Curry without flatbread seems empty, so knock up an easy batch of Indian chapati next time you are making a curry!
Indian Flatbread.
In many of the images of the many Indian recipes that I have here you will find some form of flatbread. Granted much of the time it is naan bread but the good ol’ roti or chapati often gets a look in too!
It is unleavened bread and cooked without oil and as a result, is simple and quick to cook.
If you cook them in oil then they are called paratha!
Chapati is traditionally made with a flour called ‘Atta’.
It is a whole grain flour but it is ground much more finely than typical whole grain flour.
If you can lay your hands on it then please feel free to use it. But for convenience, I use plain flour for my chapatis and they are wonderful!
What is the Difference Between Chapati and Roti?
I call these chapatis, it is the name I grew up with although they are more commonly known by the name roti today.
Essentially there is no difference between the two. I suspect the name chapati is much more common in, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
This is where a huge proportion of British immigration came from in the 70’s and hence my use of the name.
For me, roti is the perfect flatbread for a drier curry like the Madras pictured above or something like my Chettinad Chicken.
I’m also a dirty dirty man and love to brush my cooked chapati with melted ghee.
This is definitively not authentic but, c’mon melted clarified butter makes EVERYTHING better!
Indian Chapati Recipe
Indian food and flatbread are two peas in a pod and these cumin flavoured chapati are the perfect curry scoops!
Ingredients
- 125 g Plain Flour
- 1 Tbsp Cumin Seeds
- 1/4 Tsp Salt
- 1 Tbsp Ghee
- 65 ml Water
Instructions
- Toast of the Cumin seeds in a dry pan to intensify the flavours being careful not to burn.
- Add to a mixing bowl with the flour,salt, melted ghee and water.
- Bring together to form a dough, it should not be sticky, add more flour or water as required.
- Cover the dough and leave to rest for at least 15 minutes.
- Heat a heavy-based pan over a high heat, I prefer a cast iron pan.
- Divide into 4 and roll into a thin circle approximately 2mm thick
- Place each chapati into the hot dry pan one at a time and cook on one side until it begins to bubble, approximately 2 minutes.
- Then flip and cook on the second side for 1 minute.
- Repeat the process for the rest of the chapatis.
Notes
You can swap out the cumin in this recipe for other seeds, ones that work well include fennel, onion and poppy seed!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 2Amount Per Serving: Calories: 147Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 149mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 4g
Oh wow Brian you must be popular in that little corner of Hungary with people vying for a seat at your table. I am sure they could smell the cumin from down the street when you make this delicious Chapati
Very kind of you to say Tania… Hungarians find our eclectic taste in food ‘interesting’, primarily because they are flavours they have never been exposed to before. But it does go down well once they try it 😉
I’m not one to shy away from the taste of cumin, this one gets the heads up from me. I would love to make a gluten free adaptation of your wonderful recipe.
I really don1t know enough about GF stuff but would be interested in seeing your adaptation, cumin rocks 😉