The first problem is the word “vs” in the headline above. It doesn’t have to be. They are both wheat, just processed differently for very specific reasons. Maida is not some “new, western, corporate, poisonous” creation. All wheat-growing parts of the world have had some form of “white flour” for the last 5000 years, but the hand-rolled tools to remove the germ and bran were obviously not perfect and thus some of the micronutrients still managed to get into the flour. Atta is made using a different process (Chakki mill) whose goal is not just to produce a “browner” flour but also to damage a bit of the gluten so that the chapatis and parathas we make are not too chewy (like maida-made ones are).
What the Europeans did introduce was modern industrial machinery that was able to produce whiter, finer flour (which is what is modern-day Maida) that is super ideal for large-scale processed food production. Maida was never meant to be a “healthy” flour. It was meant to be practical, long-lasting, and super delicious.
And of course, our stone-age metabolism ends up craving foods that are ultra-processed because they give you calories with little or no digestive effort.
SO HERE THE CRUX OF THE MATTER: Maida is not the problem. Our addiction to ultra-processed food is. You can eat a maida-based luchi but pair it with a vegetable sabzi. You can pair a Malabar parotta with a veg kurma or fish curry. It isn’t a binary between a giant 12-inch pizza or oreo cookies and organic, whole-wheat chapati. The fallacy here is to assume that a whole wheat pizza or atta-based parotta is a “healthy” alternative. IT IS NOT.
Focus on what’s on your plate, instead of obsessing over single ingredients!
