Soft, cocoa-dark ragi flatbreads spread thick with garlic hummus and rolled around cucumber, tomato, red onion and crisp lettuce.
Ingredients
From the TrooFoodz pantry
- Sprouted Ragi Flour 2 cups
Fresh
- Cooked chickpeas 1½ cups
- Tahini 3 tbsp
- Lemon, juiced 1
- Garlic 2 cloves
- Cucumber, cut into batons 1
- Tomato, deseeded and sliced 2
- Red onion, finely sliced ½
- Lettuce leaves, shredded 6
- Olive oil 3 tbsp
- Ground cumin 1 tsp
- Salt to taste
Method
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Hydrate with hot water
Mix the Sprouted Ragi Flour with salt and a tablespoon of olive oil, then bring it together with just-boiled water. Hot water gelatinises some of the starch, which is the only thing standing in for gluten here.
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Knead while warm
Work the dough for three or four minutes while it is still hot to the touch until it turns smooth and slightly tacky. Cover and rest ten minutes.
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Roll between sheets
Divide into eight and roll each ball between two sheets of baking paper into a thin round. Ragi has no gluten, so the paper is what stops it tearing.
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Cook briefly
Cook each wrap on a hot tawa for about forty seconds a side — just until it puffs in patches. Any longer and it dries out and cracks when rolled.
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Stack and steam
Pile the cooked wraps under a clean cloth as you go. Trapped steam keeps them pliable enough to fold.
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Blend the hummus
Purée the chickpeas with tahini, lemon, garlic, cumin and the rest of the olive oil, loosening with cold water until it spreads easily.
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Fill and roll
Spread hummus over each warm wrap, lay the vegetables in a line down the centre, fold in one end and roll tightly.
Why this works
Ragi contains no gluten, so hot water and a brief rest are doing all the work a knead would normally do — the gelatinised starch gives the dough just enough stretch to roll. Cooking fast on a hot tawa sets the bread before its moisture escapes, and stacking under a cloth traps steam so the wrap folds instead of snapping. Hummus doubles as a moisture barrier, keeping the bread soft against the salad.
Make it your own
- Sprouted Ragi Flour → Sprouted Jowar Flour Paler and more forgiving to roll; equally soft.
- Tahini → Thick curd with a little olive oil Tangier and lighter; no longer vegan.
- Lettuce → Shredded cabbage Crunchier and holds longer in a packed lunch.
