Lumpold
10-24-2010, 08:01 AM
OK, I was going to call this 'What did you bake today?', but I didn't technically bake the breads I'm about to post... and they are so easy to make, I often wonder why we invented cutlery... this post will be in 2 parts, making and finished product!
Chapattis and Parathas...
OK, so you need to make an incredibly simple dough (water and atta flour*. easy!) that should be pretty dry, as it's refrigerated and will become wetter as it's chilled. There is very little difference between making chapattis and parathas. I assume this is very very similar to making soft flour tortillas.
http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/145/img00234201010232054.jpg
It'll look something similar to this when it comes out! You then need to roll out the dough so it's about 1/10" thick... if you're making chappatis, toast it in a dry pan over a fairly high heat, if you're making parathas, brush it with oil (melted ghee**), cut from the centre of the rolled dough to the edge, roll it into a cone, make into a ball, and roll it to 1/10" again, brush with oil and cook like a chapatti!
http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/5582/img00235201010232056.jpg
Being a man, you know how to cook many things at once.
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/4770/img00233201010232053.jpg
Big pot - mutton curry, small pan - lentil dahl, frying pan - chapatti
Now, on to the results post...
*atta flour (also known as chapatti flour) is a fine ground, wholemeal flour... you can just use wholemeal if you have no access to atta flour.
** ghee is clarified butter, while this is the traditional oil, you can use whatever you have to hand, although if it's not ghee, a more neutral oil like veggie or sunflower gives the best flavour results.
Chapattis and Parathas...
OK, so you need to make an incredibly simple dough (water and atta flour*. easy!) that should be pretty dry, as it's refrigerated and will become wetter as it's chilled. There is very little difference between making chapattis and parathas. I assume this is very very similar to making soft flour tortillas.
http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/145/img00234201010232054.jpg
It'll look something similar to this when it comes out! You then need to roll out the dough so it's about 1/10" thick... if you're making chappatis, toast it in a dry pan over a fairly high heat, if you're making parathas, brush it with oil (melted ghee**), cut from the centre of the rolled dough to the edge, roll it into a cone, make into a ball, and roll it to 1/10" again, brush with oil and cook like a chapatti!
http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/5582/img00235201010232056.jpg
Being a man, you know how to cook many things at once.
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/4770/img00233201010232053.jpg
Big pot - mutton curry, small pan - lentil dahl, frying pan - chapatti
Now, on to the results post...
*atta flour (also known as chapatti flour) is a fine ground, wholemeal flour... you can just use wholemeal if you have no access to atta flour.
** ghee is clarified butter, while this is the traditional oil, you can use whatever you have to hand, although if it's not ghee, a more neutral oil like veggie or sunflower gives the best flavour results.