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Easy Homemade Indian Chapati Flatbread

Indian chapati are the perfect quick and easy flatbread to serve alongside your favourite homemade curry, you may not order takeaway again!

Making the dough takes minutes and needs to rest for 30 minutes, but after that each chapati takes just 3-4 minutes to cook.

Indian meal of Ceylon chicken curry with homemade chapati flatbreads.

Quick and Easy Indian Flatbread

In many of the images of the Indian recipes that I have here, you will find some form of flatbread. Granted much of the time it is a tandoori style naan bread but the good ol’ chapati often gets a look in too!

Indian chapati have the “quick factor” to them and because of that, they are easier to knock up for an impromptu curry night.

There is no heavy kneading required, just a quick bash to bring everything together. The dough needs to rest for 30 minutes or so, which is the perfect time to rustle up a curry.

They take 3-4 minutes to cook each chapati in a pan, which you can do whilst your dinner is cooking.

Overhead Indian meal of Ceylon chicken curry with homemade chapati flatbreads.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between roti and chapati?

In general parlance, there is very little difference. The oldest roti recipes contain no oil, just flour and water, whereas old recipes for chapati usually add oil and salt.

This recipe was taught to me by a friends wide who used the phrase roti and chapati interchangeably.

My chapati didn’t “puff” up what did I do wrong?

Nine times out of 10 this means that your bread was not evenly rolled out.

However, if you cook the chapati for too long on the first side it can sometimes prevent the bread from puffing up too.

Can I use a different type of flour?

I’ve never had much joy with chapatis made from anything other than atta flour.

They tend to be a little like cardboard and don’t come out soft and fluffy. Most guidance recommends using a third of plain flour and two-thirds wholemeal flour.

But I would strongly recommend getting a bag of medium ground atta to keep in the cupboard!

How do I keep chapatis soft and pliable?

There is nothing that you should do to achieve this, they should naturally turn out this way. Although I usually wrap mine in a clean tea towel to keep them warm.

Can I make chapatis in advance and reheat them?

Yes, you can slap them in a hot pan for 15-20 seconds on each side. You can even wrap them in kitchen paper and zap them in the microwave for 30-60 seconds.

Spicy chicken shashlik kebab sticks with chapatis and kachumber salad.

Serving Suggestions

Well, where do I start? A chapati is perfect on the side of practically any Indian meal and I have knocking on the door of 100 curry recipes here, so you could take your pick.

Generally speaking, I serve them with “drier” and less saucy curries and dry Indian dishes.

They are pictured above with my chicken shashlik skewers, but they are awesome with everything from lamb tikka to tandoori chicken and even my baked Indian-inspired one-pot chicken and rice.

When it comes to curries I like to serve them with thicker dishes like my Tamil black pepper chicken, chicken dopiaza or aloo keema.

But there ain’t no rules they are pictured above with a very saucy Ceylon chicken curry and they are awesome with a king prawn bhuna, chicken chasni, egg masala curry and great with dry veggie curries like this aloo palak sabzi.

I’ve even used them as a wrap and thrown in my fish finger and bean curry, so delicious and great fun!

Close-up homemade Indian chapati flatbread that have been brushed with ghee.

Equipment Used

I only mention specific brands of equipment if I think they make a material difference to a recipe. If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

  • Stovetop.
  • Crepe pan, tawa or frying pan, I usually use nonstick.
  • Mixing bowl.
  • Rolling pin.
  • Tea towel.
  • Marble slab for rolling chapati, this is optional but I always find it works better.
Homemade Indian chapati flatbread brushed with ghee and served with a curry.
Yield: 6 Chapatis

Homemade Indian Chapati Recipe

Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

Indian food and flatbread are two peas in a pod and these delicious and easy homemade chapati are the perfect curry scoops!

Ingredients

  • 185g (1 Cup) Chapati or Atta Flour
  • 100-120ml (⅓ Cup + 1 Tbsp to ½ Cup) Water
  • ¼ Tsp Salt
  • ½ Tbsp Cooking Oil
  • Ghee for brushing (Optional)

Instructions

  1. Place the atta flour, water, salt and oil in a bowl and bring the ingredients together with a fork, then go in with your hands and need to form a ball. Do not overwork just form a nice dough ball, the dough should not stick to your hands but only just, add more flour or water if required.
  2. Cover the dough and allow it to rest for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours.
  3. Pinch off ⅙ of the dough and form a ball and dip it into some atta flour.
  4. Roll out into an even circle 1-2mm thick adding more flour if you need to. I find a marble board really helps with this. Repeat with the remaining dough keeping the chapatis separate with some baking parchment.
  5. Heat a tawa or crepe pan over a medium high heat and add a chapati, cook until the top begins to bubble, flip the chapati, cook for 1 minute and flip again. If you have rolled your chapatis evenly they should puff up.
  6. Repeat with the remaining chapatis, wrap them in a clean tea towel to keep them warm and soft.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 86Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 97mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 2g

Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.

Did you make this recipe?

If you made this recipe, I'd love to see what you did and what I can do better, share a picture with me on Instagram and tag me @krumplibrian and tell me how it went!

Tania | My Kitchen Stories

Saturday 27th of June 2015

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

Brian Jones

Sunday 28th of June 2015

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 ;)

Charlene @ That Girl Cooks Healthy

Friday 26th of June 2015

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.

Brian Jones

Saturday 27th of June 2015

I really don1t know enough about GF stuff but would be interested in seeing your adaptation, cumin rocks ;)

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