Ragi, jowar and other millet flours: what they are and how to cook with them

Ragi is finger millet, a small reddish-brown grain from South India, and ragi flour is its whole-grain flour. Jowar (also spelled juwar) is sorghum, sold in Poland as mąka z sorgo, and bajra is pearl millet, mąka z prosa perłowego. All three are used in Indian homes for flatbreads, porridges, dosas and snacks, and each has its own colour, taste and way of handling.

The main millet flours at a glance

One more Polish note: kasza jaglana, the hulled grain that every Polish shop sells, is proso millet. It is a different grain from ragi, jowar and bajra, and its flour does not behave in the same way.

Ragi (finger millet)

Ragi is most common in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, and it is also widely eaten in Nepal. The flour is dark and fine. In Karnataka it is cooked into ragi mudde: the flour is stirred into boiling water until it forms a thick dough, then shaped into balls and eaten with sambar or saaru. Ragi also goes into ragi dosa, thin porridge with milk or buttermilk, and sweet ladoo with jaggery.

Ragi dough is not elastic. For dosa, mix ragi flour with rice flour or ready dosa batter so it holds together.

Jowar (juwar, sorghum)

Jowar flour is pale and mild, and it is the easiest millet flour for a first try. In Maharashtra and North Karnataka it is made into jowar bhakri, a thick flatbread patted by hand and eaten with pitla, thecha or a vegetable dish. The flour has no gluten-like stretch, so it needs warm water and patient kneading.

Bajra (pearl millet)

Bajra is a winter staple in Rajasthan and Gujarat. The flour has a stronger, nutty taste and turns rancid sooner than wheat flour, so buy small packs and use them within a few weeks. Bajra roti is usually eaten hot with ghee, jaggery, garlic chutney or a yoghurt curry.

How to make a jowar or ragi roti

Ingredients (for 6 rotis):

• 2 cups jowar or ragi flour
• about 1 cup hot water (not boiling)
• a pinch of salt

Method:

1. Mix the flour and salt in a wide bowl.
2. Add the hot water little by little and stir with a spoon. When it is cool enough to touch, knead with your palm for 3 to 4 minutes into a smooth, soft dough. It should not crack at the edges.
3. Knead only one portion at a time: take a ball the size of a lemon and keep the rest covered.
4. Pat the ball into a thin round on a floured board with your fingers, or roll it between two sheets of baking paper.
5. Lay it on a hot, dry tawa or frying pan. Brush the top with a little water.
6. When the water dries, flip it. Cook the second side, then press it with a cloth or put it over an open flame so it puffs.
7. Serve hot, with ghee if you like.

If the dough keeps cracking, the water was too cold or there is too little of it. Add a spoon of hot water and knead again.

Gluten

Ragi, jowar and bajra grains do not contain gluten, which is why their dough breaks and cannot be rolled like wheat atta. If you need a certified gluten-free product, read the label on the pack, because flours can be milled in places that also handle wheat.

Where to buy millet flours in Poland

Little India sells jowar (juwar) flour 1 kg, ragi flour TRS, pearl millet (bajra) flour and buckwheat (kuttu) flour. Little India has shops in Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław and Gdańsk, and the online shop ships across Poland. Our guide to the Indian shop in Poland lists the shops and what they sell.