Two sizes of Chapati
(click to enlarge)

Chapatis


East Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya   -   Chapati
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 6 to 8
**
2 hrs
Yes		 In India, Chapatis are made from whole wheat Ata flour, but all my East African cookbooks call for using white all-purpose flour.

Here in North America, where there is usually only one person doing the cooking, and after work at that, making Chapatis from scratch is simply not practical. Fortunately, here in Southern California, we can buy them at the store - sold as "Wheat Tortillas". The photo examples (two sizes) have simply been heated on a hot comal - a Mexican rimless steel plate, similar to an Indian Tava, but without any curvature. Unthinkable a few decades back, even Indian women now buy Chapatis at the store, made on the same machines as Whole Wheat Tortillas.

Because Purists always strive to make life more difficult for themselves, and for others, we include here a simple recipe for African Chapatis, and some notes on more elaborate versions.


3
1-1/2
3
1-1/4
ar
ar
c
t
T
c

Flour, all-purp.
Salt
Ghee or Oil (1)
Water, warm
Flour (for kneading)  
Ghee or Oil
  (for brushing)
MAKE   -   (2 hrs - 1 hr work)
  1. Place Flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center.
  2. Pour Salt and Oil in the well. Knead it all together into a soft sticky dough.
  3. Heavily flour your board. Place the Dough on it and start kneading, sprinkling more flour over the Dough a little at a time until it is elastic, smooth, and soft, but not sticky.
  4. Divide the dough into 6 to 8 balls as desired. Cover with plastic and let them rest for about 1 hour to develop the gluten.
  5. Roll the dough balls out into rounds, a little less than 1/4 inch thick.
  6. Lightly brush Oil onto a Comal or similar (the Lodge 90G round cast iron griddle is excellent) and heat it hot, but not to smoking. Place a round of Dough on the Comal and fry until browned spots start to appear. Meanwhile, brush the top of the dough lightly with oil. Turn over and continue to fry until browned spots start to appear.
  7. Remove from the pan and set aside, keeping covered to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining dough balls.
  8. Serve warm.
NOTES:

  1. Ghee or Oil:

      Ghee is fully clarified Butter. It must be heated for use, and will have fewer sticking problems than Oil, but Oil is good enough.

  2. Variations:

      Some people use half Water and half Coconut Milk to make a richer Chapati. Others make layered Chapatis by lightly oiling the round, powdering it with flour on both sides, then fan folding it into a narrow strip. The strip is then curled into a spiral ball. The ball is flattened and rolled out into into a circle again, about 1/4 inch thick. The circle is then fried like any other Chapati.
  3. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
qeg_chapat1 180904 inet var   -   www.clovegarden.com
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