Ingredients
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup water approximately
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
Directions
Make up the dough approximately 1/2-hour before you need it. Allow the
dough to rest about 10 minutes. Pinch off portion of dough to form a
ball about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Roll ball flat on lightly
floured surface. Pat back and forth between hands until thin.
(Patting makes the chapati puff when baked.)
Cook on top of the stove on ungreased griddle until browned and
puffed. Use medium heat so the griddle does not get too hot.
Servings: 10 servings
Chapatis (Roti) Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Asian; Indian
The History of Recipes
Transcribed cooking instructions as an idea can be found way back into antiquity, in fact as far as the Egyptians, and maybe further still. Interesting though that is, sadly, these early cookbooks were just simple hieroglyphic recipes for preparing food.
The truth of the matter is, the oldest recipe discovered so far, according to experts is a collection of stone tablets in Sumerian which show the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made people feel wonderful. As we move into The time of the romans around 25BC a man called Apicius assembled some documents detailing recipes enjoyed by wealthy roman citizens. He tells us how the meals of wealthy Romans were divided into starters, main course and dessert, a very modern way of dining. Aspicius informs us how the chefs of Roman times were skilled in the use of a good variety of aromatic flavors, including some familiar names like basil, rue and dill. As we move on, there are a couple of recipe books which date from the 14th Century - a recipe book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary titled `Curye on Inglish`. The titles are a little misleading though, they are not about the indian food that we all know today, but instead accounts of the types of food prepared by the chefs of the rich people of those days. Later, in the fifteenth century, the Crusaders brought back a variety of spices and herbs from middle-east cuisine, including coriander, parsley, and basil. These new culinary innovations led to an increase in recipe manuscripts, most of which are kept safe in private cookery archives. During the next few centuries, the powerful families of Europe competed to serve the most exotic banquets, and because of this the best cooks and their recipes became highly prized. Notwithstanding that, it was during the nineteenth century that fine cookery and recipe books became popular. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, devoted much of their lives to collecting, trying out, and writing down recipes to allow everyone to enjoy them. By the advent of the 20th century, recipe publications were highly popular mostly due to higher levels of literacy, people having more leisure time and disposable income. The revolution that is television brought us TV cooks and the accompanying recipe books. And that brings us to the present day and the invention of the internet, allowing everybody to access massive numbers of recipes such as those found on sites such as this. |
We hope you enjoy this Chapatis (Roti) recipe.
