Makki Atta & Cornmeal

Makki atta is whole maize ground into a fine yellow flour. In Punjab it is made into makki di roti, a thick, rustic flatbread eaten in winter with sarson da saag, jaggery and white butter. Maize does not have the gluten of wheat, so the dough does not stretch and is patted out by hand. Cornmeal is the same grain ground coarser or finer, sold as fine or coarse cornmeal.

Fine cornmeal suits Jamaican cornmeal porridge, cornbread, fried dumplings and coating fish; coarse cornmeal gives polenta, cou-cou and banku style dishes more texture. Makki atta and fine cornmeal can often stand in for one another in rotis. Heera and TRS both pack maize flour and cornmeal.

Knead makki atta with warm water just before cooking, as the dough dries and cracks if left. Pat each roti between damp palms or on a sheet of cling film, then cook on a medium hot tawa with ghee. For other flours in this family see gram flour and cornflour, grouped under gram and corn flour.