Chapatti
Chapatti is a thin unleavened Indian flatbread made from atta, water, salt and ghee. It is soft and supple with lightly crisp patches and a mild wheaty flavour, often brushed with ghee.
Ingredients
Method
- Put 250 g atta and 0.3 g salt in a bowl. Rub in 26.4 g ghee until the mixture looks crumbly.
- Add 159–169 g water a little at a time, mixing with your fingers or a spoon until the flour starts to clump together.
- Knead in the bowl until the dough is smooth. Cover and leave to rest for 20 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 12 equal balls. Flatten each ball and dust lightly with extra atta.
- Roll each piece out with a rolling pin to about 10 cm (4 inches) across and as thin as you can.
- Heat a dry frying pan or griddle over medium heat. Put one chapatti in and cook for 30 seconds. Turn it over and cook for 1 minute.
- When it starts to puff, turn it back to the first side and cook for another 30 seconds, pressing lightly with the back of a spatula.
- Take the chapatti off the heat and spread it with extra ghee. Cover and keep warm. Cook the remaining chapattis the same way.
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Wholemeal flourUse the same weight; it is very close, but add water slowly as it can be coarser and absorb more.
Plain flourUse the same weight but reduce water by about 10%; the dough is softer and the flavour less nutty.
FlourUse the same weight as a plain-flour swap; reduce water slightly and expect a lighter, less wheaty result.
Unsalted butterUse 120% of the weight; melt gently over low heat to avoid burning the milk solids, which will yield a softer, creamier richness rather than a nutty aroma.
Vegetable oilUse 85% of the weight; holds high cooking temperatures without smoking, but the final dish will lack traditional dairy depth.
Mustard oilUse equal weight; heat to smoking point and cool slightly before cooking, bearing in mind it introduces an assertive, pungent edge.
StockUse the same weight in savoury dishes; it adds body, so adjust salt.
MilkUse the same weight only in doughs or creamy dishes; it makes the result richer.
Coconut waterUse the same weight in curries or rice; it adds sweetness and a faint coconut taste.
Similar dishes
- Same: Puris shares with this dish a simple unleavened dough made from chapatti flour or wholemeal flour, water, and salt.
- Different: Puris adds vegetable oil to the dough and is deep-fried, while this dish uses ghee and is cooked dry on a griddle.
- Same: Phulkas uses the same weighed ingredients as this dish: 250 g chapatti flour, 26.4 g ghee, 0.3 g salt and 159 g water, with no spices or souring agent.
- Different: Phulkas is cooked quickly on a hot griddle until it puffs, while this dish is described as soft and supple with lightly crisp patches and often brushed with ghee.
- Same: Chapati shares with this dish that it is a thin unleavened flatbread made from flour, water and salt and cooked on a hot dry pan.
- Different: Chapati uses wholewheat or plain flour and vegetable oil in the dough, with more salt and no ghee, while this dish uses atta and ghee.
- Same: Puris and this dish are both unleavened wheat breads made from chapatti flour and salt.
- Different: Puris are deep-fried in vegetable oil, while this dish uses ghee and water and is cooked as a thin griddle bread; neither lists a souring agent or spices.