A thick Sindhi flatbread studded with chopped onion, coriander and green chili, cooked on a griddle. Eaten with yogurt or tea, a staple of Sindhi breakfast.
Koki is the everyday bread of Sindhi cuisine, a thick flatbread made from wheat flour kneaded with chopped onion, coriander, green chilies, and a little oil or ghee, cooked on a griddle. Unlike naan or chapati, koki is thick and dense, and the onion and chilies are kneaded into the dough itself, not served alongside. It is eaten at breakfast with yogurt and pickle, or as a snack with tea, and it is one of the most characteristic foods of the Sindhi community in Pakistan and the global Sindhi diaspora. The bread keeps well and is traditionally carried by travelers. Simple, filling, and flavoured from within, koki is the Sindhi equivalent of Punjabi paratha.
Thick, dense and crisp, with bursts of sweet onion, sharp green chili and fresh coriander in every bite, the crust charred from the griddle. Eaten warm with cold yogurt, it is a complete breakfast.
The technique is a stiff dough with inclusions, cooked on a dry griddle. The dough is wheat flour, salt, a little oil or ghee, and finely chopped onion, coriander and green chilies kneaded directly into the dough. The inclusions make the dough wetter than plain bread, so less water is needed. The dough is rested 15 minutes, then divided into balls, patted thick (about 1cm), and cooked on a medium-hot griddle with a little oil for 4 to 5 minutes per side until golden and charred in spots. The thickness means it takes longer than a chapati, and the onion inside partially cooks during the griddling, releasing its sweetness.
Variations
Some add pomegranate seeds or cumin. A version without onion is plainer.
On the Palate
Where Sindhi Koki sits in the Pakistani flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
4 steps · 20 min
- 15 min
Mix 300g flour, 1 tsp salt, 2 tbsp oil, 1 finely chopped onion, 2 tbsp chopped coriander, 2 green chilies minced, and enough water to make a stiff dough.
- 25 min
Rest 15 minutes; divide into 6 balls; pat each to 1cm thick.
- 37 min
Cook on a medium-hot griddle with a little oil, 4 to 5 minutes per side until golden and charred in spots.
Watch outGriddle each thick disc 4-5 minutes a side until charred in spots — the thickness needs the extra time to cook the onion inside through.
- 43 min
Serve warm with yogurt and pickle, or with tea.
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