Aktori (Himachali Buckwheat Pancake)
Prep 10 min · Cook 10 min · Serves 4
Make
Ingredients
- buckwheat flour — 1 cup
- whole wheat flour (atta) — 1 cup
- milk — 1/2 cup
- water — 1/2 cup
- sugar — 4 tbsp
- baking powder — 1 tbsp
- oil — 2 tbsp (for the tawa)
Method
- Whisk the wheat flour, buckwheat flour, sugar and baking powder together in a large bowl.
- Add the milk and water and stir into a thick batter that still pours.
- Warm a tawa on low heat and wipe it with a little oil. Pour on a ladle of batter and spread it into a thick pancake.
- Cook gently until bubbles show on top, then turn it and cook the other side. It is done when both sides are golden brown.
Fresh atta: grind small, use soon
- Millets keep for months as whole grain; flour is best ground as it is needed, because it turns rancid. (FAO, Sorghum and millets in human nutrition (1995))
- Bajra changes fastest: its grain stores for months, but its milled flour has a very short shelf life. (ICAR-IIMR scientists, Food Chemistry Advances (2023) (DOI 10.1016/j.focha.2023.100190))
- In an Indian study, untreated bajra flour stayed within the quality limit only about 2 days at room temperature. (ICAR-IARI, Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences (2016))
- Ragi flour keeps better than foxtail, barnyard or bajra flour (it carries less fat). (Planta (2024), review)
- Keep atta closed and cool: bajra flour kept best in polythene and worst in gunny sacks; grains should be dry and in airtight containers. (Chaudhary & Kapoor, J Sci Food Agric (1984); ICMR-NIN Dietary Guidelines (2024) (DOI 10.1002/jsfa.2740351113))
- Going off shows first as smell and taste — sour, musty or dusty, then bitter. (Lai & Varriano-Marston, Cereal Chemistry (1980))
So: buy the grain, grind a week’s worth at a time — less for bajra in summer.
Recipe from FSSAI, Shree Anna (Millets) Recipes, PDF p. 25 (printed p. 11), written in our own words.