MyMusingsSangSpeak -Pet Puja- Tips for Making Soft Chapatis (Indian flatbread)

 

Tips for Making Soft Chapatis/Roti/Indian flatbread

Chapati/Roti is Indian flatbread made of wheat and forms a major part of Indian meal. The chapati/roti is made differently in different parts of India. In some places, it is prepared as Phulka devoid of oil, whereas in some places it is made as a Paratha with oil applied in the folds before rolling out. Different areas of the country produce different varieties of wheat like the native/desi (Khapli), Sharbati, Sehore, Lokwan and many more hybrid ones too. In earlier times, people were very particular about buying good quality wheat to get good chapatis. Some people use Khapli wheat though it is costly as it is more nutritious and has high fiber content. Many people use mixture of different varieties of wheat to make wheat flour for chapatis. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides were not used much in earlier times. For good quality chapatis, people would buy wheat and get it ground fresh in the flour mill. Some joint families buy wheat in large quantities and store for yearly use, so generally the wheat is applied with some insect repellent powder. Before grinding, this wheat will be washed and then dried in sunlight.

In modern times, the women started working and this cumbersome process of buying wheat grain and getting it ground in the flour mill took a back seat. Many wheat flour producing companies started production and the readymade wheat flour made life easy for the working ladies. Some people still follow the traditional methods of making wheat flour. The traditional wheat flour can be used easily by kneading with normal water, little salt and oil and then rolling into flat rolls. The phulkas are first roasted on hot tawa and then directly on the flame and they puff up automatically, hence called phulka. For oiled chapatis, oil is applied on the roll and it is folded twice and then rolled out thinly. It is then cooked on hot tawa and oil is applied on both sides. These rotis will generally turn out to be soft.

Nowadays, as most households are using readymade flour/atta, some find that the rotis do not turn out to be really soft like in the case of traditionally home-made wheat flour. Many of my working friends needed to know tips about making soft chapatis/rotis from readymade flour. I have also been using readymade wheat flour for many years now and did some research for tips to make soft chapatis.

The readymade wheat flour needs to be kneaded with hot water along with little salt and oil. Take flour quantity as per requirement, add salt and pour hot water. Cover and knead into a smooth dough after 15- 20 minutes, add little oil to bring the dough together. Cover and leave for 25-30 minutes and then roll out rotis/chapatis. This tip of kneading with hot water helps a lot to make softer chapatis from ready-made shop bought wheat flour.

For storing chapatis, use a stainless-steel container and soft muslin cloth. Chapatis can be stored even without a cloth. Some people use casserole for storing chapatis. Chapatis will remain soft for longer periods.

 

 

MyMusingsSangSpeak - Pet Puja - Nachani Bhakri

 

Nachani Bhakri

Nachani/Nagali/ Ragi is known as finger millet in English and is a widely grown cereal in Asia and Africa. It is highly nutritious and excellent source of calcium and phosphorus. It has many other necessary minerals and phytochemicals too. Nachani is used in different forms like whole grain, flour, puffs etc. It can be made into bhakri(type of Indian bread), roti, mudde, kheer, laddoos, papads, dosas, kadhi etc. Children are given porridge of ragi flour for good growth of bones.

As the entire world is looking for gluten free diet to combat many illnesses, millets are in fashion because they are gluten free and excellent source of iron, calcium, phosphorus and other useful minerals and nutrients. Nachani has become a superfood lately with diabetics including it in their diets as diabetic food to keep sugar levels under control.

Nachani/Ragi/Nagali acts as a body coolant and it is best to consume it during summer season.

Nachani Bhakri is a bread made of flour and can be made in two ways, either it can be patted in a plate or made by patting in hands or it can be rolled out. Rolling gets slightly difficult and one can make it easier by adding little wheat flour to it. I am showing both methods in the pictures below. I have not used any wheat flour.

Ingredients for Nachani bhakri are nachani flour and water. Knead into a smooth dough. Take a small portion, about a small fistful sized portion and make it into a ball. Line the plate with flour and start patting the portion with hand. Once it is flattened reasonably well, pick and place on the heated tawa, the flour side facing upwards. Apply little water to this surface and turn once the water dries up slightly. Cook for 1-2 minutes and then roast on the open flame. In earlier days, this process was done on open wood fire on a mud stove and the taste used to be awesome.

Nachani Bhakri will taste good with almost any vegetable. It tastes good with non-vegetarian dishes as well. Some eat it with plain ghee too. If you are storing the cooked Nachani Bhakri, then while serving you will need to reheat or steam it.

MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja - Ajwaini Paratha

Ajwaini Paratha

Ajwaini Paratha is a roti/chapatti(Indian Bread) with ajwain(Carom Seeds) in it, adding more flavour to the mundane roti. It is easy to make and tastes good with all types of subjis and daals.

 Ingredients

Wheat flour - 1½ cups

Water- For kneading

Salt - As per taste

Carom Seeds (Ajwain) - ½ teaspoon

Cumin Powder - ¼ teaspoon

Coriander Powder - ¼ teaspoon

Oil - 1-2 tablespoons

Ghee/Butter - 1-2 tablespoons

 Method

Mix salt, carom seeds, cumin powder and coriander powder well with wheat flour. Then add water to form soft yet firm dough, add about one teaspoon of oil and knead well. Set aside for about 45 minutes to one hour. To make paratha, take small ball of the kneaded dough and roll into a circle, apply few drops of oil and sprinkle little wheat flour and make folds as shown in the accompanying photos. Heat the tawa and roast the parathas well, you may add ghee/butter as per your choice