1 1/2 cup flour, unbleached
1/2 cup flour, whole wheat
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp ghee
1/2 cup water
Directions
Mix flours, salt, and butter and add just enough water to make a firm
dough, somewhat like a biscuit dough. Knead for 10-15 minutes - the
more the dough is kneaded, the lighter the bread will be. Shape the
dough into a ball, cover with a sheet of plastic and let it rest for
at least 1 hour. If left to rest overnight in the refrigerator, the
finished bread will be even lighter.
When ready to bake, take a small piece of dough about the size of a
golf ball, or a bit smaller. On a lightly floured board, roll the
dough into a thin circle, about 5 inches in diameter. Repeat with all
the dough.
Heat a griddle or heavy-bottomed iron skillet until it is very hot
(you will notice the smoke rising from it). Place the rolled out
chapati on the griddle and let it cook for 2-3 minutes, depending on
how thin you have rolled it. Using a pair of kitchen tongs, you can
lift the chapati to see if the underside has turned a golden brown.
Flip, and cook the other side about 1 minute.
As they are cooked, store the chapatis on a towel in a warm covered
container until ready to serve. Serve as soon as the last chapati is
baked.
NOTE: In India breads sometimes are baked in the fiery clay tandoor,
where they develop brown spots and bubbles. To achieve a similar
effect at home, you can use tongs to hold each chapati over a hot gas
flame until it puffs like a little balloon. The chapati will
collapse as it cools.
The Bombay Palace Cookbook Stendhal per Ellen Cleary
Servings: 10 servings
Chapatis #3 Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Asian; Indian
The History of Recipes
Academics have proved the existence of recipes far back into distant history, in fact as far back as ancient Egypt, and potentially, even further back. Interesting though that is, generally, these early recipes were just very simple pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for meal preparation.
As we move into The time of the romans 25BC a roman called Apicius wrote some scripts which described recipes prepared by wealthy roman citizens. In his works, he describes how the meals were separated into starters, main meal and afters, known in latin as `Gustatio, Primae Mensae and Secundae Mensae`. Aspicius recounts how the ancient cooks used a wide range of spices, including some familiar names like thyme, mint and asafoetida. During the next few hundred years, the powerful and wealthy houses tried to lay on the best banquets, and because of this chefs and their recipes were highly sought after. However, it was during the 19th century that formal cookery and recipe publications reached a high level of popularity. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Farmer in the USA, dedicated their lives to assembling, testing, and writing down recipes to help cooks of their time. By the time we get to the twentieth century, cook books are increasing in popularity due to higher levels of literacy, more spare time and being a little richer. |
We hope you enjoy this Chapatis #3 recipe.
