Finger millet flour flatbread made with hot water — the nutritious, gluten-free everyday bread of mountain Sikkim, darker and denser than wheat roti.
Ingredients
2 cups finger millet flour (mandua / ragi atta — the dark brownish-grey flour)
Hot water — approximately 3/4 to 1 cup
1/2 tsp salt
Ghee or butter for serving
Method
Place finger millet flour in a bowl with salt.
Pour hot water gradually, mixing with a spoon first then kneading with damp hands as it becomes handleable.
Knead for 3 to 4 minutes with continuously damp hands.
The dough should be smooth and pliable but will feel coarser and less elastic than wheat dough — finger millet is gluten-free.
Test: the dough holds together without crumbling when pressed.
If it crumbles, add a few more drops of hot water.
Divide into 6 portions. Wet both palms thoroughly.
Place one portion on a wet cloth or wet flat surface. Using wet palms pat and press the dough outward into a round disc about 14 to 15 cm wide and 5 to 6 mm thick.
Heat a dry iron tawa on medium. Transfer the shaped roti by inverting the cloth onto the tawa.
Cook on medium heat 3 to 4 minutes until cracks appear on the surface. Flip.
Apply ghee on the cooked side. Cook second side 3 minutes until golden patches appear.
Serve immediately — millet roti hardens quickly as it cools.