How to Make Phulka / Soft Chapati Recipe Indian Bread Recipe :: Latha Channel::
10How to Make Phulka / Soft Chapati Recipe Indian Bread Recipe :: Latha Channel::
Chapati (alternately Chapatti, Chappati or Chapathi) is an unleavened flatbread (also known as roti) from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.[1] It is a common staple in South Asia as well as amongst South Asian expatriates throughout the world. Versions of the dish are also found in Central Asia and the Horn of Africa, with the laobing flatbread serving as a local variation in China. Chapati is known as sapati or doday in the Pashto language.
Chapatis are made using a soft dough comprising flour (whole grain common wheat), "Atta" in Hindi/Urdu/Punjabi/Nepali/Bengali, and water. Atta is made from hard Gehun (Indian wheat, or durum).[2] It is more finely ground than most western-style wholewheat flours. Traditionally, roti (and rice) are prepared without salt to provide a bland background for spicy dishes.[3] This also corresponds to modern dietary recommendations not to increase salt intake more than necessary.[4] Some families also do not add oil (that helps to make the finished product softer).
A dough is prepared with atta and water, kneaded with the knuckles of the hand made into a fist and left to prove for at least ten to fifteen minutes (sometimes as long as an hour) for the gluten in the dough to develop. After proving, the dough becomes softer and more pliable.
Small portions of the dough are pinched off and formed into round balls that are pressed between the two palms to form discs which are then dipped into flour and rolled out on a circular rolling board (chakla) using a rolling pin (velan or belan) into a perfect circle. The belan is formed differently according to region.
The rolled-out dough is then thrown on the preheated dry tava (griddle) and cooked on both sides. In some regions of Nepal and western India they are only partly cooked on the skillet, and then put directly on a high flame, which makes them blow up like a balloon. The hot air cooks the chapati rapidly from the inside. In some parts of northern India (e.g. Punjab) and Pakistan, this is called a phulka (that which has been inflated). It is also possible to puff up the roti directly on the tava.[5] [6] Some families make roti in two styles using the phulka as accompaniment for certain dishes and a thicker style for others.
In Konkan, chapati is also called poli. Poli is slightly thicker than phulka and contains four layers and oil or pure ghee is applied after cooking. The poli will remain soft throughout the day.
During festivals, a sweet poli with stuffing, made with gram flour (besan) and sugar or jaggery, is prepared, called 'PuranPoli'. During Sankranti, a thin sweet poli stuffed with jaggery called 'Gud Poli' is prepared.
Often, the top of a chapati is slathered with butter or ghee (clarified butter). A piece of chapati is torn off and used to pick up the meat or vegetable dish(es) that make the meal.
Flat unleavened breads in South Asia come in many forms; the chapati is only one of them. A rotta, made of a dough similar to that used to make chapatis and cooked in an oven, is a 'tandoori roti'. The combination of wheat flour with one or more flours (e.g. chickpea, maize, or millet) will produce a "missi roti". Rottas made with pearl millet (Bajra) or Maize (makka) or Jowar flour usually carry the name of the flour, as in "bajra roti" or "makke ki roti" (or "bhakri" in Marathi). Flat breads such as chapati and roti are traditionally a food of northern South Asia. The peninsular south, the east and northeast and Kashmir are primarily rice-eating cultures.