I decided it’s about time that I learned how to make one of the essential components of an Indian meal — chapattis (Indian bread)! I’ll need a bit more practice, as there are quite a few things to get right, but I’m off to a good start.
There are actually quite a few ways to go about making chapattis. This is how I do it.
How to Make Chapattis
Add flour and water.
- Pour wheat four into a mixing bowl.
- Make an indentation in the middle of the flour.
- Fill hole with water.
- Using your hand, combine flour and water together.
- Add a little salt.
- Keep gradually adding water and kneeding, until the mixture becomes doughy and pliable. It shouldn’t be sticky.
Kneed together and make a dough.
- Break off a small piece of dough.
- Roll it into a ball between your hands, then flatten it.
Roll the dough out.
- Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out.
- Try to make it into a circle shape (mine still has a way to go yet!).
- Don’t make it too thin, otherwise it will stick and tear when you try to lift it up.
I find it easiest to roll the dough out from the edges, and turn it frequently as I’m rolling, to keep the shape even. It’s also a good idea to keep sprinkling flour on the dough so it doesn’t stick.
Cook the chapatti on the flame to make it puff up.
Now, it’s time to cook the chapatti. The aim is to make it soft, light, and puffy. I have the most success in getting chapattis to puff up by throwing them onto the naked flame at the end.
- Start by cooking it a little on both sides, using a flat non-stick pan on medium/high temperature. I don’t use any oil.
- Using a spatula, turn it over when the color of the chapatti starts to change slightly.
- Next, using tongs, place the chapatti on the flame.
- It should start puffing up.
- Only leave it on the flame for a short time — less than 10 seconds — before flipping it over and doing the same with the other side to finish it off.
If the chapatti gets cooked too much it will become hard, which is to be avoided.
Chapattis and aloo ka bhaji -- yum!
Chapattis go really well with aloo ka bhaji (spicy potatoes)!
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
OMG!!!
Manjula my online Indian Mamma!!!! LOL
When I was first learning how to cook food for Bear, I searched online until I found Manjula! She has been a God send ever since!
PS: At least your roti are round…mine always come out looking like paratha! (http://z.about.com/d/indianfood/1/0/r/-/-/-/paratha21.jpg)
Haha, Manjula rocks. I love how she introduces herself at the start of every video. She always sound the same!!
I always say that it’s the taste of the roti that counts, not the shape. lol. Mine are still often quite deformed. I tried to pick a normal looking one for the picture.
Hav u tried baingan ka bharta wid rotis?Yummy!!!Also,pattagobhi ki sukhi sabzi(cabbage’s dry sabzi) goes really well wid rotis!Ur rotis r nearly round in shape,not lyk mine,wen i was learning 2 make dem,dey wud mostly turn out 2 b rhomboidal/squarish.1nce in a blue moon was I able 2 make round chapattis back den!
Hurray to Manjula! I learned a lot from her too. My husband was the one who taught me how to make chapattis
. He even bought me a mesh at the Subzi Mandi when we went shopping, and it makes the puffing of chapatti very nicely.
One thing though, I still cannot perfect the round shape,
, the first few days I made chapattis, I made them as big as the state of Texas 
).