A quick unleavened ragi flatbread griddled until it blisters, then topped with tomato, cheese and olives and covered until everything melts.
Ingredients
From the TrooFoodz pantry
- Sprouted Ragi Flour 1.5 cups (about 180 g)
Fresh
- Hot water 3/4 cup
- Olive oil 2 tbsp
- Salt 3/4 tsp
- Thick tomato passata 1/2 cup
- Garlic, minced 2 cloves
- Dried oregano 1 tsp
- Mozzarella, grated 100 g
- Black olives, sliced 10
- Red onion, thinly sliced 1/2
- Chilli flakes to taste
Method
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Scald the flour
Pour boiling water over the ragi flour with the salt and stir to a shaggy mass. Hot water gelatinises the starch, which is the only structure this dough will get.
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Knead warm
Once it is cool enough to handle, knead with oiled hands for two minutes until smooth. Ragi has no gluten, so you are working for smoothness, not stretch.
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Roll between sheets
Divide in two and roll each portion between two sheets of baking paper to about four millimetres. Rolling directly on a board will tear it.
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Griddle the base
Cook on a hot dry tawa two minutes a side until dark spots appear and the edges lift. Brush the second side with olive oil.
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Mix the sauce
Stir the garlic, oregano and a pinch of salt straight into the passata. No cooking needed — it will reduce on the flatbread.
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Top and cover
Spread the sauce thinly, add cheese, olives and onion, then cover the pan on a low flame for four minutes until the cheese melts and the base crisps.
Why this works
An unleavened scalded dough is the most reliable route to a ragi flatbread, since there is no gluten to trap gas from yeast anyway. Griddling before topping drives off surface moisture, which stops the base going leathery under the sauce. Covering the pan traps steam to melt the cheese while the dry base keeps crisping underneath.
Make it your own
- Sprouted Ragi Flour → Sprouted Bajra Flour Warmer, faintly bitter and coarser; roll it a little thicker to stop cracking.
- Mozzarella → Grated cheddar Sharper and oilier, with more browning and less stretch.
- Black olives → Roasted red pepper strips Sweeter and juicier; pat them dry so the base does not soften.
