Makki di Roti (Indian Cornmeal Flatbread)
Roti, in general, refers to an Indian flatbread cooked on an iron griddle (tava). Makki di roti (lit. "roti made from corn") refers to a special roti where cornmeal is used instead of the usual wheat flour. It is a famous delicacy from the north-Indian state of Punjab, and is cooked in the winters and served with saron da saag (cooked mustard leaves) and lassi. Makki roti is yellow when cooked and has less adhesive…
Ingredients
- 1 handful cornmeal
- 1 spoonful unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cupful lukewarm water
Steps
- Heap cornmeal in praat (wide flat mixing tray) to form hill. Make well. Pour in small quantity of lukewarm water.
- Mix cornmeal and water into dough. Add water in small quantities; keep moist but not sticky. Sprinkle extra cornmeal to absorb excess moisture.
- Add soft butter (makhan) at end. Knead a final time.
- Take small hand-sized portion of dough. Roll into small ball (ladu) between hands.
- Flatten ball gradually between palms, wetting hands and fingers to help stretch. Rotate for even thinning. Press cracks at rims to repair.
- When roti is size of small plate (a little larger than a spread-out hand), place on preheated tahva. Let it take in heat; cooking takes a while.
- When roti can be moved on tahva, press moist-looking areas with dry cloth.
- Turn over and heat other side. Roti is done when no moist-looking areas remain. Slight burning is normal.
Notes from the original
- The roti can be heated on open flames of the cooker or on a tava. This process of placing roti on open flames is called radhna. It takes time to get the thick roti to be well cooked.
- The cooked roti is smeared with some clarified butter (ghee). This is called chopardna. The roti is then put into a serving dish. Traditionally, the roti is served as it gets prepared and is eaten fresh. On occasions when it has to be stored before serving it is placed in a dry tray called chahba.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Makki di Roti (Indian Cornmeal Flatbread)” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2025-06-19, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.






