Bhakri

I always try to eat healthy. In my effort to eat wholesome foods, and cutting down on rice, I ended up eating everything whole wheat. The result was exactly opposite of what I expected! I felt bloated, my digestion was more upset than ever before and I could not figure out what was wrong, when I was actually eating ‘healthier’ almost exclusively home-cooked food! Then I read this article in NY times and I thought wait a second! I may have gluten sensitivity! The next few days went in endless reading and browsing and discussions with people.. and of course I stopped eating gluten and it actually did make a difference and I felt surprisingly lighter 😛 I got myself tested and I am not gluten sensitive (phew) however, I continue avoiding it, considering the positive effects going gluten-free has had!

Obviously going gluten-free meant not eating my beloved poli (chapati/roti) so I had to find an alternative, and bhakri was the most obvious one! My grandparents ate bhakri everyday all their life, its actually the maharashtrian staple bread. Chapati is more north-indian. My Aji would say that in their times, people would make chapatis only for special occasions. (Maybe genetically I am not efficient in breaking down gluten on a daily basis, because my ancestors weren’t used to it!)

So coming back to bhakri! I have been making this and eating it almost everyday for the last couple of months! and here are the few benefits:

1. Once you master the skill, its easier to make than chapati
2. Its more filling
3. Its healthier (variety of grains, no oil)
4. You can make different kinds using a combination of grains
5. And of course its gluten free 🙂

now the recipe!

You will need:

1/2 cup jowar flour (you could also try 2 tbsp jowar +2 tbsp ragi flour in summer and 2 tbsp jowar +2 tbsp bajra flour in winter)
2 tablespoon rice flour
1/2 cup boiling water
salt
rice flour for dusting
a glass bowl for mixing
a flat pan/griddle
a bowl of cold water

1. Mix the flours and salt in a glass bowl
2. Bring the water to a rolling boil (very important, if not hot enough, bhakri will crack)

3. Add the boiling water to the flour mixture and mix with a spoon
4. mix well, once a little warm, knead a little with hand
5. divide into four portions and make round balls
6. Heat pan/ skillet
7. dust the rolling board/ any surface heavily with rice flour
8. Place one ball of dough and gently start patting it to make it flat
9. Move the flattened bhakri in a clock-wise motion as you pat it

10. Start from the ends and work towards the centre
11. The ends might look cracked, this is ok!
12. Once the bhakri is uniformly as thin as you can make it (you will be able to make thinner bhakris with practice :P), lift it gently and place it in both ur plams
13. Flip it and place it gently on the hot pan (now the side dusted with the rice flour is facing up)
14. Immediately coat the side facing up with cold water. This will also seal all the cracks. Make sure the entire surface is covered including the edges.
15. When this layer of water starts steaming, flip the bhakri with the help of a spatula
16. Keep checking the bhakri, brown spots will appear on the wet side which is now touching the hot surface.

17. Once this side looks cooked and has golden-brown spots, remove the bhakri and flip it and place it on direct flame (the dry side is on the flame)
18. Move the bhakri over the flame with tongs/spatula till it puffs up completely
19. Remove and serve hot

The perfect bhakri should open up completely and form a pocket and should be so thin that both the layers look translucent, just like the one in the picture 🙂