Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Makki ki Roti
Makki ki Roti (Corn Bread)

Makki ki Roti

Corn Bread
VegetarianOrigin PunjabPrep 20–30 minutes, plus standing timeCook 5–10 minutesMakes 8

A classic North Indian unleavened flatbread made with maize flour, producing a dense, hearty texture with a subtly sweet, nutty flavour.

Ingredients

01
Cornmeal · Makki Atta
500 g
grain
02
Wholemeal flour · Atta
60 g
flour
03
Plain flour · Maidaplus extra for dusting
25 g
flour
04
Salt · Namak
~0.3 gpinch
salt
05
Ghee or butter · Gheemelted, plus extra for greasing
100 g
oil/fat
06
Mustard greens · Sarson Ka Saagto serveMake it: Sarson da Saag →
to taste
vegetable

Method

  1. Sift 500 g cornmeal, 60 g flour, 25 g flour, and 0.3 g salt into a broad bowl, then gradually stir in water until a soft, workable dough forms.
  2. Knead the mixture on a lightly dusted counter for 5 minutes, shift it to an oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes.
  3. Split the rested dough into 8 equal portions, roll each into a sphere, dust lightly with flour, and leave covered for 5 minutes.
  4. If baking in an oven instead of a tandoor, preheat it to 200°C (400°F).
  5. Flatten a dough portion by hand or with a rolling pin on a floured surface to create a disc roughly 20 cm (8 inches) wide, dusting with extra flour if it begins to stick.
  6. To cook in a tandoor, place the dough disc on a gaddi pad and press inside the moderately hot chamber for 2 minutes, then retrieve with tongs. For oven cooking, lay on a greased baking sheet and bake for roughly 6 minutes until done.
  7. Coat the finished breads with 100 g melted ghee or butter, and serve warm with Sarson da Saag to taste.

Don't have something?

Cornmeal
  • Coarse semolina

    Use the same weight. Soak 10 minutes longer and add extra water; texture is close but gluten-free.

  • Fine semolina

    Use the same weight. Softer and finer; grind coarser if the recipe wants cornmeal texture.

  • Millet flour

    Use 80% of the weight. Nuttier and needs more water; good for rotis but not for crisp coatings.

Wholemeal flour
  • Whole wheat flour

    Use the same weight; it is almost the same, though slightly finer, so add water gradually.

  • Plain flour

    Use the same weight but reduce water by about 10%; the result is lighter and less nutty.

  • Flour

    Use the same weight as plain flour; reduce water slightly and expect less bran and colour.

Plain flour
  • Whole wheat flour

    Use the same weight, add 10–15% more water and rest the dough for 20 minutes; the result is heavier and nuttier.

  • Rice flour

    Use the same weight for crisp coatings; for doughs use no more than half rice flour with wheat flour, or it will be crumbly.

  • Cornflour

    For thickening use half the weight, mixed with cold water; it is not suitable for bread or chapati dough.

Ghee or butter
  • Ghee

    Use the same weight. Gives a richer aroma and nuttier taste; if the dish already uses butter for finishing, ghee can make it slightly heavier.

  • Butter

    Use the same weight. Lower smoke point than ghee, so keep the heat moderate; if unsalted, add a small pinch of salt.

  • Vegetable oil or ghee

    Use about 90% of the weight. Less rich flavour; good when you want a lighter result.

Mustard greens
  • Radish leaves

    Use equal weight, washed and chopped coarsely. Offers a similar peppery, pungent bite when simmered down.

  • Spinach

    Use equal weight, but add a pinch of mustard powder or ground mustard seed to mimic the sharp bitterness of mustard greens.

Similar dishes

Makai Butta
Lime and Chilli Corn
Makai Butta is smoky, juicy and sharp from lime with mild chilli warmth, while this dish is dense and hearty with a subtly sweet, nutty maize flavour and ghee or butter richness.
  • Same: Makai Butta and this dish both use corn or maize as their main ingredient.
  • Different: Makai Butta uses whole corn on the cob with lime and chilli powder, while this dish uses cornmeal with wholemeal flour, plain flour, salt and ghee or butter, is cooked as a flatbread, and is served with mustard greens.
Makkai Butta
Chargrilled Corn-on-the-Cob with Chilli & Lime Butter
Makkai Butta tastes smoky, buttery, bright with lime and gently spicy, while this dish is dense, hearty and subtly sweet and nutty.
  • Same: Makkai Butta and this dish both center on corn and use a butter or ghee fat with salt.
  • Different: Makkai Butta uses whole corn cobs chargrilled and brushed with lime, kashmiri chilli powder and coriander butter, while this dish is a dough flatbread made from cornmeal, wholemeal flour and plain flour and served with mustard greens.
Gujarati Vaghara Makkai
Spicy Sweetcorn with Ginger & Green Chilli
Gujarati Vaghara Makkai tastes sweet, spicy and tangy from sweetcorn, green chilli and lime, with peanut crunch, whereas this dish is dense, nutty and subtly sweet.
  • Same: Gujarati Vaghara Makkai shares a corn base and salt with this dish.
  • Different: Unlike this dish's griddled cornmeal-flour dough with ghee or butter, Gujarati Vaghara Makkai is a tempered sweetcorn dish cooked with vegetable oil, mustard seed, asafoetida, turmeric, ginger, garlic, green chilli, lime and peanuts.
Marathi Sweetcorn Aamti
Sweet And Sour Corn Curry
Marathi Sweetcorn Aamti tastes sweet, tangy, and mildly spicy from jaggery, tamarind, and cumin-scented oil, while this dish tastes dense, hearty, and subtly sweet and nutty.
  • Same: Marathi Sweetcorn Aamti shares corn as its main ingredient with this dish.
  • Different: Marathi Sweetcorn Aamti is a chickpea-flour-thickened curry with jaggery, tamarind, cumin, chilli, turmeric, coriander, and corn cobs cooked in oil, while this dish is an unleavened flatbread made from cornmeal, wholemeal flour, plain flour, salt, and ghee or butter and served with mustard greens.