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Chapatis or Rotis are the staple food for millions of Indians.It is mostly eaten in Northern part of India. No meal is complete without them . It is commonly made with finely ground whole wheat flour.
Ingredients :-
For 12 Chapatis
2 cups whole wheat flour (gehun ka atta)
1 tsp oil
salt to taste
Water for kneading
whole wheat flour (gehun ka atta) for rolling
Method:-
For the chapatis
1) In a mixing bowl add wheat flour, oil and salt and make a dough by adding enough water slowly.Add it only as needed. Instead of water, you can also use milk. The result is really soft Chapatis.
2) Knead the dough well.The secret to really soft Chapatis lies in the kneading. The dough must be smooth .
3) At the end add little bit of oil for very smooth dough and soft Chapatis.
4) The finished dough must be smooth. After it is done, cover and keep it aside for ½ an hour. Knead again.
5) Divide the dough into equal portions, roughly the size of a golf ball.
6) Roll a ball with the help of a little whole wheat flour into a small circle to prevent the ball from sticking to the rolling surface. Brush oil on the surface.
7) Fold it twice to form a triangle as shown in picture.
8) Lightly coat on both sides to prevent the dough from sticking as you roll the Chapati.
10) The rolled out Chapati must not be too thin or it will not puff when roasted.
11) Heat tava on medium flame and put the rolled chapati to Cook.
12) The Chapati is ready for its first flip when you begin to see raised bumps on its surface. Use a spatula or hand to turn it on to its other side.
13) Cook otherside also for a while.Then again flip the chapati.
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14) Wait 8-10 seconds (approximately) after the second flip and then use a folded kitchen towel or spatula to gently press the Chapati around its edges. This will help it to puff out!!!
15) Now remove chapati from the tava and serve immediately or store in a container.
16) Line the container with kitchen towel or kitchen tissues to keep the Chapati warm, soft and free from moisture.
Tips:-
Instead of water, you can also use milk. The result is really soft Chapatis.
Chapatis can also be brushed with ghee (clarified butter) after being cooked.
Ingredients:-
2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup or 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening / Vegetable oil / butter
1/2 cup hot water (approximate)
Comal /Griddle/ pan
Rolling board and pin / Tortilla Press
Method:-
1) In a large bowl with a pastry blender or with hand blend the flour, baking powder, salt , vegetable shortening together.When all combined well, slowly add water until soft dough forms. Add additional warm water if necessary.
2) We are looking for a soft dough consistency; it should not stick to your hands. If it does, add a little more of flour. If it looks dry, or crumbly, add more water.
3) Knead the dough by folding again and again. Knead for 5 minutes to form soft dough that is no longer sticky.
4) Cover the dough with a towel or plastic wrap and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Allowing the dough to rest will give you a softer tortilla after cooking.
5) Separate the dough into 12 small balls or portions for small tortillas and 6 balls for large tortillas.
6) Heat a comal or griddle over medium heat.
7) On a lightly floured surface take one of the dough ball and begin to roll it out. Continue to roll and turn until the dough is about 1/8-inch thick round in shape.
or
Using a tortilla press , place a ball of the dough about 1 ½ inch in diameter between the two plastic pieces and press to form a 6 inch round tortilla.
8) Place each raw tortilla on the hot comal / Griddle / pan and cook .When air bubbles start to form then you turn over quickly and continue to cook for 1 minute until brown patches form. It will start filling up with air then you turn over again and cook for another 15 seconds. Cook until the tortilla begins to puff. Tap lightly with your fingertips to allow even puffing. Remove from the griddle and Wrap with a napkin or clean towel to keep them warm.Continue the same process with the remaining dough.
1) The dough can be frozen easily before cooking and thawed later.
2) Water quantity may vary depending on desired mixture texture
Jowar Bhakri is nutritious and high in protein content. It is also very easy to digest. Doctors now-a-days recommend Bhakri to be included in your diet.Pithla Bhakri is called as Farmer's meal or poor man's meal in Maharashtra. But because of it's awesome taste and simplicity it got popular among all Maharashtrian households. Pithla, Bhakri and Thecha served with Green chillies and Raw onion make a fabulous combination.
Ingredients:-
2 cups Fresh Jowar Flour
Salt as per taste
Warm Water to knead.
Method:-
1) Make dough for one Bhakri at a time. Don’t knead the entire dough.
So for your first Bhakri take about a cup of Jowar flour and add salt to it.
2) Gradually add warm water and knead it into soft pliable dough. . So using your hand knead the dough well for 5 minutes. If the dough is not kneaded well, the bhakris will develop cracks at corners.
3) Take a small round ball from the dough and flatten it with both your hands.
4) On a flat surface or large flat plate sprinkle some dry jowar flour, keep the flat ball on it, apply some Jowar flour to your hand and with the palm of your hand spread the dough into a thin circle. Take care that the dough does not stick at the bottom and should move freely with your hands.Use flour as required.
5) When the bhakri is ready, lift it on both palms and place the bahkri on tava / hot girdle prepared from iron.
