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Chappatis

In theory, chappatis are easy to make. In practice, it's much harder to make really good ones. Like most simple things, the practice of doing it every day is what makes you good at it. Little things, like the exact temperature of the pan, how hard you roll the dough, and so on - these are the secrets you learn when you do it all the time. My friend Ved's wife, Alka, showed me how to make chappatis. Hers are wonderful. Mine are nothing like hers.

The flour you use will make a difference too. Chappati flour is semi-refined. It's not whole-meal but it's not white either. Mixing whole-meal and white flour 50/50 will give you something close if you can't get the real thing. I sometimes use only white flour, with passable results.

Although I've given quanties for the flour and water, add the last few drops of water with care. It's easy to add too much and you'll suddenly find the dry powdery mix in your bowl has turned to glue. Use hot water but as you also mix the dough by hand, don't use very hot water. You don't want to burn yourself, do you? The quantities here will make about a dozen chappatis.

Ingredients

2 mugs of flour
Two thirds of a mug of hot water
Salt

Put the flour in a bowl and add the water gradually with one hand while mixing with the other. The dough will be very sticky at first but will soon form a lump which won't stick to your hand so much. When that happens, knead the lump a little with both hands to work out any lumps of dry flour. Break off pieces of dough and roll them into balls about 5 or 6 cm in diameter. Put a frying pan on a high flame then turn the heat down a bit when the pan is hot. Flatten a ball with the palm of your hand then roll it out on a floured surface until it's about 25 cm in diameter. Toss it gently from hand to hand to shake off the excess flour then chuck it in the pan. About two minutes either side should see your chappatti nicely cooked. Once you get going you can roll the next one out while the previous one is cooking. Keep an eye on the temperature. Don't let the pan start smoking but don't let it get too cool either. It's a good idea to have a metal spatula or fish-slice handy to scrape off flour that gets stuck to the pan between chappatis. I usually dump it in the sink and rinse it all away when I've finished cooking. Stack the chappatis on a plate and keep them covered with a clean damp dishcloth. If you are using a gas flame you could take advantage of a secret Alka showed me but you probably need tongs for this. When a chappati is cooked, lift it out of the pan, move the pan to the side and plonk the chappati straight onto the gas for a few seconds. Turn it over and do the other side. It will puff up with air then deflate when you take it off the heat. This makes the chappatis less tough.