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Bajra Sev (Pearl Millet Gram Flour Strands)
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Bajra Sev (Pearl Millet Gram Flour Strands)

Bajra (pearl millet)TraditionalPan-IndiaSnackFlour (atta)Vegetarian

Prep 15 min · Cook 15 min · Servings not given in the source

Make

Ingredients

  • bajra (pearl millet) flour — 60 g
  • roasted besan (gram flour) — 40 g
  • asafoetida (hing) — 1 g
  • turmeric powder — 1 g
  • salt — 2 g
  • water (added slowly, enough for a smooth dough)
  • oil (for deep frying)

Method

  1. Mix the bajra flour, roasted besan, salt, hing and turmeric in a bowl.
  2. Add water a little at a time and knead to a smooth dough.
  3. Heat oil for deep frying in a pan over a medium flame.
  4. Fill a sev press with part of the dough. When the oil is hot, hold the press over the pan and press the strands straight into the oil.
  5. Turn the sev gently with a slotted spoon so it fries evenly. Once the sizzling dies down and it is light golden, lift it out onto absorbent paper. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Tips

  • General practice: keep the dough soft enough to press easily; if the press is hard to turn, work in a few drops of water.
  • General practice: break the cooled sev into short lengths and keep it in an airtight jar.

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 ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research, Millet Recipes (2021), PDF p. 53 (printed p. 51), written in our own words.