Thick, slate-grey pearl millet bhakri with a deep toasted edge and a crumb that drinks ghee. Winter food, meant for garlic chutney and raw onion.
Ingredients
From the TrooFoodz pantry
- Sprouted Bajra Flour 2 cups
Fresh
- Hot water, just off the boil 1 1/3 cups
- Salt 3/4 tsp
- White sesame seeds 1 tbsp
- Ghee, to finish 4 tsp
- Garlic chutney, to serve 4 tbsp
- Raw onion wedges 1
Method
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Use hot water
Bajra is coarser and thirstier than jowar, so pour water straight off the boil onto the Sprouted Bajra Flour with the salt and sesame, and mix with the back of a spoon.
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Knead firm
Knead five minutes while warm. The dough should feel like soft clay and hold a thumbprint without cracking at the rim.
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Pat on cloth
Work on a damp muslin cloth rather than a board — bajra dough tears easily, and the cloth lets you lift a 15 cm disc cleanly in one piece.
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Invert onto tawa
Flip the cloth over a hot iron tawa so the bhakri lands flat, then peel the cloth away slowly from one corner.
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Cook slow, then hot
Cook on medium for a minute until the surface loses its wet sheen, flip, then raise the heat and press the edges with a cloth pad so it puffs unevenly and browns.
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Char the rim
Turn the bhakri on its side and roll the rim briefly on the tawa. This dries the thick edge and gives that toasted bajra aroma.
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Serve buttered
Spoon ghee into the hot centre and serve immediately with garlic chutney and onion.
Why this works
Pearl millet flour has large, hard starch granules that need near-boiling water to swell properly; short of that the bhakri crumbles. Working on damp cloth keeps the disc intact, and the final rim-roll drives off moisture from the thickest part so the bread finishes evenly cooked.
Make it your own
- Sprouted Bajra Flour → Sprouted Jowar Flour Paler, milder and easier to handle for a first attempt.
- Sesame seeds → Crushed ajwain Sharper, more savoury note through the crumb.
- Ghee → White butter Cooler and creamier; melts more slowly into the crumb.
