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Bajra Thalipeeth (Spiced Pearl Millet Flatbread)
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Bajra Thalipeeth (Spiced Pearl Millet Flatbread)

Bajra (pearl millet)TraditionalMaharashtraBreakfastFlour (atta)Vegetarian

Prep 15 min · Cook 20 min · Servings not given in the source

Make

Ingredients

  • bajra (pearl millet) flour — 1 cup
  • rice flour — 2 tsp
  • onion — 1 (finely chopped)
  • green chillies — 1-2
  • garlic paste — 1/2 tsp
  • salt (to taste)
  • coriander leaves — 2-3 tsp (finely chopped)
  • ajwain (carom seeds) — 1/2 tsp
  • warm water (enough to knead)
  • oil (for pressing out and shallow frying)

Method

  1. Put all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, add warm water a little at a time and knead to a soft dough.
  2. Divide into balls about the size of a golf ball.
  3. Oil a plastic sheet, press a ball out on it into a flat round of medium thickness, and poke a hole in the centre. Do not make it too thin or it will break.
  4. Heat a little oil in a pan and shallow fry the thalipeeth on both sides.
  5. Drain on a paper napkin and serve hot with chutney, sauce or pickle.

Tips

  • General practice: a few drops of oil in the centre hole help the middle cook through.
  • General practice: dampen your fingers with water if the dough sticks while you press it out.

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. 61 (printed p. 59), written in our own words.