Makki ki roti and bajra roti: winter recipes with fresh chakki flour

When winter comes to Delhi and Gurgaon, the tawa turns to makki and bajra. Both flours have no gluten, so the rotis are made differently from wheat rotis — and both taste best with flour that was ground days ago, not months.

Makki ki roti

Serves 2–3 (about 6 rotis).

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh makki atta
• A pinch of salt; optional ajwain or finely chopped methi or radish
• Hot water, as needed
• Ghee or white butter, to serve

Method

• Mix the makki atta and salt. Add hot water a little at a time and knead with the heel of your hand until the dough is soft and smooth, with no cracks. Makki dough doesn't hold for long, so knead only what you need.
• Take a lemon-sized ball and flatten it. Pat it into a roti on a sheet of butter paper or plastic, wetting your palm if it sticks. Or roll it gently between two sheets.
• Lift the sheet and turn the roti onto a hot tawa. Cook on medium heat until spots appear underneath, flip, and cook the other side.
• Press the edges with a cloth so it cooks through, or finish it directly on the flame for a few seconds.
• Serve hot with ghee or white butter, sarson da saag and gur.

Bajra roti

Serves 2–3 (about 6 rotis).

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh bajra atta
• A pinch of salt
• Hot water, as needed
• Ghee, gur or white butter, to serve

Method

• Knead one roti's worth at a time. Take half a cup of bajra atta, add hot water little by little, and knead for a minute or two until smooth.
• Pat the dough out on your palm or on butter paper into a thick roti.
• Cook on a hot tawa. Sprinkle a little water on the top side, then flip once it firms up, and cook until spotted. Finish on the flame if you like.
• Serve hot with ghee and gur, or with kadhi or a sabzi.

Tips that work for both

• Hot water is the trick. It helps a flour with no gluten bind together.
• Fresh flour matters. Bajra and makki turn bitter as they age — buy small packs and use them within two to three weeks.
• If it keeps cracking, add one or two spoons of wheat atta to the dough.

Other winter favourites from the same shelf

• Jowar atta for soft jowar bhakri.
• Wood-pressed mustard oil for the saag tadka.
• Bajra atta for bajra khichdi and tikki.

Questions people ask

Why does makki ki roti break while rolling?

Makki atta has no gluten. Knead with hot water, pat the roti on butter paper instead of rolling it, and keep the dough soft.

Can I keep the dough in the fridge?

It's better not to. Makki and bajra dough dry out and crack — knead fresh for each meal.

What should I eat with bajra roti?

Traditionally ghee and gur, white butter, lahsun chutney, kadhi or a winter sabzi such as sarson ka saag.

Guide to bajra, jowar, ragi and makki · See all single-grain flours

Updated 2026-11-09 · TransVeda, Udyog Vihar Phase 3, Gurgaon