Bread & Cakes
Chapattis
If you do not have an intolerance or allergy to wheat then this recipe is for you. However, I have made Chapattis with wheat/gluten free flour and it does work. I have also tried it with spelt flour, which is an ancient ancestor of modern day wheat and has a different gluten structure to normal wheat. It is tolerated by some people with wheat and gluten allergies. Chapattis are small pieces of flat bread that is eaten in India with all sorts of dishes. I believe in India they have them with curry dishes as they are fairly dry and they tend to have them as an alternative to rice. However, I have them as well as rice as they are nice for mopping up all the wonderful juices. As I have an intolerance rather than an allergy to bread, I can sometimes have them as a little treat.
They are normally cooked on a tava, which is a cast iron plate with a long handle, but you can use a frying pan.
I did manage to buy a very flat cast iron pan with a long handle that I think is very similar to what is used in India.
1 large heavy duty pan
Ingredients
6 oz Chapatti flour (120 g)
Warm water
Pinch of salt
Method
Put your flour into a mixing bowl and your warm water and salt into a jug. Add a small amount of the water at a time, mixing the whole thing with your fingers or pallet knife.
Gently work the flour and water into a soft dough – you may not require all of the water.
Once you have your dough sprinkle flour over your work surface and knead the dough for a couple of minutes or until you get a kind of marble effect. Split dough into small balls. Leave to rest for around 30 minutes. I have made these in the morning and left them standing in a mixing bowl covered with a clean tea towel for the whole day and then rolled and cooked them in the evening time.
When ready heat your metal pan on full power, then dust your working surface with flour and divide your dough if you did not do so before leaving it to rest. You can make as many Chapattis as you want from this piece of dough, depending on whether you prefer large or small Chapattis.
Roll them out into circles if possible but it really doesn’t matter what shape you end up with. Once you have rolled one out fairly thinly place it onto your hot pan and gently go round the outside edge of the Chapatti pressing down very gently with a piece of kitchen towel. (wrap the kitchen towel around your fingers for protection as sometimes steam escapes and may burn you) This helps to seal the Chapattis and they will start to puff up whilst cooking. After a few seconds turn the Chapatti over, if it sticks to the pan then the pan is not hot enough. Depending on how large they are the whole process should only take between 30-60 seconds.
Once the Chapatti is cooked remove to a warm plate and lightly spread some dairy free spread over the Chapatti and then carefully roll it up. They can always be re-heated in the microwave for a few seconds if they get too cold.