Chapatis are awesome, but I have never learned how to make them.
It’s time! I’ve asked several people how they make theirs, so I have different methods and experiences to draw from. I’ve had a video playing in my head for a while now on how this will go (^_^) The only thing that was holding me back was the pan. I wanted the proper chapati plan, that heavy iron kind, I’m not even sure if it has a special name, but I wanted it. I still do, but I’m tired of waiting. Plus, if I wait for things to be perfect to try anything I’d have to go to chef school before I start cooking!
Ingredients:
600g chapati flour
700ml hot water
2 tablespoons cooking oil to start with
1/2 a teaspoon salt (1 teaspoons salt)
I don’t know what the difference is between regular baking flour and chapati flour but I went with it because I thought I’d be less likely to mess up (^_^)
There are several things I learned from talking to people about how to make chapati. The first, is to use hot boiling water, not warm water. It was said three times so it must be important. Apparently it’s what makes the chapatis soft.
I put all the flower in a mixing bowl and mixed in the salt. The second thing I learned, most people who make chapos don’t measure anything, at least not the ones I asked. They do it by eye, so no one could tell me how much of anything to use exactly, they just gave me a sense of how the dough should feel. So I guessed on the salt and it was too little, hence the correction above, which is also a guess!! (^_^)
I wasn’t sure how to mix in the cooking oil so I added it to the hot water (2 table spoons). Then I poured the water into the flour bit by bit and mixed with a wooden spoon till I got the dough consistency I was looking for (I started with 1000ml of water, I had only used 700ml by the time the dough was right).
The kneading was a lot fun. I am definitely doing this with my kids, it’s a license to just play with food! I didn’t knead for very long once it was nice and smooth I divided it into 4 chunks, rolled them out, spread some oil on top with a brush, cut them into strips and rolled. I placed the rolls aside to raise for about 7 minutes. I was told not to wait very long, I didn’t see much raising though.
I took smaller chunks of the dough and rolled out into chapatis, then cooked in a lightly oiled pan, low fire to give me enough time to roll out the next one. I made them very thin, didn’t want them to cook on the outside and be raw on the inside, so, as thin as possible was my solution. I’ve had chapos that weren’t cooked all the way through – not nice!
The third thing I learned from the ladies is I should start small. I thought 600g of flour was small. I was so wrong! Next time I’ll do 200g. I was standing for a while making these chapos. In fact at one point my husband wondered if there would be any sauce!
It went well though. The dough made about 30 chapos (supper thin).
Thank you so much to all the ladies who contributed their methods and experiences for my learning! I would mention your names but I haven’t asked your permission (^_^)
Next, the sauces, Shiro (Ethiopian) and Chicken.
