Friday, May 11, 2007

Chapattis!

This is something I learnt from a friend here, who hails from Karachi so I guess this is how they make it there. This is the simplest and most delicious and healthy 'roti' ever (not that I have much experience with them) because it uses no oil whatsoever and on top of that, you can choose to use a wholemeal atta flour for it and reduce the salt.

Just thought I'd share this simple recipe with you!


2 cups of atta flour, salt to taste and 1 cup of warm water. Add salt into the flour. Add water little by little, using your clean hands to mix and make a dough.

The measurements above are my measurements, I just make them using the same amount every time to make sure that the amount of chapattis I get is the same. The measurements above are for 2 large chapattis and 2 small ones (by 'large' I mean, very large for Mr S and I!).


I usually only need a little less than 3/4 cup of the water to achieve the above. There is almost no need to knead the flour - just once or twice will do and then..


..bring your bowl and the cup of water down to the floor! Yes, this is really the best place to do it because you can use your weight when 'punching' the flour, as in the picture above. Scoop a little bit of the warm water with your hand and pour it onto the dough before you start punching (by the end of it, the water that you have used is probably around 3/4 of a cup). Punch the dough - your bowl will automatically turn around like a wheel as you punch with both hands, the movement assisting your punching.


Once the dough is flattened, gather the dough and knead once or twice before doing the punching routine once again, with/ without scooping more water onto the dough - it's okay if the dough is a little wet.


Gather the dough again and knead once or twice before transferring the dough into a clean bowl and leaving the dough slightly covered for at least 10 minutes ( I like to leave it for 30 minutes). At this stage, the dough is a little wet and sticky, UNLIKE normal bread dough that is smooth and shiny.


Ready to roll? Pinch a portion of dough, to fit the palm of your hand for a large chapatti and a slightly smaller one for a small chapatti. (The dough size above in the pic is for a small size chapatti.) Roll the dough around in your hand to make a ball - this will help the shape of the chapatti to be nice and round later!


Heat up your pan - fire must be medium and pan must be really hot when dough is laid on it. Don't put any oil in your pan - there is no need! Sprinkle some of the atta flour onto your rolling board. Before rolling with the rolling pin, press down the dough ball with your fingers first to flatten it - to prepare it for rolling. Try to maintain a nice and round shape while flattening with your fingers and also later while rolling. Don't roll too thin and not too thick either..hmm..you know what I mean.


Once the chapatti is turned and cooked front and back, remove from pan and wrap/roll it in a clean kitchen towel and chuck it into a plastic container - to try and retain its heat while you cook the rest of the chapattis - other better methods are welcome, of course e.g. a heat retaining container is probably better and one that I do not have!) Looky there (pic)! If the pan is hot enough your chapatti will 'inflate' and that's a sign of a good chapatti, apparently.


And finally, you can eat it with Mr S's favourite chapatti accompaniment, Chicken Karhai. Maybe next time I'll type out the recipe for this..

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

wonderful, I am a Indian and we make chapatis everyday but we add a little bit of oil to it. Maybe I will try without oil today :)
waiting for the Chicken Karhai recipe, I am sure if you have got it from your Karachi friend its going to be amazing..

- Fan of your blog

D said...

hehehe.. very timely. I bought a big bag of Atta flour last month to make chapatti but never got around doing it. Ok, now that you've reminded me, will definitely make it tomorrow, InsyaAllah.

ps: i thought of giving a go at apam manis but can't find ovalette. Where to get those??
pps: seriously, come up to coventry some time?

NorAiniJ said...

Salam perkenalan, was hopping from D's, hope u dont mind. Nice entry on chapatti..

Mama Sarah said...

aaaa? did i hear you're making chapatti D? Is that a doorbell you hear? That's just me and my hungry family

Halwafy, thank you for sharing the recipe with D :)

Unknown said...

snab,

shedapnya!! waaa, dah terer eh. hope all is well.

eddy

Anonymous said...

waa.. nampak mcm a lot of hardwork though..

Sue said...

