The Kerala porotta story: how gourmets cannot get enough of the flatbread’s many versions

Experience the layered story of Kerala's signature dish, the Porotta, from Kanhangad to Kaliyikkavila.

Flaky, crisp and layered, the Kerala porotta (also called barotta in some places) has a story that is as layered as the porotta itself. Once confined to the Malabar region in North Kerala, today no self-respecting Malayali can claim not to have feasted on this staple that is easily available from Kanhangad in the north to Kaliyikkavila in the south.

A hot seller in uppity restaurants and humble thattukadas (makeshift outlets), the porotta has replaced the kanji and the kappa to become the signature dish of the State. In fact, this year, on November 1, observed as Kerala Day, the BBC paid tribute to the State by holding forth on the porotta’s many charms.

Archaeologist and culinary anthropologist Kurush F Dalal says that the 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 porotta is made of refined flour, Kerala is not a wheat producing state and so its origins clearly lie beyond the seas. Moreover, versions of the porotta can be found all over Malayasia, Singapore and Sri Lanka.

Be that as it may. The Malabar porotta now has a special place in the flavour map in Kerala. Over the years, the porotta, made with maida, sugar, milk, oil and more oil, has gone through several makeovers.

So, there is an entire platter of porottas to feast on: from the crisp noolporotta, resembling strings of hot Mozarella cheese, to the bite-sized coin porotta and the soft bun porotta, the spicy kizhiporotta and the lip-smacking paalporotta soaked in coconut milk and masala.  

The signature maida porotta is a gourmet’s dream and a nutritionist’s nightmare. Kneaded with oil, salt, milk and sugar, the dough is allowed to rest with a wet cloth over it before it is pulled, punched, stretched and kneaded again to achieve the pliability for flaky, thin flatbreads. Cooks specialising in porotta — their only job is to make porottas — are prized. Quite the showstoppers in some outlets, they showcase with flair the way the dough is teased, kneaded and rolled to achieve the right consistency of the porotta. Chef and restauranteer Suresh Pillai says the consistency of the porotta lies in its dough and how much it has been stretched and kneaded.

Chef Suresh Pillai is credited with popularising this version of the porotta. The thin, transclusent layers of the porotta are further shredded into crisp, thin strips that come apart as you eat it. “There is a Chinese bread like this and I was inspired to try that on the porotta. It is our best seller in all my restaurants. In Bengaluru, I have three people making only porottas,” he says.   An Instagram reel that he had done on the nool porotta has gathered more than 1.7 million likes, testifying to its popularity.