Indian flat breads

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Whole Wheat Chapattis

Chspatti's are unleavened dough, very similar to tortillas, except for the encouraged "puffiness". An necessary acompanyment to any meal, or great just off the griddle with a little soyghurt and chutney .

 

 

Mix together:

 

2 cups whole wheat flour (white flour works fine!)

 

1 teaspoon salt

 

about 3/4 cup warm water (enough for a kneadable dough)

 

Knead the dough, cover, and leave aside for at least 1/2 hour or, ideally, up to 2 hours. After about 1 hour (or right before rolling out), punch the dough and knead again without any more water.

 

Make 10-12 1 1/2" balls; dip each one into dry whole wheat flour, and roll out into thin, 6" circles. Place a flat, ungreased griddle on the stove at medium-high heat. When hot, place a rolled-out chapati "right side" down on the griddle. (The "right side" is the one facing you when you roll it.) When bubbles are visible, turn over and cook until tiny brown spots appear on the side facing the griddle.

 

If you have a gas stove, hold the chapati with a pair of tongs, and place it directly over the burner flame for a few seconds, until the chapati puffs up. Turn and repeat on the other side.

 

If you have an electric stove, keep the chapati on the griddle. With a wadded up paper towel to protect your fingers, press gently all around the chapati. Flip the chapati and press gently around the other side. This procedure should make the chapati puff up. (If you press too hard, the chapati will become too crunchy.)

 

Remove the chapati from the heat, and keep warm under a towel till served.

 

 

 

Some of the foods that are traditionally served with chapatis are Lentils with Scallions, Spicy Mung Beans, eggplant dishes, green bean dishes, spinach dishes, and zucchini dishes.

 

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DOSAS- Dosa's are a fremented (sourdough) batter pancake, and can be made from any combination of grains or flours. Wonderful savory for breakfast!

Plain DosasIngredients :

1 cup white lentils,

3 cups long grained brown rice

Salt to taste

Soak 1:3 proportion of lentils to :rice overnight or 6-8 hours. Using blender make into thick paste. Set aside6-8 hours or overnight in a warm place to ferment. Add salt and water tomake a batter of pouring consistency.Heat skillet and wipe with a little oil is well so batter won't stick to surface. Pour 1/3cup batter onto to pan and using back of spoon spread the batter onthe panin circles in a thin layer (am I making any sense here??). Add about 1 tsp.oil to the sides of the dosa. Flip over when it turns brown (Like a pancake).Serve with potato filing (recipe follows) or with some hot chutney.

Savory Wheat DosasIngredients : Wheat Flour 2 Cups

Rice Flour 1/2 Cup

Crumbled tofu 1/4 Cup

Salt Acc to taste

Cumin 2 Tsp.

Green Chilies 5 Nos

Water

cooked yams, 2T

Methods :Grind Green Chilies to fine paste.Mix Everything & let it rest for 3-4 hours.Add water to make a dosa batter.Proceed as in Dosa & enjoy with Chutneys

Potato filling:

3-4 potatos, cooked till soft and mashed.

1 onion chopped

1 tsp. mustard seeds

1/4 tsp turmeric

chopped serrano peppers

lemon juice and salt to taste

chopped cilamtro for garnish.

Wipe a well seasoned cast iron skillet with littel oil and add mustard seeds. When they start popping

add peppers and turmeric. Fry onions. Add mashed potatos. Cook for

5-7 mts. (If mixture gets too dry, add a little bit of water). Add salt.

garnish with cilantro and lemon juice.

When each dosa is ready, spread a little bit of the potato filling in the

center of the dosa and fold over once.

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NAN

Nan is the traditiona Nepali bread baked in a tandoor, or roasting oven. The dough is slapped onto the inside walls to bake and pried off when done. Cooking in a conventional oven works just fine. For once, I would love to try baking them in a tandoor, or maybe an adobe oven, something to give the woodfired smoky flavor that the real Naan has...

Nepali Naan

3 cups wheat flour, sifted2/3 cup warm soy milk1/2 cup warm water or as needed1 cup soy yogurt (or soy milk curdled with 2T Lemon juice)1 Tbls. yeast 1 Tbls. baking powder1 Tbls. raw sugar1 tsp. salt

-1tsp Nigella seeds (kalunji) (Seeds from love-in-a-mist flowers.) Black sesame seeds or poppy seeds, or cumin are excellent substitutes.In a small bowl, combine warm soy milk, water, sugar and yeast. Allow the yeast to reconstitute for about 30 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the flour, , baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center and addsoy milk,-water mixture and soygurt, mixing it with the flour until a soft dough is formed. Dust kneading board with flour; place the dough on the board and knead for ten minutes or so. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for two hours. The dough will have expanded by two folds. Knead the dough again for another five minutes and allow resting for another half an hour. Divide the dough into three-inch balls. Roll out the dough balls into eight-inch circles. Cover with plastic wrap.Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.-Sprinkle a baking sheet with nigella seeds and put it in the oven to heat while the dough is resting. -Shape each ball of dough with the palms to make an oval shape. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes until the nans have risen and surface has turned slightly brown. Do not over bake nans. Note that nans can also be baked in a hot tandoor which is commonly used in Nepal. Alternatively, you can also season nans with garlic, herbs, and other spices. Serve hot with vegetable preparations, curries or dal