Waiting for dat Chicken Karhai recipe.....jangan tak kasi pulak hehehe

Lee said...

Hello Halwafy, wow! I love chapattis. Only thing preventing me eating them often is weight. Takut break the weighing scale.
I can see you're a good cook.
By the way, how's your rendang? Send telegram if you making some, ha ha.
You have a nice day, UL.

Nik Farizah said...

This is the first blog i read this morning...and your chappati and chicken Karhai look soooo yummy....ooohhh..am i hungry?? Don't forget to share the chicken Karhai's recipe.....

CheAyu said...

Wah.. your blog is getting popular. dah ada FAN la pulak.. ahaha. That's good.

I like chapatis as well. You can also eat it with spinach and cheese. Boil the spinach (bayam), toskan and lenyekkan then gaul with cheese.. sedap makan with chapati! An Indian friend taught me that but I forgot what it is called.

Unknown said...

Hi Halwafy,

I visit ur blog quite often. The chapatis look yummy. I normally add in 1 tablespoon of condensed milk for better taste and sometimes I make stuffed chapati. U can use 'karipap stuffing' inside. Macam buat popiah tu...
BTW, where can I get ovalette? Eager to try ur apam cantik manis.

Anonymous said...

Sedap nya..... Me n hubby love chapati lah.......pandai u buat....lenguh tak tangan tuh hehehhe

Halwafy said...

anonymous: Hey thanks for visiting my humble blog :) I will also try to put some oil the next time I make it, but my friend taught meto put some oil in the dough at the rolling stage (put oil in and lipat and roll again) to turn the recipe above into parathas! But I guess you knew that, huh?

D: Did you make the chapatis after all D?? You ni mesti terer kan..hey, i really need to ask you about that cheesecake base lah..;)

Ovelette? Sorry my dear, malaysia mari..plus it's something that South East Asians use, if I'm not mistaken...org putih tak reti pakai :)

Coventry? Summer boleh tak..??

nj: welcome! I have been to your blog before, I think, and was taken by your writing and your stories..you write very well and I will definitely 'visit' you again...and again....and again...:)

mama sarah: Thanks..why don't you try making chapatis yourself..it's really, really easy tau..seriously..try it!

Halwafy said...

eddy: Hey you! Mana ada terer..this is easy stuff lah..;) Alhmdllh all is well..long time no hear???

lin: Not at all! The process above takes only a few minutes and the only part that's penat is the rolling out! The mixing and punching part is easy peasy. Betul...tak caya cuba sendiri ;)

Minah celoteh: Sabar ye...I know the chicken looks good but it's made of mostly tomatoes tau...it's not pedas at all...but still, it tastes good lah..again, sabar ye..;)

U.Lee: thank you for visiting my humble cyber abode! Hey..this chapatti is very healthy tau..no oil and wholemeal flour! I seldom masak rendang but by the time you arrive from Canada, surely it will be finished coz my rendang is very good one...he he he...(up the lift goes..)

nik farizah: sabar ye for that recipe.......tunggu.....!!

Ayu: hmm..interesting..cheddar cheese issit or cream cheese?? or cottage cheese?? Tell me coz I would like to try..

Jaylina: hello :) Welcome to my humble blog..and thank you sooooo much for those tips..I love to get tips from more experience people like that...much, much appreciate..by the way...what's your blog add? :) I will definitely try that condensed milk tip and the stuffing sounds interesting too although sometimes I also make Kheema (recipe from my Karachi friend as well - similar to inti karipap tapi main cecah je..)

Ovalette dekat kedai2 runcit Malaysia selalu ada jual, warna dia yellow/ orange(ish)..texture dia macam...err..tempoyak sikit he he he...good luck!

Wan:We loooove chapatti too..but kalau buat sendiri lagi sedap tau ;) Tak lenguh pun tangan..for something so good, it is very simple...I recommend you try it :) Mesti semakin sayang your hubby kat you..LOL

Anonymous said...

heheh okeh....I'll try.....nak buat banyak2 makan siang malam hehehe...kasik my hubby lagiiii sayangggggggggg