ROTLA/BAJRI NA ROTLA
Rotla/Bajra Na Rotla is a traditional and popular thick pearl millet roti which is largely consumed in the rural areas of Gujarat. The roti or rotlo is patted into shape by using the heels of the hands and roasted on a tawa.
Ingredients
- 1½ cup pearl millet flour bajri
- ½ cup sorghum flour or wheat, chickpea, oat flour
- 1 tbsp ghee
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ -1 cup lukewarm milk
- Some ghee for smearing on top
- extra millet flour for dusting
Instructions
- Mix the flours and salt in a bowl.
- Add ghee and rub it into the flour.
- Add milk little at a time and make a soft dough. It should be as soft as a roti dough.
- Cover it with a lid and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Knead the dough till it appears smooth. I knead it for 5 minutes.
- If the dough sticks too much then you may need to add a little bit of flour. The dough is soft but not sticky.
- Heat a tawa or frying pan over medium heat.
- Divide the dough into 6 equal parts.
- Roll each dough into a ball.
- Roll the dough ball in the millet flour.
- Pat it flat on the rolling board.
- Using a rolling pin roll it into a circle of about 5-6 inches in diameter very gently.
- Flip the board with the rolled rotlo onto your palm with fingers spread out.
- Flip the rotlo onto the hot tawa.
- Let it cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Flip and let it cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Put the rotlo over the naked flame and let it puff up.
- If it doesn't, just flip it over and let it roast for a few seconds.
- Put the rotlo on a plate and smear it with ghee.
- Repeat the above steps with the remaining dough.
- Serve rotla with your favorite curry.
Notes
- To get the practice of flipping the rotlo onto my hand and into the pan, I initially was rolling them out smaller.
- Don't make the rotla too thick or too thin.
- Rotla taste good even the next day. Just crumble it up and add it to yogurt with some garlic chutney or red chili powder and enjoy it as breakfast.
- Please note that since I didn't use wheat flour and used sorghum (jowar) flour instead, my rotla recipe is gluten free.
- Keep dusting the rolling board with millet flour so that the rotlo does not get stuck to it.
- Kneading it for 5 minutes makes the rotla soft.