Easy Jowar Roti - White Millet (Sorghum) Flatbreads (Vegan, Wheat & Gluten Free)

Since wheat has been very much off the table for me for a while now, I've been searching high and low for a good flour to use to make flatbreads for wraps and sandwiches.

Much as I love gram flour (chickpea) flatbreads, which are delicious with curries, they don't have the right consistency and structural integrity required to make a sandwich wrap. 

I wanted to find something that was closer to the wheat texture and taste that I've been missing but without the uncomfortable effect on my tummy.

After a lot of searching, I kept coming across a mysterious flour called sorghum, but it always seemed to be mixed with other flours in bread recipes, and often with wheat - ugh!

So I decided to go global, and search for traditional recipes from India that would be delicious, tried & tested and more importantly wheat free. 

My Google search didn't disappoint! I soon found a whole array of recipes using Jowar Flour which I discovered was the elusive sorghum or white millet I'd read about, and another called bajra flour which is pearl millet. I hurried out to my local Asian foods store and bought a bag of juwar flour to begin experimenting. 

The Indian store clerk looked a little surprised when I took it to the counter, and asked me if I would be making bread? He seemed very impressed when I replied "yes, I'm learning how to use this flour!" and wished me well in my baking endeavours.

It seems that although we are very wheat-centric in our bread products here in the West, the rest of the world has plenty of other staple grains to choose from, many of them gluten free!

Jowar and Bajra can be a little tricky to work with, because being gluten free they lack the elasticity and stickiness provided by the wheat gluten. But I have a secret weapon in my wheat-free arsenal that will fix that, also available from Asian food stores, your local health food store, or Grape Tree if that's more accessible to you: Psyllium Husk.

Psyllium husk is a natural ingredient that helps the flour to stick together and adds the structural integrity and 'rubberiness' usually missing from gluten free flours. Needless to say, I'm a huge fan of it already. It's made my wheat free cooking so much easier!

I got this 125g bag or organic psyllium husk for £3.99 at Grape Tree. It's not cheap, but you only need a tablespoon or so at a time, so it goes a long way. It's also very lightweight so 125 is quite a sizeable bag.

So here is my cheat's version of a traditional Indian staple, the delicious Jowar Roti. The perfect flatbread to accompany curries, soups, for dipping in houmous, it can be sliced and filled like a pitta or rolled into a wrap.

This recipe is wheat free, gluten free, dairy free, egg free, vegan, and oil free. You don't even need oil for cooking.

Makes 6 small flatbreads

Ingredients

100g Jowar Flour
3/4 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt
1 Tbsp Ground Psyllium Husk
175ml Hot Water from the kettle

Method

Mix together the dry ingredients in a heatproof mixing bowl.

Add 175ml freshly boiled water and stir with a spatula or metal spoon. 

The dough will become quite stiff. Stir and knead it well with the spoon or spatula.

It will likely be too hot to handle right away, so if that's the case, pop a teatowel over the bowl and leave it to cool down for a few minutes until you can comfortably touch it.

Knead the dough well with your hands and divide into 6.

Roll each piece into a ball and flatten into a circle. The traditional method is to pat it into shape with the heel of your had, but this is pretty tricky if you haven't done it before! 
(Watch this amazing lady making giant, traditional jowar roti by hand at the side of the road - she has some serious skills!)

If you have a roti, chapati or tortilla press, this is ideal for the job. If not, I recommend using a flat bottomed heavy glass oven dish or lid to press it out with as follows: Place the ball of dough between two sheets of cling film to stop it sticking, and press it out with the glass dish.

Heat a medium frying pan over a medium high setting and place the roti in the pan. I don't use any oil for this.

After a minute, turn it over. The roti should puff up a little bit. 

The roti is done when you can see brown spots appearing on both sides.

Place on a warmed plate and repeat with the remaining 5 roti.

TIP: While you are pressing and cooking each roti, cover the remaining dough with a teatowel or some clingfilm so it doesn't dry out. If it starts to get a little dry, sprinkle with a few drops of water.

Serve immediately and enjoy!