Vegan Jowar Roti Recipe

Having a variety of whole grains like sorghum in our diet ensures that we have better nutrition and the new flavours and textures are a bonus. Vegan by default.

Jowar Roti is a gluten free Indian flatbread. This millet roti is extremely nutritious, affordable and easy to make. It is a staple cereal in many parts of the country, predominantly Rajasthan and parts of North Karnataka. Jowar like many millets are hardy crops and grow well in dry conditions making it a boon in hot dry areas.

Having a variety of whole grains like sorghum in our diet ensures that we have better nutrition and the new flavours and textures are a bonus.

Enjoy our whole food plant based Jowar Roti recipe and send us pictures of your experiments with them.

Whole Food Plant Based Jowar Roti Recipe

Course: Course 3: Grain Dishes for Lunch & Dinner Meals
Cuisine: Rajasthani, Udupi & North Karnataka Recipe from India
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 10 Jowar Rotis

INGREDIENTS

1. 2 1/2 cups coarsely ground Jowar Flour (Sorghum Flour) for dough
2. 1/2 cup Flaxseed Powder (Ground up Flaxseeds)
3. 1 cup coarsely ground Jowar Flour (Sorghum Flour) for rolling out jowar rotis
4. Water as required

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Boil 2 cups water.
2. Mix jowar flour with flaxseed powder and keep ready. Once water boils, slowly add water little by little into the flour mixture and mix well. Stop adding water once the flour comes together into a kneadable dough. The consistency must be soft but not sticky.
3. Knead for five to ten minutes. At the end, you should be able to make a ball without any breaks. If it breaks, add a little water and knead again. If it is too sticky, add some flour. The consistency should be perfect for the perfect roti.
4. Take a ping-pong ball sized piece of sorghum & flaxseed powder dough and roll it into a ball between your hands. Flatten into a thick disc.
5. Dust with sorghum flour and roll it out into a jowar roti with a rolling pin.
6. Heat a thick bottomed pan or tawa. It is hot enough when a bit of water dropped on the pan dances instead of evaporating immediately.
7. Dust off any extra flour from the sorghum flatbread, place it on the tawa and reduce flame to sim or medium. Close with a lid. After 30 to 60 seconds, once cooked, flip over. It is cooked on the first side if light brown spots have begun appearing. If the spots are large or dark brown, it has been overcooked. Tear off the dark parts and consume only the unbrowned parts.
8. After 20 to 30 seconds, take the roti / chapathi off the tawa. By now, small, light brown spots should have appeared on both sides and the roti / chapathi should have been fully cooked.
9. Wait for a few minutes until it cools down, then serve.

Nutrition Science Highlights for WFPB Jowar Roti

1. Jowar roti or sorghum flatbread is a dry dish. It is preferable to consume it along with a watery dish, such as Vegan Dal Makhani, Garlic Dal, or Tofu Amaranthus Gravy. Jowar roti is especially useful when you need to cook much before your mealtime, as it does not get spoilt as quickly as rice or porridge does.
2. Why whole grains? Whole grains are healthier than refined grains such as white rice, refined flours, maida, rava, etc., as the bran layer is intact, with all its vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Whole grains have been found to be protective against a whole range of chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and lifestyle-related cancers.
3. Why cool grains? When cooked grains are allowed to cool on the counter or in the fridge, the starch crystallises to form resistant starch. This can be eaten by our good gut bacteria and also reduces the glycemic index (the rate at which glucose is absorbed), making the whole grain even healthier. For the same reason, parboiled whole grains can be used as well.
4. Why flaxseed powder? Whole grains are super healthy foods, but whole grain flours, not so much. Because of a smaller particle size, the starch from ground up grains gets absorbed much faster than from intact whole grains, causing a glucose spike and insulin spike in the blood. This is why we recommend coarsely ground whole grains as against finely ground whole grains. When we cook dishes using whole grain flours, it is wise to add an ingredient that makes the dish sticky and slows down absorption. Flaxseed is a perfect addition for making rotis. In addition, flaxseed contains high levels of omega 3 fats and cancer-fighting lignans. For the same reason, eating grain flour dishes with pulses and legumes, such as roti and dal, is a great idea too.
5. What's wrong with roasting? The brown color we get on roasting whole grains, tubers, legumes, or nuts is due to the formation of carcinogenic AGE compounds. We can reduce the formation of these compounds by roasting on a low flame, adding spices and herbs, and removing browned portions of rotis / flatbread before serving and enjoying them.