Gakkad bharta
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Thick wheat breads roasted in the embers of a fire and eaten with smoky mashed brinjal, a rustic winter meal of Malwa and Nimar.
Region: Madhya Pradesh (Malwa and Nimar)Occasion: Winter meals and outdoor gatheringsTime: 1 hourServes: 4Vegetarian
Ingredients
- For gakkad: 3 cups coarse wheat flour
- ½ tsp ajwain
- Salt to taste
- Water to knead
- Ghee to serve
- For bharta: 2 large round brinjals
- 3 tomatoes
- 4 green chillies
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp mustard oil
- Salt to taste
- Chopped coriander
Method
- Knead the flour with ajwain, salt and water into a firm dough. Shape into 4 thick rounds about 2 cm thick.
- Roast the rounds slowly in the embers of a wood or cow-dung cake fire, turning, for 20–25 minutes, until crusty outside and cooked inside. At home, bake at 200°C for 25–30 minutes.
- Roast the brinjals, tomatoes, chillies and garlic directly over a flame or in the embers until charred and soft.
- Peel and mash them together with the onion, mustard oil, salt and coriander.
- Brush off the ash, break the gakkad, drizzle with ghee and serve with the bharta.
History
Breads baked in embers are an old way of cooking in rural Malwa and Nimar, where farmers made them in the fields.
Significance
Gakkad bharta is a winter favourite and a common dish at picnics and community cooking in the countryside.