Fresh Bajra Flour (Bajri Peeth) - Ground Fresh

Bajra flour milled the same week it is sold. Bajri peeth turns bitter faster than any other atta in an Indian kitchen, and most shelf stock was ground long enough ago for the oil in the grain to go off. Ours moves from our farmer group's pearl millet to the stone mill in small lots.

The bitterness problem

Pearl millet carries more fat than wheat, and that fat oxidises within a few weeks of grinding. Once it has, bhakri tastes sharp at the back of the tongue and no amount of gul fixes it. Grinding small and often is the only answer, so we do not fill a godown.

Rolling bhakri with it

The dough wants hot water, never cold, and it has to be kneaded while it can still be handled. Pat it out by hand on a damp cloth, working outward from the middle. Winter bhakri with thecha, raw kanda and a spoon of loni is the reason bajri stays in most Punekar kitchens from November onward.

Pack

One standard pack. Order what you will finish in three or four weeks. Freshness is the whole point here.

Storage

Airtight jar on a cool shelf. If the kitchen runs warm, the fridge buys another month.

Households that eat bhakri through the year keep jowar flour alongside, since jowar suits summer and bajri suits the cold. A piece of jaggery dhep is the usual companion on the plate. More milling under grains and flours.

Frequently asked questions

Why does bajra flour taste bitter

The oil inside pearl millet turns rancid a few weeks after grinding and that is exactly what you are tasting. Buy freshly ground flour in small quantity and finish it quickly.

Is bhakri better than chapati

They are different, not better. One is unleavened millet patted by hand, the other wheat rolled with a belan. Bajra has no gluten, so it will never behave like atta.

Can I mix bajra flour with wheat

Yes, and it makes rolling far easier. One part bajri to two parts wheat gives a soft roti that still tastes of millet.