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Jowar Bhakri
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Jowar Bhakri

Jowar (sorghum)TraditionalMaharashtraLunchFlour (atta)VegetarianContains gluten

Prep 30 min · Cook 10 min · Serves 1

Make

Ingredients

  • jowar (sorghum) flour — 30 g (printed as 'Jowar - 30 g'; the method treats it as flour. Plus a little extra for dusting)
  • whole wheat atta — 20 g
  • salt — 2 g
  • water — 50 to 70 ml (warm; about 50 ml first (ICRISAT's sorghum-roti standard is 50 ml for 50 g flour), then a little more only if needed, up to the 70 ml in the FSSAI list)

Method

  1. Mix the jowar flour, wheat flour and salt in a wide bowl and make a hollow in the middle.
  2. Pour in about 50 ml of the warm water (careful, it is hot) and mix, then knead, adding the rest a little at a time only if needed, until the dough is smooth, soft and no longer sticky.
  3. Roll a portion of dough into a ball between your palms.
  4. Dust the worktop with jowar flour and pat the ball out with your palm and fingers into a round. Brush off the loose flour.
  5. Lay the bhakri on a hot tawa. When the moisture on top has dried, turn it over, pressing the edges gently so they cook through.
  6. Serve with dry garlic chutney.

Water and timing

Water: about 50 ml warm water for the 50 g of flour, added a little at a time and no more than the 70 ml in the FSSAI list — ICRISAT's standard for sorghum roti is about 50 ml water to 50 g flour, so the method's '3/4 cup' is not used.

From: FSSAI, Shree Anna (Millets) Recipes, PDF p. 143 (printed p. 129); Proceedings of the International Symposium on Sorghum Grain Quality, 28-31 October 1981 (eds. Rooney LW, Murty DS), PDF p. 82 (printed p. 74); Proceedings of the International Symposium on Sorghum Grain Quality, 28-31 October 1981 (eds. Rooney LW, Murty DS), PDF p. 84 (printed p. 76); Proceedings of the International Symposium on Sorghum Grain Quality, 28-31 October 1981 (eds. Rooney LW, Murty DS), PDF p. 88 (printed p. 80); Proceedings of the International Symposium on Sorghum Grain Quality, 28-31 October 1981 (eds. Rooney LW, Murty DS), PDF p. 89 (printed p. 81)

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.

Adapted from FSSAI, Shree Anna (Millets) Recipes, PDF p. 143 (printed p. 129), written in our own words.