Saturday, November 1, 2008

Chapatis

I make Indian food probably once a week, and I'll usually whip up a batch of these chapatis to go along with it.  Another recipe from the brilliant Neela Paniz, they are easy to make and work really well for scooping up dal and other Indian dishes.  You'll need to find atta flour (also marked Chapati Flour)... which may require either a search online or a trip to your nearest Indian grocery store. I always choose the latter, and when we are in the Bay Area, I cannot leave without stopping by an Indian grocery store to pick up dal or flour or whole spices like fenugreek seeds or cardamom pods.
But about the chapati... it's excellent!

(from Bombay Cafe)
2 cups atta flour
3/4 to 1 cup warm water
ghee (optional)

Mix the atta flour and 3/4 cups warm water until you have a uniform dough that is not sticky.
Knead for about 15 minutes, adding water as necessary, until the dough is soft and elastic.
Cover with a damp kitchen towel for 30 minutes.
To shape the breads, sprinkle your work surface with flour.
Break off a one inch chunk of dough and flatten in the palm of your hand.  
On the floured surface, roll the dough out to a flat circle about 5-6" in diameter.
Heat a skillet over medium.
Place the chapati in the pan and turn it when you see small bubbles on the surface, about 1 minute.
Cook the other side for about 30 seconds.
With tongs, remove the chapati from the pan and place over an open gas flame for about 15 seconds, or until it puffs up.  Then do the same on the other side.
Remove from the flame, brush with some ghee if you like, and set aside while you repeat the process with the remaining dough.


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am in awe over people's ability to cook Indian food. I love it but am afraid to cook it. Great Job!

Rachael said...

Is it absolutely strictly forbidden to use all purpose flour for this? I'd love to try making it.

Your blog is great, by the way. :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Cate,
Great blog - I came across it last week. My mom makes chapatis pretty much the same way, except she uses canola/veg oil instead of ghee when mixing with the whole wheat flour (atta), and adds a pinch of salt. She brushes the tops of the chapatis with the ghee and stacks them which keeps them soft and pliable.

gaga said...

That's awesome that you make Indian every week! I'm intimidated by Indian food but am starting to learn. I'll definitely keep this in mind. Is it like naan?