Gluten Free Healthy fulkas

 A shout aloud to all celiacs and gluten sensitive friends around the world . Let's come together , share all we know !!

I begin to do my bit of sharing , whatever I have learnt in the last 3 years . Being sensitive to gluten would sadden anybody . And having a small child who can't touch gluten in any form is a much bigger challenge , a parent can come across .

From the time I discovered,that gluten was my son's biggest culprit, we have come a long way in creating yummy menus that satisfy his taste buds while eating healthy . From reading a lot of health books to loads of experiments in the kitchen , life has been a wonderful journey , with a new learning every single day.

With this blog I commit myself to a lot of experimenting , reading and sharing all things gluten free , all things healthy . 

My first major challenge after going gluten free was to replicate the punjabi paranthas and fulkas I have grown up eating . Our son loved his paranthas (Indian unleavened bread with fat made fresh) and fulkas (Indian unleavened bread without any fat made fresh) equally . 

But I was not in the favour of adding multiple starches /gums etc to be able to replicate the wheat fulkas and paranthas , which in my eyes was a big compromise with my son's health, for the sake of mere taste .  Hence never used any ready-made gluten free atta/ maida replacer . I decided to go back to basics - rice and Jowar( also called shorghum) . 

In my first post , I am sharing with you the secret behind lovely rice flour fulka. Sharing a picture of how the fulka fluffs up, just like the one made with wheat.

The key Secret in this recipe are two essential steps. 

1. The making of Rice Flour itself ( This makes a lot of difference)
2. The process to cook the flour in boiling water before kneading.

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Secret recipe behind the making of  Best gluten free Roti/ chapatis/fulkas:  Ingredients : "Roasted Rice flour" * : 1 cup Water : 1.5 cups Salt etc as required . Method : Boil water in a wide vessel . Once the water boils completely , add this rice flour all at a time . Keep stirring with a spoon or the stick side of rolling pin  with speed ( if done slow there will be small rice balls which harden and remain uncooked)  Can reduce the flame at this point, if you find it difficult to keep up with the flame . Now using back of the spoon keep pressing it and stirring it simultaneously such that all the rice flour dough starts Sticking together . At this stage it will be difficult to stir or press. The dough will become harder . Switch off the flame and cover the PAN for about 10 minutes . Now take out the dough in a bid plate , and start kneading it , while still warm. Use normal water (from the filter)  to dip your hand in between and continue till all the dough comes together in a smooth soft  ball .  Now let this ball cool down completely and you are good to go . 😊 Roll like you would do with the wheat flour dough dusting in between as and when required. You can roll it really thin if you keep the dough firmer. Softer the dough, more difficult it will be to roll out thin chapatis. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *This is  preferably NOT the rice flour you get in the market in the name of Rice flour. The store bought Rice flour is made with Raw rice .  The Raw ground rice has a relatively rough texture and is more difficult to digest . Even the raw rice flour will give you lovely fulkas with the above method of kneading . However Roasted Rice flour is beyond comparison.   The Making of "Roasted Rice Flour": Ingredients : Raw Rice  Method : Wash the rice very well in running water till the water is clear. Soak Rice in enough water for about 4 to 6 hours. Drain all the water using a colander and let this wet rice sit in the colander for some time till  the water stops dripping. Spread this damp (nearly wet) rice on a cotton fabric length and let them be without any fan for roughly an hour or two. Depending upon the weather it can take more or less time for the rice to be ready for the next step. Once the rice seems a bit dry , but  damp from inside, upon breaking, you are ready to take it to the flour mill (A mill that does not process gluten) and have it ground as fine as possible. Once it is ground very fine, take a big Kadai on a very low flame and start dry roasting the still damp rice flour , while continuously stirring it all the time . Preferably do this in small batches . This step is the key to get the best rice flour which binds very well and is a blessing for gluten free family. Dry roasting should be done on very low flame till the time every grain of fine rice flour can be felt when you take a pinch in your finger tips. it should be free flowing just like a new packed of free flowing salt. There should be no change in the color of rice .  Spread this rice in a big plate for it to cool down and then pack it up in an airtight container.  Huge quantities are not recommended to be done at a time. Small batches of freshly done rice flour is the best for both the texture (binding etc) , taste and health. It is always best to grind your own flour when suffering from allergies like gluten and others. However, In the absence of a mill , gluten free rice flour can also be purchased from supermarkets in India. However most times that flour is made by grinding raw rice and hence the results would wary.  Even the raw rice flour will give you lovely fulkas with the above method of kneading . However Roasted Rice flour is beyond comparison.  This is my first attempt at blogging and will request readers to try this method and post their suggestions , recommendations in the  comments  section for me to improvise.   Taking leave for now to be back with next recipe of wonderful Gluten Free puris, very soon. :)