Simplicity Coimbatore ,Maize flour in your diet
Over the past year almost I have been experimenting with different kinds of flour. We stopped buying or cooking/baking with maida about 6-7 years ago. Any cakes , biscuits or bread was made using home ground whole wheat flour only.
Lately however there has been a frequent occurrence of family and friends developing an intolerance to the gluten in the wheat flour.Now a lot of studies are portraying gluten in a negative light which has chefs and restaurateurs coming up with gluten free options for diners.
While rice continues to be the ideal food for the Indian DNA, it’s also a good idea to explore options other than wheat when it comes to baking. In the West gluten free options include almond meal ,potato flour , banana flour, coconut flour etc.
As I mentioned earlier ,we used many of these flour options for baking.The banana flour was a favourite because the nendram was home grown and the flour was made at home. However it was not an option that everyone could try because of the time required to make the banana flour. Fresh coconut is what is common here and not so much the coconut flour. Almond flour is very expensive and therefore not cost effective to rely on for baking ,each time.
That’s when we came across the yellow corn flour.In Tamil it is referred to as makka chola maavu. As we all know, the country corn variety grows easily in and around Coimbatore. This is much tastier and more wholesome than the American sweet corn. The traditional Indian corn kernels when dried are referred to as maize and then made into flour. Not only is this commonly available in all our stores but also does not burn a hole in the wallet !
This is different from the white powder which is also called corn flour or corn starch.That is made from the starch from the corn and is used as a thickening agent. The yellow corn flour is made from the dried corn kernels. When it is coarsely ground it is popularly referred to as corn meal. When it’s smoother it’s ideal for baking and kneading into chappathis or mixing into dosai maavu (batter) to make makka cholam dosai (yellow corn dosai).
The most important factor to keep in mind when making a dough with the yellow corn flour is to use warm water and knead it well and then let it rest for about 20 minutes before rolling it out. When heat is applied via the cooking process, the natural taste of the corn is released which makes it so tasty.
Another really tasty and wholesome dish to make with these yellow corn rotis are the Mexican fajitas.Masa harina dough is the yellow corn flour which undergoes a brining process and makes for delicious flour tortillas.We made the same using these yellow corn rotis instead of buying the refined flour tortillas which are available in the supermarket. These taste so good and are a whole lot healthier as a family meal !
There is a link on the top to my IGTV video on how to make the fajitas – please do click on it.
Another interesting bit of trivia is that the American sweet corn has much more sugar content than our desi corn or even the heirloom corn which is native to South America. So while the hybrid sweet corn variety maybe deemed to be high in calories ,that does not hold good for our country varieties.
Again since corn is locally grown and results in easy availability of the maize flour, it’s a wonderful option to incorporate into the family’s weekly meal plans. It’s also great news for those seeking a gluten free flour solution for their baking requirements. Home bakers, we hope you’re reading this. The next time your clients are looking for alternate flour options do give the yellow makka cholam maavu a try. It has a fat content of 5-6% making it a low fat food. It provides good carbs, has a medium glycemic index,contains manganese, magnesium ,zinc , copper and is high in fibre. After all there’s a reason why popcorn is considered a healthy snack…as long as one goes easy on the butter that is !
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