Chapathi is a flat bread which is also known as roti.It is made of whole wheat flour commonly known as Atta. It is one of the staple food of India,and we GSBians also include it in our diet – prepare this during normal days and fasting days. Earlier they were served to kids – by mixing sugar and ghee,and applying it on the hot chapathis and then rolling them up ..Kids enjoyed it a lot. But as a kid I was not a big of this until I started relishing chapatis with a spicy curry.
Making a soft chapathi is a great challenge cum dream for all beginners. As I still remember the days where it used to turn crisp like papad or hard like a disc. But once we learn the trick, then this is one dish that can be prepared in minutes.Here I would like to share my version of the recipe keeping in mind that it would help the beginners to try out soft chapathi.
Ingredients:-
- Wheat flour – 1 cup
- Warm Milk/ Water – 1 cup (1/2 cup milk + 1/2 cup water) + extra normal water
- Salt – 1 tsp (adjust as per taste)
- Ghee/oil – 1 tbsp
Method:-
1. Take the flour in a bowl , add salt and 1/2 tbsp ghee
2. Now gently mix this mixture with clean fingers to give a crumbly texture to the flour
3. Now slowly pour the milk first and slowly start mixing, add water little by little as per need and mix to form a soft and smooth dough. Be cautious while adding water as more water may lead to a very sticky dough. Make sure there is no flour left in the bowl. Knead the dough for 10 minutes on a flat and clean kitchen surface. Leave it aside covered with a wet cloth for about 15 – 20 minutes.
4. After 10 minutes knead again once and then make small round balls from the dough. Take little plain flour in a bowl, dust the balls with the flour on either sides. Take rolling pin and start to roll to a circular or square shape. Do not use too much flour at this stage to dust the balls (unless it is too sticky) as it will lead to a hard chapathi.
5. Heat a tava on medium -high flame, when it is hot enough place the rolled disc on it and wait .When you can see small bubbles appearing – lift and flip to fry on the other side for another two minutes. Similarly flip both the sides again once more and then remove on a plate. Apply ghee on both the sides of the roasted chapathi. Ghee or oil can also be drizzled while roasting on tava itself.
6. Similarly continue with the rest of the rolled balls and keep covered in a hot case/casserole.
7. Serve hot and soft chapathi with any gravy or sabzi. Early days chapathi & batata bhaji was very famous. Now we serve with any side dish preferred by our loved ones.
8. For sweet stuffing mix a tbsp. of sugar to a tbsp. of ghee mix well and spread on the chapathi when it is little warm. Roll and serve. Can be packed for tiffin box.
For phulkas
After frying each side once on a tava for a few seconds – place the half done chapathi on a roti grill placed on gas burner. Just keep for a minute on either sides and remove as soon as it has puffed up . Apply ghee on both sides .See the picture shared below.(I learnt this art of phulka making from my friend Jayashri Baleri, a co blogger in this blog.
Konkani Khann Anik Jevan 