A winter staple, Methi wali makki ki roti is a traditional Punjabi flatbread made with sweet corn flour and fenugreek leaves. Naturally glutenfree, these taste best when served with a dollop of butter or ghee.
Methi Wali Makki ki Roti is a traditional Indian flatbread that combines the nutty, hearty flavor of sweet corn flour/cornmeal with the slightly bitter and aromatic fresh fenugreek leaves. This wholesome flatbread is particularly popular during winter months in Northern India, especially in my home state of Punjab and other neighboring areas. I'm forever a savory breakfast person, and just like this savory cottage cheese breakfast bowl, this roti is up my alley.
This flatbread could be a cousin to my Gaajar Mooli wali Makki ki Roti and is a offspring of the plain makki ki roti. This flatbread is naturally glutenfree and vegan. We love to eat with topped with lots of butter and some galgal ka achaar or cranberry pickle on the side. Though it is typically a winter dish in Punjab, I can totally eat it all year round!
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✨Why you'll love this recipe?
- Uses basic, seasonal ingredients - sweet corn flour and fresh fenugreek leaves are winter staples and very easily available during the season. Most Indian grocery stores carry these in the US as well.
- No special equipment needed! Just your basic kitchen gear is all it takes to whip up these comforting and healthy winter flatbreads.
📋Recipe Ingredients
The ingredients needed for this Methi wali makki ki roti recipe are all easy to find. There are a few things to note and substitutions worth mentioning particularly because I want to help out my US audience.
- Sweet Corn Flour/Makki ka atta - if you are making this recipe in India, you might have your favorite makki ka atta or sweet corn flour that you can use. In the US, Brar Makki ka atta is what I would recommend. It's available at most Indian Grocery stores as well as online.
- Fresh Fenugreek Leaves/Methi - are seasonally available as most Indian grocery stores. These are slightly bitter in taste and go perfectly with the sweet corn flour flavor. Also check out my aloo methi recipe if you have some methi leaves on hand.
- Ajwain - also known as carom seeds adds an almost floral, anise like flavor. It is a common addition to most paranthas that are served in breakfast to help with digestions. Ajwain is also easily available in most Asian/Indian grocery stores and online. I have also seen it in regular grocery stores at some places (in international section).
Got some fresh methi leaves leftover after making this recipe? You can make my aloo methi recipe and not let the ingredient go to waste!
Don't forget to check out the recipe card below for a complete list of other ingredients along with the quantities.
📖Substitutions, Additions and Variations
- Masa Harina - though I have not tried this recipe with masa harina, I know friends who make methi wali makki ki roti with masa harina.
- Frozen fenugreek leaves - frozen fenugreek leaves can be used in this recipe but I highly recommend fresh fenugreek. Thaw and squeeze out moisture from frozen fenugreek leaves before mixing them with the flour and other ingredients.
- Spice level - I have used thai chilis in this recipe which are spicy. You can use jalapenos or serranos depending on your heat tolerance or completely skip the chili peppers.
👩🍳Steps to make this recipe
Since sweet corn flour does not have any gluten in it, making methi wali makki ki roti needs some practice and I roll it slightly differently than regular whole wheat flatbreads like roti or aloo paranthas (potato stuffed flatbreads). These step by step pictures will make it more clear.
Step 1: Strip the fenugreek leaves from the stems, rinse with water a couple of times to get rid of any dirt, and then finely chop the leaves. Finely mince the green chili and ginger (Image 1).
Step 2: In a deep wide platter or bowl (I use a traditional stainless steel paraat), add the sweet corn flour, chopped fenugreek (methi) leaves, ginger, green chili, ajwain, salt, and kasoori methi (optional) (Image 2).
Step 3: Set up your roti making station by the stove. You will need a rolling surface (or clean kitchen counter), a rolling pin, a zip top bag cut open from two adjacent sides, oil, warm water, and the bowl with your dough ingredients (Image 3).
Step 4: Mix all the dry methi wali makki ki roti ingredients (Image 4).
Step 5: Set a heavy cast iron skillet on medium high heat. Move and separate about half a cup of the flour and fenugreek leaf mixture to a side of your bowl and add warm water to it, a little at a time, and knead until it comes together in form of a dough. Once it does, form a small, thick disc with it (Image 5).
Step 6: Open the zip top bag like a book and keep one side on your rolling surface. Wet it with water and put the dough disc on it. Cover the disc with other side of the zip top bag (like you were closing the book) and using the rolling pin, roll out the disc into a parantha, about 4 inches in diameter and quarter of an inch thick. Lift the zip top bag side that is covering the rolled out parantha (Image 6).
Step 7: Pick up the zip bag along with the rolled roti, carefully peel away the ziptop bag and place the roti on to the hot cast iron skillet (Image 7).
Step 8: After about 10-15 seconds, carefully flip the roti using a stainless steel flat spatula, making sure not to break it. The surface facing you should have some brown spots on it (Image 8). Let the roti cook on the other side for another 10-15 minutes.
Step 9: Flip the roti and baste with oil using a spoon or a brush (Image 9). Repeat with the other side while slightly pressing with the spatula.
Step 10: Your methi wali makki ki roti is ready (Image 10). You can cook the roti longer if you like it crispy. Repeat until all the flour and fenugreek leaves mixture is used up.
💡Vaishali's Tips!
- Practice makes it perfect! - It might take a few times for your methi wali makki ki roti to turn out the way you like it. Keep at it.
- Mix some whole wheat flour - If your dough is not coming together or if you are having difficulty rolling the rotis out, mixing some whole wheat flour while making the dough can be helpful. The gluten in wheat will help bind the dough.
- Water temperature - the water should feel safely hot to use. It should be warmer than luke warm. This helps making the dough smooth.
the best!
My favorite Cast iron skillet.....
You need a heavy cast iron skillet for making the methi wali makki ki roti in the most traditional way. Known as "tava" in hindi, it ensures evenly and safely distributing the high heat.
🫙Storage, freezing, and reheating instructions
- Store - you can store leftover flatbreads wrapped in foil paper in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
- Freeze - to freeze, stack the cooked rotis/flatbreads with pieces of parchment paper between them (so that they don;t stick to each other). Tightly wrap stacks of 3-4 rotis in foil and store in freezer safe ziptop bags upto 3 months.
- Reheat - reheat the rotis in a toaster oven or skillet on medium heat until warmed through. Serve with butter!
Pairing
Butter - Though the methi wali makki ki roti by itself is a vegan recipe but it tastes great when eaten with a big dollop of butter or ghee.
Pickle - Serve some galgal ka achaar or my 5-ingredient green chili pickle or any of your favorite Indian style pickle with these flatbreads.
Yogurt - a bowl of plain homemade or store bought yogurt is also a great pairing with these rotis.
Coffee - though not traditional, I love these rotis with my desi cappucino. The creamy coffee is great to wash off the rich, buttery paranthas.
If you make this recipe be sure to leave a comment and let me know how you liked it! Share it on Instagram with the hashtag #thekitchendocs or share on Facebook, too.
Love – Vaishali
Methi wali makki ki roti
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups sweet corn flour makki ka atta
- 1.5 cups chopped fresh fenugreek leaves fresh methi
- 2 thai green chilis finely chopped or minced
- 1 inch piece ginger peeled and minced or finely grated
- 1 teaspoon ajwain
- Salt to taste
- Olive oil to cook the rotis
- Warm water to make the dough
- 1 teaspoon kasoori methi optional
Instructions
- Strip the fenugreek leaves from the stems, rinse with water a couple of times to get rid of any dirt, and then finely chop the leaves. Finely mince the green chili and ginger.
- In a deep wide platter or bowl (I use a traditional stainless steel paraat), add the sweet corn flour, chopped fenugreek (methi) leaves, ginger, green chili, ajwain, salt, and kasoori methi (optional).
- Set up your roti making station by the stove. You will need a rolling surface (or clean kitchen counter), a rolling pin, a zip top bag cut open from two adjacent sides, oil, warm water, and the bowl with your dough ingredients.
- Mix all the dry methi wali makki ki roti ingredients.
- Set a heavy cast iron skillet on medium high heat. Move and separate about half a cup of the flour and fenugreek leaf mixture to a side of your bowl and add warm water to it, a little at a time, and knead until it comes together in form of a dough. Once it does, form a small, thick disc with it.
- Open the zip top bag like a book and keep one side on your rolling surface. Wet it with water and put the dough disc on it. Cover the disc with other side of the zip top bag (like you were closing the book) and using the rolling pin, roll out the disc into a parantha, about 4 inches in diameter and quarter of an inch thick. Lift the zip top bag side that is covering the rolled out parantha.
- Pick up the zip bag along with the rolled roti, carefully peel away the ziptop bag and place the roti on to the hot cast iron skillet.
- After about 10-15 seconds, carefully flip the roti using a stainless steel flat spatula, making sure not to break it. The surface facing you should have some brown spots on it. Let the roti cook on the other side for another 10-15 minutes.
- Flip the roti and baste with oil using a spoon or a brush. Repeat with the other side while slightly pressing with the spatula.
- Your methi wali makki ki roti is ready. You can cook the roti longer if you like it crispy. Repeat until all the flour and fenugreek mixture has been used.
Elisa
Thanks for sharing!
Ginger
I love Indian food, but I don't think I've ever tried methi wali makki ki roti. It looks delicious, thanks for sharing your recipe as well as its pairings.