Chapatis

07 Sunday Jan 2018

Posted by Zoli in bread, chapati, flatbread, indian, kids, kids lunchbox ideas, quick and awesome, the basics

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chapatis

A soft Indian flatbread made with wheat flour, chapatis are very quick to make and pretty easy to master. As with most things, practice makes perfect so go easy on yourself if you’re trying these for the first time. Especially as I’m not putting measurements here. For chapatis, go by eye and texture and feel. After a few tries, you will be a master and making these will be no more daunting than making toast.

Chapatis

– Atta flour (finely ground wheat flour). *If you can’t find it, use whole wheat mixed with white flour. I find Trader Joe’s white wheat flour makes a soft chapati. If you decide to use American Whole Wheat flour, these will probably be stiff and dry rather than soft and pliable.
– salt
– oil
– water

1) Add flour into a bowl with just pinch of salt and mix in a bit of oil with your fingers. A good place to start would be about a cup of flour which should make about four to six or chapatis.
2) Gradually–DO NOT dump in–add in water, mixing with your hands and adding water as you go until you have a nice soft dough. It shouldn’t be so wet that it is like glue. But if it feels soft and yet tears a bit when you knead it, if it doesn’t stick together when you fold it over, then it is too dry. The texture you want is lovely softness, like new playdough. Watch this video to see Chetna do it like a boss.
3) After you have kneaded the dough for a couple minutes, cover with a drop of oil, some clingfilm and leave to sit for about ten minutes.
4) Pinch off a golf-ball sized bit of dough and roll into a sphere in your palms. This helps it keep an even circle shape when you roll out. Dust with flour and roll, turning as you go, to a thin circle about the size of a tortilla but ever so slightly thicker.
5) Get a cast iron skillet or non stick frying pan and heat to medium high. When hot, put the chapati on and cook for about 30 seconds, then flip. You will flip the dough again (and again) as it cooks to brown both sides and not let them burn.
6) When it begins to puff up, press a folded tea towel around the edges (not the center!) to push the hot steam toward the middle so that the chapati puffs up like a pita. When both sides golden brown, it is done. Only about a minute or two really. They cook fast.
7) Put cooked chapati on a plate and spread a bit of oil (if vegan), or ghee or salted butter on it. Continue with the rest of the dough until all chapatis cooked.
8) Keep chapatis warm on a plate covered with a tea towel. They will keep in the fridge for a few days and can be microwaved to warm up.

Serve with curry, sambal, chutney, daal of your choice.

Parathas, part 1 of 3

01 Sunday Mar 2015

Posted by Zoli in bread, flatbread, indian, kids, kids lunchbox ideas, paratha, the basics, Vegetarian

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flatbread, ghee, indian, kids, paratha, vegetarian

Another lovely flatbread to eat on its own, rolled up with filling, stuffed or eaten with a curry or raita. Paratha is made with whole wheat flour, like chapatis, but layered so that it is soft and flaky. For this first post, I have made plain paratha two ways, in a normal circle and in a triangle shape.

Ingredients
2 cups atta or wheat flour (or 1 1/2 cup white flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat — Whole Wheat flour makes these dry so I use a mix or recommend Trader Joe’s White Wheat flour if you can’t find Atta flour)
about a cup of room temp water
salt to taste
a tbs or so of olive oil or melted ghee

For trianglular paratha
1) Mix the flour (for this version I used half white, half whole wheat flour) with the salt and oil or ghee.
2) Don’t just dump in the water! Add in a little at a time and mix with your fingers till it comes together as a nice soft dough. You may not need all the water.
3) Knead for a few minutes, then cover so the dough stays soft and leave to rest about 20 minutes.
4) Tear off pieces of dough and roll into balls. Keep them covered while you are working so they don’t dry out.
5) Take one dough ball, dip it in plenty of flour and roll out to a large flat circle.
6) Brush olive oil or melted ghee, then fold in half. Brush a little more oil on the half circle shape and then fold one more time to a triangle.
7) Pat down with your fingers to help seal the sides. Then sprinkle more flour and gently roll the triangle out to a large, thin triangle shape.
8) Heat up a cast iron skillet or frying pan with a little oil or ghee and fry the paratha on medium to medium high heat.
9) The paratha will start to bubble up. Flip the paratha to cook the other side.
10) Add a little more oil to the pan and push the paratha into the oil. Turn the heat down if it starts to burn. Keep flipping and cooking until you have a nice golden brown spotted look.

Serve warm with anything you want like a raita, chutney, curry or eat on its own.

For circle-shaped paratha

1) Mix the flour (for this version I used only whole wheat flour) with the salt and oil or ghee.
2) Add in the water, a little at a time and mix with your fingers till it comes together as a nice soft dough.
3) Knead for a few minutes, then cover tightly and leave to rest about 20 minutes. Tear off pieces of dough and roll into balls. Keep them covered while you are working so they don’t dry out.
4) Take the first dough ball and roll out to a medium small oval shape.
5) Brush with oil or melted ghee. Sprinkle with flour.
6) Pinch the middle of the oval to form a number 8 shape. Then fold over.
7) Gently roll out, using more flour if need be, to a large, thin circle shape.
8) Fry in the same manner as above. Repeat for the remaining parathas.

Serve warm. These are as versatile as any flatbread and they even make good quesadillas as they are softer, flakier and tastier than whole wheat tortillas.

Triangle paratha: