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Indian

Jowar bhakri

Vegetarian

ज्वारीची भाकरी · jwarichi bhakri

A hand-patted, gluten-free sorghum flatbread from rural Maharashtra, cooked on a tawa with a wash of water on top and puffed over the flame. Earthy, soft-centred and naturally vegan.

Jowar bhakri is an Indian bread, ready in about 45 minutes and made with sorghum meal. It serves 5 and is rated advanced to cook.

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Prep
10 min
Cook
30 min
Rest
5 min
Total
45 min
Serves
5
Level
Advanced
Calories
165

Ingredients

5 bhakris

For patting

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Mix the flour and salt, pour in the hot water and stir with a spoon. Rest 5 minutes until cool enough to touch.

    Food safety: Mix hot water with a spoon first.

  2. Step 2

    Knead one portion at a time (enough for 1–2 bhakris) with the heel of your palm for 2–3 minutes, adding drops of water, until the dough is smooth and doesn't crack at the edges when pressed. Gluten-free dough relies on this kneading and on staying moist; keep the rest covered.

    • 3 min
    Hands kneading dough on a floured surface
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Dust the worktop generously. Flatten a 70 g ball and pat it outwards with your fingers, rotating it with the other hand, into an 18 cm round about 3 mm thick. Keep the edges as thick as the centre.

    • 3 min

    Patting on a sheet of parchment is easier for beginners; flip it onto your hand to transfer.

  4. Step 4

    Lay the bhakri, floury side down, on a medium-hot tawa. Immediately brush the top all over with water. When the water has dried (about 1 minute), flip and cook the second side for 1 minute until spotted.

    A flatbread cooking on a hot griddle
    How it looks · Photo: Muhammad Khawar Nazir on Pexels

  5. Step 5

    Lift with tongs (opens in a new tab) and hold the first (water-brushed) side over a medium gas flame until it puffs and chars lightly, 10–20 seconds — or press with a cloth on the tawa. Serve hot; keep the others wrapped in a cloth.

    Food safety: Keep hands and cloth clear of the flame.

About this dish

Origin
Maharashtra, India · Well documentedAlso a staple of north Karnataka (jolada rotti) and Telangana.More food from India
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Breads & flatbreads
Cooking method
Toasted
Taste
earthy, nutty, mild
Diet
Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Whole-food focused · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-fat · DASH-style
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Everyday · Budget-friendly
Cook more with
Sorghum meal
Techniques
Toasting · Spice roasting (dry-roasting) · Kneading

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

165 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 72 g · recipe makes 5

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 9%
  • Carbohydrate 83%
  • Fat 8%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
Energy165 kcal229 kcal
Protein3.9 g5.4 g
Carbohydrate35.3 g49 g
Net carbohydrate32.2 g44.7 g
Sugars0.9 g1.2 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre3 g4.2 g
Fat1.5 g2.1 g
Saturated fat0.2 g0.3 g
Trans fat0 g0 g
Cholesterol——
Sodium119 mg165 mg
Salt equivalent0.3 g0.4 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
149 mg
Calcium
9 mg
Iron
1.4 mg
Magnesium
57 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
0 µg
Vitamin C
0 mg
Vitamin D
—
Vitamin B12
—
Folate (DFE)
12 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Wipe the tawa with a damp cloth between bhakris so loose flour doesn't burn.

Common mistakes

  • Kneading all the dough at once: it dries and cracks before you can pat it out.

Serve with

  • Classic with pitla (gram-flour curry), zunka, green chilli thecha, raw onion and a spoon of ghee or white butter.

Storage

  • Best eaten warm; wrapped bhakris keep a few hours and become chewier.

Reheating

  • Warm on a tawa or crumble and fry with onion and chilli as phodnichi bhakri.
Is jowar bhakri gluten-free?

Sorghum contains no gluten. Check that the flour is milled without wheat cross-contact if you need strict gluten-free.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 3

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 40 min

    Weigh everything. Knead until smooth and elastic: a small piece stretches thin enough to see light through (the windowpane test).

  2. Rest · about 5 min

    Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.

  3. Start to finish: about 45 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

If something goes wrong

  • Pale crust

    Likely causes

    • Oven too cool
    • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
    • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

    What to do

    • Check the oven with a thermometer
    • Brush with egg wash or milk
    • Shorten the fermentation
  • Burnt bottom

    Likely causes

    • Tray too close to the heat
    • Dark tray absorbs more heat
    • Too much sugar in the dough

    What to do

    • Bake on the middle shelf
    • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
    • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
  • Tough or chewy flatbread

    Likely causes

    • Dough too stiff
    • Not rested
    • Cooked too slowly on too cool a pan

    What to do

    • Add water until the dough is soft and slightly tacky
    • Rest 20–30 minutes covered so the gluten relaxes
    • Cook on a very hot tawa or pan — quickly

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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