Our recipe for the famous Punjabi cornmeal roti. The name makki ki roti literally means “roti made from cornmeal”. These flatbreads are made from an unleavened maize flour dough that is rolled out and cooked on a tava or griddle.
They are gluten-free. Having said that, please check that your cornmeal has not been adulterated with wheat flour.
Cornmeal is not the same as corn flour. Corn flour is a fine white powder separated from the protein and other components of maize flour, leaving pure starch. Maize flour, or cornmeal, is the entire corn kernel milled into flour. It retains the protein and fat. A good Indian grocer will have makki ki attar, which is the ingredient you need. Health food shops also sell fine ground cornmeal.
These roti are harder to prepare than most of the other flatbreads because the cornmeal dough is less adhesive than wheat dough, which makes it difficult to handle. The finished product is noticeably thicker and heavier than other roti.
When rolling these out they can stick or break. Consider rolling them out between greaseproof paper sheets. Some of the recipes in my grandmother’s book suggested the cook should use her hands to flatten out the bread instead of rolling.
You may see cracks forming in the roti when rolling or starting cook. Wet your fingers and gently close the crack by pushing from the edges of the crack.
There are many variations to this recipe. This version uses carom seeds or ajwain. Another favourite is to replace the carom seeds with fenugreek leaves. Made this way it is called makki methi ki roti. Use the same recipe as below but substitute four tablespoons of finely chopped fenugreek leaves for the carom seeds. If you cannot get fresh fenugreek leaves, use one tablespoon of dried leaves, as their flavour is much more intense than fresh leaves.
Taking it even further is the Rajasthani tikkar, which I will post shortly. This has onions, ginger, garlic and chilli cooked into the roti. They even have something like a pizza with added tomato – again the subject of another post.
Vegans can substitute oil for the ghee but are advised to not be as generous, or the roti may become too oily.
The traditional way to serve these roti is with pureed spinach or saag. This makes a wonderful meal, perhaps with some of your fresh pickles.
the recipe
ingredients
- 250 g cornmeal - (makki ka atta)
- ½ tsp carom seeds - (ajwain)
- ½ tsp salt
- 250 ml water
- 3 tbsp ghee - for brushing
instructions
- Mix cornmeal, carom seeds and salt in a bowl.
- Add half of the water and knead. Add the remaining water slowly, kneading well. Make sure the dough does not become too sticky.
- Continue kneading until you have a firm, plastic dough. This may take up to ten minutes.
- Divide dough into eight pieces and form into balls.
- Sprinkle your work surface with a little more cornmeal, then gently roll the balls into discs 120mm diameter and 5mm thick.
- Brush one side of the roti with a little ghee and turn this onto a hot griddle or pan, brushed side down. Brush the top side with a little ghee.
- Cook for around one minute, then flip over. If the roti sticks to the pan, it means the pan is not hot enough. Brush the top with a little ghee. Continue cooking and flipping until the roti is well browned and cooked through.
- When cooked, place on a plate and cover with a damp towel whilst you cook the remaining roti.
- Serve immediately.
notes
- Cornmeal is available from good supermarkets and Indian grocers. Choose the finest grind you can obtain.
- Eat the roti hot and straight from the pan. They may become tough or chewy as they cool.
- The dough made from cornmeal flour will not be as pliable as wheat flour doughs. You will not be able to make these flatbreads very thin.
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