Pithla Bhakri (Besan Curry with Jowar Flatbread)

Pithla bhakri is what farmers in rural Maharashtra eat in the fields – and what city people drive out to dhabas for. Pithla is a soft, spicy gram-flour curry made in 15 minutes; bhakri is a hand-patted flatbread of jowar (sorghum) flour, naturally gluten-free.

Video by Kabita’s Kitchen on YouTube. Our recipe below is our own home-style version, written in our own words – quantities and steps may differ from the video.

• Serves 4
• Prep 20 min
• Cook 30 min
• Vegan · gluten-free
• Famous in Maharashtra

Ingredients

• For the bhakri: 250 g jowar flour, ½ tsp salt, about 200 ml hot water
• For the pithla: 100 g besan, 500 ml water, 2 tbsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin, 1 pinch asafoetida, 8 curry leaves, 4 garlic cloves crushed, 2 green chillies chopped, 1 onion chopped, ½ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp salt, coriander
• To serve: raw onion, green chilli thecha or lehsun chutney

Method

1. For the pithla, whisk besan with the water until smooth.
2. Heat the oil, add mustard, cumin, asafoetida, curry leaves, garlic, chilli and onion and fry until soft. Add turmeric.
3. Pour in the besan mix and salt, stirring constantly, and cook on low heat for 8–10 minutes until thick and glossy. Add coriander.
4. For the bhakri, knead the jowar flour with salt and hot water into a soft dough, kneading each portion well just before shaping. Pat a ball into a thin round between your palms or on a floured board.
5. Cook on a hot tawa, sprinkle water on top, flip after a minute and cook until spotted; then puff it over a flame or press with a cloth. Serve hot with pithla, onion and chutney.

Tip: Knead jowar dough portion by portion with hot water – it has no gluten and dries quickly.

Shop the ingredients

Everything you need for this recipe is in stock at Farmah’s – order online or pick it up at Annenstraße 41, Graz.