Thin, freckled bajra tortillas made with hot water and a little oil — pliable enough to fold, sturdy enough to hold a full filling.
Ingredients
From the TrooFoodz pantry
- Sprouted Bajra Flour 2 cups
Fresh
- Boiling water about 1¼ cups
- Olive oil or ghee 2 tbsp
- Salt 1 tsp
- Psyllium husk 1 tsp
- Ajwain (carom seeds) ½ tsp
Method
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Dry-mix first
Stir the Sprouted Bajra Flour with the salt, psyllium husk and ajwain so the husk is evenly distributed before any water goes near it.
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Scald the flour
Pour boiling water over the flour in stages, stirring with a spoon. Scalding swells the starch and creates the elasticity bajra has none of on its own.
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Knead hot
As soon as you can bear it, knead the dough for four minutes with the oil until it is smooth and springs back slowly. Cover and rest fifteen minutes.
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Roll between sheets
Divide into eight and roll each between two sheets of baking paper to about two millimetres. Never roll bajra on an open counter — with no gluten it will crumble at the rim.
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Cook fast and dry
Cook on a dry, hot tawa for forty seconds a side until brown freckles appear and the surface bubbles. Press gently with a cloth to encourage puffing.
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Steam as you stack
Move each tortilla straight into a covered container lined with a cloth. Left in open air they stiffen within minutes.
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Use them warm
Fill and fold while still warm. If they have cooled, ten seconds a side on a warm pan brings the flexibility back.
Why this works
Bajra is the highest-protein flour in the range but has no gluten at all, so scalded starch and a little psyllium husk stand in as the binder and the stretch. Rolling between paper supports the dough at its weakest moment, when it is thinnest and unsupported. The short, dry cook drives off just enough surface moisture to set the bread while leaving the interior steamy and foldable.
Make it your own
- Sprouted Bajra Flour → Sprouted Jowar Flour Paler and milder, and easier to roll evenly.
- Psyllium husk → Ground flaxseed Similar binding; slightly nuttier flavour.
- Ajwain → Cumin seeds Warmer and less pungent.
