Third letter of #AlifBe i.e Sindhi alphabet is very interesting. The consonantal sound of this alphabet is used in only a handful-of languages spoken across the world like: Ega or the West African language spoken in South central Ivory coast or Vietnamese, Zulu etc if I am not wrong.
The alphabet is ٻ and is written as B^ in Roman Sindhi.
In English language the sounds of consonants are articulated when the air from lungs move outwards and hence such sounds are known as pulmonic sounds (Try saying A, B, C, D….and you will be able to relate). But in some languages, and particularly in Sindhi language there are some consonants where the airstream direction is different. And one such example is b^.
This unique alphabet with sound of “Voiced bilabial implosive stop” is difficult to pronounce unless learnt in early childhood.
‘Voiced‘ means the vocal cords vibrate when this sound is made.
‘Bilabial’ means that both the lips are brought together to create this sound.
‘Implosive’ means that the sound is produced by restricting airflow in vocal tract or by pushing the air inside and partially closing the glottis (Kanth Dwar in Hindi).
Kindly refer to this video to understand the formation of this alphabet.
- 1 ½ cup whole wheat flour (chapatti flour)
- ½ cup finely crushed jaggery
- Water to knead flour
- Oil or ghee for shallow frying
- Salt to taste
- Few pinches of black pepper/red chilli powder, optional
- Add salt and pepper to the flour and using little water at time, knead soft dough.
- Let the dough rest for a while.
- Divide the dough into 2 portions.
- Roll one portion into a roti and place ¼ cup crushed jaggery on one half of the roti.
- Pull over the other half to make a semi-circle. Press the edges and by pinching and twisting all along the sealed edges make a gujiya kind of stuffed roti. Repeat the same with the remaining dough.
- Cook on a hot griddle, flipping intermittently and pouring some ghee, till brown specks appear on both sides.
- Serve hot with yoghurt or white butter.
The jaggery used here is not your regular sugarcane jaggery.
I simply loved the flavors and the texture of Patali and it worked so well in b^itto lolo too!
And here is a video to give you a glimpse of the melted jaggery! Enjoy!!
