Bajarichi Bhakari

When there is a craving for good food take a bite of stale bhakari with a consciousness-

Shree Brahmachaitanya Gondavlekar Maharaj

The Bhakari Tutorial (updated : 12th Mar 06)

Step 1

Boil 1 cup water. Add 1 heaped cup flour to the boiling water, mix well to get the ukad ie boiled flour. This would give you 3 bhakaris of 8 inch each.

I have used Bajara flour here. You could use any other flour like sorghum (Jowar), Finger millet (Ragi or Nanchni), Rice too. It is even good to mix two different flours or even a multigrain bhakari is a good idea.

Anita :) see no cheating done you just need a good ukad. The boiling water brings out the gluten in the flour as this flour is essentially a low gluten one and you cannot get the same effect with cold water. See the ukad in the vessel below.

Step 2

Turn out the dough on the counter and knead for a while to get a nice smooth pliable ball. Divide it into 3 equal parts. Lightly flour the counter and pat the ball with circular motion as you spin it around. The ukad making makes this very easy. If you use cold water the bhakari cracks while shaping and crumbles into pieces while roasting.

Step 3

Lift gently the bhakari and turn it onto the tava heated on high heat and then reduced to medium. The direction of the bhakari should be the same as when you patted it. The side with finger marks face upside and the smooth side down. Sprinkle water and coat it evenly on the surface with circular motion. Now this step is important. Before the wet surface dries up completely lift the bhakari from the tava with a flat ladel and change the sides. In the picture below the surface has gone dry a bit by the time I took the it. The sides have to be changed just before this.

Step 4

Now you see one side roasted here.

Step 5

Once both the sides are roasted change sides. This time to puff up the bhakari. Use a twice folded napkin or oven glove to apply a bit of pressure to puff it up.

Here is the fully puffed up bhakari.

Remove it on a grill for the slightly crunchy type if you like it that way. Else fold it twice and tuck it into a box lined with a napkin if you like it soft. Both taste great depending on ones mood on the day.

It is so frustrating this IE is corrupt it threw me out and all the typed matter is gone. I'll come back to this later but for now I have had enough!

So finally I have updated the post and here I am replying to all your queries:

Yes Archana, Bee stale bhakari taste good too upto 2 days.

Anita in my struggle with the tyre I have switched to bhakari as a choice and eat it regularly with all vegetables. Yes for special menus it could be dry zunka, thecha, pithale, lasanachi chutney, vangyachi rasa bhaaji or greens stir fry like Asha mentioned. Yet as you suggested its a good idea to mix atta with bajari for the novices.

Asha yes Belgaum is famous for the Jolad roti aka bhakari. They even roast it to extra crispness and dry it in the sun for a day and stock up for a month. Their art of roti making is par excelence. They make paper thin ones just like khakara. At the time of serving these rotis are just roasted once like papads on direct flame and served.

Bee Besides the above techniques to for good shelf life what one can do is if the bhakari becomes hard for consumption say after 2 days and one needs a really soft bhakari. All you got to do is pack it in a box and put the box in a pressure cooker and allow one whistle. You have really soft and warm bhakaris again. Though they might not hold shape. Remember bhakari in a dry box and water on the outside in the pressure cooker.

Vee welcome here! Bhakari is now rustic chic. Growing up as a mumbai kid I hated bhakari but now I love it. Its almost a staple at my home. We use Ragi/ Nanchni, Jowar, Rice etc besides this Bajari. Sure go ahead! I will watch out on MBP.

Ushi its myth that its tough try it.

Trupti Urad daal is something I will have to train myself on. It turns me off due to the slime.

HKJ Ho Lonyacha Gola aani mag barech divas upvas! Ha ha ha. After removing from tava further roasting on low flame for few seconds does help puffing it up more. But if not fimiliar with bhakari roasting one needs to watch ones hand else might end up with a nasty burn from the steam that get released due to any tears. I too need to try making ladoos with Stale Bhakari.

Shilpa try with the ukad trust me they puff real good. Make smaller ones first then you can try with a larger size.

Dilipbhai mara ghere jamava aavjo virtual thi pet no bhare :) ;)!