 no's finely chopped
Onion - 1 medium finely chopped
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Meat Masala powder - 1 /2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 1 spring
Pepper Powder - 1/4 tsp (Optional)
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp


Other Ingredients 

Eggs - 2 no's
Milk - 1 & 1/2 cup
Cashew nuts & some Cilantro - to decorate (Optional)
Ghee / Butter - 1 tbsp.
A pinch of Salt and Pepper




Method

* Marinate meat with pepper powder, salt & turmeric powder , cook the same until water dries off.
* In a pan, add oil (Coconut oil is what I used) add fennel seeds, ginger, garlic, green chili's, onion fry until almost brown, then add red chili powder, coriander powder and curry leaves, add cooked meat , mix well and fry in low flame until this looks dry, add meat masala , final mix and switch off heat, allow to cool.

* Make crepe's with the ingredients listed for making crepe's, mix all ingredients well (add water to make the batter thick as for Dosa batter,lighter than pan cake batter) and try making it the same size, use same quantity  and try making it thin and same size (try making it in a small round pan) keep each pan cakes aside.

* Mix 2 eggs with 1 and 1/2 cup milk , salt and pepper , beat it nicely , keep aside.

To Assemble 

When everything is kept ready to assemble, heat a thick bottom flat pan (Chapathi Tava) , keep heat in medium. We'll be keeping the pathiri pan on this heated pan for cooking the same.
Almost like the double boiling method, no water here, its just the heat from the bottom pan which cooks the Pathiri or else it burns on the outside and doesn't gets cooked or set inside.

Drizzle ghee/Butter on the pan in which you plan to assemble the Pathiri/pancakes.

Dip Each pancakes in the egg-milk mixture, and place it in the pan , spread some minced meat milling on top and place the next dipped pancakes, I layered only 5 pancakes accordingly, may layer more but it tends to break while flipping them over, so didn't want to take chance here.
When done layering , drizzle ghee/butter over and , pour the rest of the egg-milk mixture on top, it floats to the sides & that's what we need.cover and keep this pan over the heated heavy bottom pan.
Cook for 10 minutes (do not try flipping it before its all set as then it breaks, do give it time to set)

Before flipping it over, may place few cashew nuts and cilantro leaves(optional) . I flipped it to a plate then slowly turned it  into the same pan, for the other side to get cooked , takes another 5 minutes in medium heat.

Switch off the heat, allow to cool a bit before you cutting it.

Serve warm!!

Picture here is the first time that I made it, the top was little burned also because it had more layers the inexperienced me couldn't flip it smoothly over.But it tasted awesome 😁

Notes :

I have here picture of this recipe making process captured at 2 different times, first time I tried making it with minced chicken and this time its with beef,this can be layered with different filling in each layer if you like.

First time when I made it, heat on the lower pan was little high and it burned the top part, though it tasted good the it never looked appealing. Trick is to patiently wait for this Pathiri to slowly set in 10 to 15 minutes in medium to low heat would be good.

And some extra notes , if you plan to burn this "Kundirikam"/incense, please do not keep it near a smoke alarm ,like the crazy me.

Thanks for reading guys!!
Ramadan Kareem to all

Cheers
TN