Millet (Pearl and Finger Millet) Roti (flat bread)

In my quest to limit the amount of wheat I came up with a variation to the regular old wheat chapthis to include millets and the end results was tastier than the original. The good thing is compared to even a few years ago millet grains and flour are readily available in most Indian grocery stores here in the US.

I bought a bag of bajra flour (pearl millet/cumbu) to use for making dosai. I usually mix the bajra flour with idli/doasi batter that is sour. Trying to make chapthis with the bajri flour was the next logical step. In Rajasthan where bajri roti is a staple it is made with all bajri flour and that was not the roti I was trying to make. I have used a combination of pearl and finger millets along with wheat flour.

Take the chapathi flour(atta) in a bowl. Add the finger millet flour (ragi mavu).
Add the pearl millet(cumbu mavu).
Add the whole wheat flour, the curd and salt.
Add 1/2 cup of water first and using your fingers mix the flour with the water to make a stiff but pliable dough.
The dough should not be too wet or too dry. Apply oil on top and let it rest for at least 20 minutes or as much as 2-3 hours.
Take a small lemon sized piece of dough and roll it out into a 3-4 inch diameter circle.
Heat a griddle and when hot transfer the rolled dough and let it cook till bubbles start to appear. Smear some oil,
flip and cook on the other side.

Adding the millet flour makes rolling the chapathis much easier and they are also much softer than plain wheat flour chapathis when cooked. A little care is needed while rolling out the dough as there is not much gluten and it does not stretch and tends to break if rolled too much.

Millets Chapathi/Roti
Preparation Time:15 minutes + 20 minutes rest time
Cooking Time:20 minutes
Ingredients

1. 1 cup chapathi flour (atta)
2. 3/4 cup of finger millet flour (ragi mavu)
3. 1 cup of pearl millet flour (cumbu mavu)
4. 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
5. 2 tbsp of plain yogurt/curd (avoid for a vegan version)
6. salt to taste
7. 1/2 tsp of oil

Method

1. Whisk the flours together along with the salt. Add in the curd and add about a 1/4 cup of water.
2. Mix in the flour with the water so the mixture comes together into a stiff but pliable dough. Take care not to add too much water while making the dough and not too little that it is dry.
3. Apply the oil over the dough and let it rest for 1/2 hour or as much as 3-4 hours.
4. Take a lemon size ball of dough and roll it out into a circle about 3-4 inches in diameter. Use some dry wheat flour to dust while rolling.
5. Heat a griddle/tawa and when hot transfer the rolled chapthis on to the hot griddle. Cook on one side and when bubble starts to appear flip and cook on the other side. Apply oil if needed.

Serve with curry of choice.

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