Chappatis / Roti
Arjun Thandi
Chapatis, Punjabi flatbread is the Punjabi staple food, accompanying most dishes.
Prep Time 30 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Servings 4
Calories 344 kcal
Rice, Grains and Pulses
- 400 grams Wholemeal flour
Making the dough
Add the flour to a bowl.
You can add a pinch of salt for taste but it’s not required.
We will be adding water gradually to the flour until we achieve the dough consistency.
Add just a little water to begin with. Now stir the water into the flour with your fingers.
Add some more water, making it a little more sticky. Now you can start using your whole hand and really start to knead the mixture.
Continue to adding water as required and kneading the mixture until the dough has become smooth and not too sticky, should not take longer than 15 minutes.
Press the dough into the the bowl so that it spreads the surface of the bowl.
Seal the dough by spreading some oil over it.
Cover the dough and let it rest for about 1/2 hour.
Preparing the patties
Divide the dough into small pieces of about 3 inches wide and 1 inch thickness.
Cover each ball with a little flour.
Turn by turn take each dough ball and then knead and roll with your hands into balls, finish by coating them with some flour.
Now make each ball into a Pattie, gently holding the ball from the middle and then pressing in from the edge as you rotate the Pattie.
We are ready to make the chapati shapes. Cover the worktop with a little flour that will prevent the dough from sticking, add more when you feel it starts to stick.
Place the pattie on to the surface and then with a rolling pin roll the pattie, flattening and elongating it with each roll. Turn the Pattie over regularly, but place it back at a 45 degree turn so when you come to roll it again it will elongate it the other way, thereby shaping your chapatis (ideally) into a nice round shape. The diameter of a chapati should not be larger than 10 inches and definitely not larger than your pan!
Cooking the Chapati
Ensure that the pan is hot, and then turn down to a medium heat.
Lift up the chapathi,placing it flatly onto your palm.
Move your hand close to the pan, and then in a quick movement flip your hand down, placing the chapathi into the middle of the pan.
Give it time enough for the dough to start hardening as it cooks on the flat side down,
Carefully flip it - using a spatula might be the safe option.
Repeat the process, regularly flipping until both sides are showing signs of browning.
If it also filled up with air and blew up like a balloon then you have just made the perfect chapati!