Today I am grateful to Priyanka who taught me how to make Jowar and Bajra roti in Pune last March.
I have always loved eating the Bhakri – much to my mother’s dismay. She would pack idlis for me and I would exchange them with Nathu, the person who took me to the school in his cycle in Dehu Road. I would eat up all his bhakris (rotis made from Jowar or Bajra) and he would not eat the idlis I offered in return. This was when I was in classes 1 and 2 :):). Amma would then feed him saying you should have eaten the idlis that she gave you, why go hungry !
My mother doesn’t like roti of any kind and bhakri is just not in her list of edible things. I didn’t know how to make bhakris because Bajra and Jowar are millets and they have no gluten, so you can’t roll them out like the regular rotis.
When we were in Pune in March 2019, Priyanka was our house help at the Airbnb we were staying in. A young newly married girl. I immediately asked her if she knew how to make bhakri and she said of course ! She made them in a jiffy, clearly showing that she had done it several times and was a pro. She also taught me how to mix the flour and how to dab water on one side before turning the bhakri over and then how to cook it over an open flame. Ever since, I have been enjoying bhakris without depending on a restaurant.
Thanks to Nathu for getting me hooked to bhakris at a young age and thanks to Priyanka for teaching me how to make them.
Read all about my bhakri experiments – Cook Anywhere.. Thank You OPOS, Induction Stove and AirBnB