6) Now lower the heat and take some water in hand.
7) Spread a little water with your hands on the surface of the Bhakri.
8) Now raise the heat to medium. When this water starts drying, turn the bhakri to cook the other side .
9) Cook on high flame till some brown spots appear on the lower surface of the Bhakri.
10) Remove it from the tava , turn it upside down and gently put it directly on the flame. It should puff up.
11) Remove from flame and serve hot.
12) Serve hot with Pithla, onions, green chillies, and buttermilk.
Tip:-
The flour has to be very fresh or else the Bhakri will crack .
The process of kneading the dough is quite important. Bhakris will be soft and will not crack at the corners if the dough is well kneaded.
Ingredients:-
For stuffing/filling
5 Potatoes /Aloo
½ tsp cumin seeds
1/4th tsp turmeric powder
3-4 green chillies paste
Handful of coriander leaves, finely chopped
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1 tbsp cooking oil
1/2 tsp amchoor or dry mango powder (optional)
Salt to taste
For dough
2 cups wheat flour
1/4th cup wheat flour for dusting
1 tbsp ghee / butter / oil
Salt to taste
Enough water to make dough
2-3 tsp ghee or butter for frying paratha’s
Method:-
Stuffing / Filling
Heat oil in a small frying pan and add cumin seeds allow them to crackle and remove from heat. Boil potatoes, cool, peel and mash the potatoes (You can pressure cook or microwave potatoes). Add all the ingredients for stuffing along with the fried seasoning and mix well. The mix should be dry, free of water. Otherwise, it will be difficult to roll out parathas. Keep the stuffing mixture aside.
Making dough
Rolling out parathas
1) Divide the dough and stuffing into balls of equal portions, now roll one ball at a time in the form of small puri or 3 inch diameter circles.
2) Place a small quantity of above stuffing (potato filling) over it, close it from all sides.
3) Gently pat the stuffed puri in the palms, apply some flour on both sides and roll it gently into a paratha or 6 -inch circles.
4) Whenever the dough sticks to the rolling pin or rolling surface, lightly sprinkle dry whole-wheat flour on both sides of the semi-rolled paratha.
5) Now place the paratha on a tava or skillet.Allow one side to cook when the color changes into light brown color.Turn repeat for other side. Lightly press the puffed areas with a spatula.
6) Drizzle some butter or ghee on each side and flip. Serve hot.
7) Cool the parathas on a wire rack so they don’t get soggy.
8) Parathas can be kept outside for up to 2 days wrapped in aluminum foil or in a covered container. For later use, parathas can be refrigerated for 5-6 days or freezed (wrapped in aluminum foil) for a month. Re-heat on a skillet or toaster oven.
Serving Suggestions
Tips:-
2) Parathas can be made in advance, cool and stackup cooked parathas on top of each other with a wax paper in between and wrapped in foil and frozen. They can be de-frosted and re-heated before serving. To re-heat, place 1 paratha on a hot gridle or tawa and cook until it become crisp on both sides.
3) You can use the similar procedure with uncooked parathas also. Parathas last 2-3 months in freezer and 5-7 days in fridge.
Carrot Roti is healthy and very easy to make. This is a wholesome meal for toddlers and kids. My daughter loves the different rotis.
Ingredients :
Wheat flour 1 cup
carrot 4 grated
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp (you can also use green chillies chopped instead)
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 2 pinch
Salt to taste
Method:
1) Grate carrot,
2) Knead the wheat flour with carrot,salt,red chilli powder,cumin powder,coriander powder,turmeric and water.
3) Make small balls and roll into rotis .
4) Heat a tawa or a non stick pan on medium to high, and place the roti carefully in it. Turn it after 2 minutes when you see the underside slightly browning. Add a drop of oil on the flipped side and flip it back again. Then add another drop of oil on the other side. Press the roti and turn every 2 minutes. Remove from heat when both the sides are golden and well cooked.
5) Serve with pickle and yogurt.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups whole-wheat flour
- 1/4 cup besan
- 1 cup Methi/fenugreek leaves washed and patted dry
- 5 tbsps cooking oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 5-6 green chillies paste
- Salt to taste
Method:
- Put the flour, methi leaves, 1 tbsp of cooking oil, cumin seeds, turmeric and green chillies paste and salt into a large mixing bowl.
- Add water, a little at a time to this mixture, and knead to form a medium-soft, smooth dough. Keep aside for 30 minutes.
- Divide the dough into golf ball-sized portions and roll between your hands till they are smooth and without cracks.
- Very lightly flour a rolling board or clean counter surface and roll each ball like chapati.
- Heat a griddle and fry the parathas one at a time like this: Put a paratha on the griddle. Do the first flip when you see tiny bubbles rise on the surface of the paratha. As soon as the first flip is done, drizzle a bit of the remaining oil on the top and spread well over the surface of the paratha. Flip again in 30 seconds and drizzle oil on this surface too. The paratha is done when both sides are crispy and golden brown.
- Serve with chilled yogurt and your favorite pickle or chutney.
