bajre ka maleeda ... a rustic dessert or meal made with pearl millet flour...

A thick roti made with pearl millet flour, crushed to bits while still hot, then drizzled with ghee and mixed with jaggery is our bajre ka maleeda that is one essential winter food. Also called as bajre ka choorma or choori, this is one dish that no one can refuse, the only thing is that many people think it is too difficult to make it. That truth is far from it indeed.

Get some bajre ki roti made, that is all you have to do whenever you want a dessert heavier than your meal or a dessert meal all alone to savour in leisure. This used to be a regular dessert at the end of the day during winters when we were growing up. It was always made in large quantities and the leftovers were great for breakfast too. Sometimes the breakfast would be just bajre ka maleeda, the ways we accommodate our favourite seasonal foods.

Bajre ka maleeda or choorma is a great breakfast option as mornings are better time for heavy meals.

Just go get some pearl millet flour or bajre ka atta and have a sweet meal any time of the day. Although I would like to have it for breakfast always, the reason being you just cannot stop eating it till you feel full to the brim. So serving this maleeda as a dessert is out of question at my place. It is always a meal preferably a breakfast or weekend brunch.

Let's see how to make this maleeda. 

Making the bajra roti is the only step which needs some skill, although anyone can do it as you do not need to make a perfectly round roti or evenly thick roti for that matter. The only condition is that the roti must be cooked properly, being grilled slowly on the gas flame after roasting it both sides on the iron griddle..

How to make bajre ki roti

Knead a dough using bajre ka atta (pearl millet flour) and some warm water. Kneading small portions of the flour, just enough for one roti is convenient as the dough remains warm for flattening it by patting it under both your palms. So pour some warm water in about half a cup of flour first, mix and knead, then make a ball and rub some more between your palms, smoothen and then pat between both your palms to flatten it. The roti can be anywhere between 1-1.5 cm thick.

Pat the roti on hot griddle, let it brown slightly both sides and then grill slowly on the gas flame till cooked. It will puff up as a sign of being cooked and will break easily .

Alternatively the roti can be baked in an oven, laid on a greased baking tray, for about 15 minutes at 180C. The roti gets a nice thick and hard crust in both the cases, the insides remain softer but crumble easily.

The roti should break easily into to halves when folded and that is a test of being cooked. Also, the inner parts should not be gooey if you check.

Repeat to make more rotis and keep them wrapped in a cotton napkin till mashed or broken to make maleeda.

How to make maleeda 

Drizzle some molten of softened ghee over the warm pieces of roti. Top it with powdered jaggery or shakkar (unrefined brown sugar in this case) and enjoy the maleeda crushing each piece for every bite you take.

Or crumble a warm roti using your fingers and gather it on the plate like this.

You can make maleeda even if you don't get bajre ka atta (pearl millet flour). Just use any whole grain flour and follow the above process to make a thick roti.

Use corn meal or coarse whole wheat flour or powder either daliya (broken wheat), or burgul or even couscous or a mix of all these flours. You get different taste with all these flours but every time it is equally delicious.. This maleeda is made with many millet flours, each having it's own taste and if we do not have access to millet flours we resort to coarse whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour mixed with semolina and some bran, with great results.

have you had maleeda before?
Try this simple dessert/snack/meal and toss that muffin you are munching..

And if you have witnessed all your childhood winters sinking your teeth is such delights, come on...make it again for yourself.