BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Indian Food How do I make chapatis?

I remember having chapatis at an Indian restaurant and would love to be able to make them at home! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Hi Susan You can find Chapati recipe here http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art23933.asp

tell me if u like it <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

This is an old thread, but I'd just like to add that I lived with a family from pakistan for anout five years, and my father lived and worked in India in his youth for two years, and neither he nor I have ever heard of milk being added to a chappati dough mix.....

2 cups of wholewheat flour
teaspoon of vegetable oil.
pinch of salt
enough cold water to bind the dough and make it elastic.


Mix the ingredients with your fingers, adding the water gradually. never be tempted to do this in a food processor, as it makes the mix very rubbery and tough. A food mixer with a dough hook is fine, but it's always preferable to do it by hand, as you can really judge the dough consistency perfectly.

Roll onto a floured surface (plain flour is fine, don't use wholemeal flour for this part.)and work well, until you end up with a good soft elastic ball of dough. Put back into bowl.*Cover with a damp cloth.
leave for 30 minutes.

Divide mix into portions (between a wallnut and a golf-ball) and roll them into flat pancakes. separate by flouring copiously beween with plain flour.

the best pan to use is a specail chappati pan. it is round, without any lip or border, and very gently convex.... like a huge oversized cast iron contact lens....! The reason for this will be apparent in a moment...
oil it with a barely moistened tissue and heat well. You have to have an open-flame, gas-cooker for this process. If you haven't, it probably won't work as well, if at all.....
Flop a chappati into the middle of the pan , and watch it chnge colour subtly.... as the edges begin to lift, turn it over.....
After the second side has cooked for a moment or two, and holding a tissue to protect your fingers, slide the chappati to the edge of the pan, overlap it by half, and griddle the chappati directly over the flame. it will start to bubble and swell.... keep turning the chappati, and then flip it over to do the other side.
When cooked, slide onto a dish where you have put a folded tea towel, and slide it in between the layers...
keep warm.
When all done, paint the touching sides with ghee (clarified butter.)

Does anyone want the recipe for ghee?

Just by coincidence I made chapatis yesterday for my husband's birthday. Here's how I make them now:

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup white flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup cold water

Sift flours and salt together. Stir in water and knead 5 minutes till a very elastic ball. Place in plastic bag and put in fridge for 1/2 hour. Take out and divide into 8 portions. Between palms roll portion into ball and then use a rolling pin to roll out each ball on a well-floured surface.

To cook: Heat cast iron skillet to medium. Place chapati on skillet and when starts to bubble turn over and press down with a pancake turner. Turn over again and repeat pressing down till the top of bubbles are slightly brown.

Place in pan inside folded tea towel till all finished.

We use them like a burrito to hold curried meat and vegies.

They're delicious aren't they - ?
In India, they are used as an eating utensil - instead of a fork or spoon....
you break off a portion, and hold it flat between your fingers and thumb, then pinch it together over a morsel of food....
It's a wonderful excuse to lick your fingers afterwards....!

Many years ago, when I still lived in the UK and with my parents, we were invited to dinner by a wonderful Pakistan family living next door to us....
Imagine our surprise when we got there,a nd they had spread all the food out on the floor, no table and chairs, just cushions... and we all had a pile of chappatis to eat with.... it was a wonderfully relaxed, friendly and joyful meal!

Would you like the recipe for ghee, Susan? <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I know how to make ghee but maybe other readers would like it! Thanks!

OK then....
i'm sure there are other methods, but the following is one that has always worked well for me...

Ghee is the wonderful pure clarified butter used in Indian cookery. This process removes all the impurities, and makes the butter wonderfully tasty.... it's almost as good for you as Olive oil... my neighbours in the UK, who were from Pakistan, used it as a hair oil and skin protection in the winter.... they were always gorgeous and their skin never had a blemish, ever!!
here's how to make your own Ghee....

Buy some really good quality unsalted butter. Don't skimp on quality - the better the butter, the fewer the impurities....

Place the butter in a stainless-steel saucepan, and add about an inch or two of water.
Put onto a low heat, and warm through, until the butter has all melted.
DO NOT ALLOW THE WATER TO COME TO THE BOIL. IT MUST ONLY JUST HEAT ENOUGH TO ALLOW THE BUTTER TO MELT - !!

(The reason the water mustn't boil, is that the movement churns up the butter, and mixes the impurities back in. It also 'adds' water to the butter, making it 'spit' when you use it.)

Once melted, allow to cool, then find space in your fridge, and put it in there overnight.

When it's completely hard and solid, make a small hole in the centre, right down to the water, and another bigger hole, at the edge, where ghee meets pan.
Through this larger hole, pour away the dregs of the water.

the water will be milky white and have white bits floating in it....

Pour some more water in though the larger hole, and repeat the process, until the water runs completely clear.

Once you have achieved clear water, and the ghee is solid and hard from the fridge, cut it out of the pan in chunks and put it into a colander to drain any residual water.
Put the chunks of ghee into a heat-proof jar, like a kilner jar, and put this jar into a pan of water, and heat. The hot water melts the ghee... add further chunks of ghee as it melts, until you have filled the jar with golden clear liquid.... allow to cool, close the jar and refridgerate.

You need to remove as much water and impurities as possible, or these bits will go mouldy over time, and make the butter rancid.

Hi Susan,

You could sometimes try making the chapatis in a slightly different way. I guarantee you will love them.

After you roll them out and put them on your skillet, wait till one side is done and flip over. The top side should have brown spots here and there. Immediately hold the chapati edge gently with a tong, being careful the tongs are not sharp edged as you don't want any holes in the chapati, and put it on top of a high flame on your cooking range. Let go of the chapati but keep the tongs hovering next to it. You can choose the biggest or second biggest burner. The chapati will puff up like a balloon. Turn it over with the tong and do the other side, just half a minute or less should be enough.

Just make sure there is no hole in the chapati or it wont puff up. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Yes - that's how I heat tortillas!

4 cups Unbleached* all purpose flour
2 teaspoons Salty
4 teaspoons Baking powder
2 tablespoons Vegetable shortening or fat
1 1/2 cups Warm water or more if needed, perhaps 2 cups, or three.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt and baking powder. With a pastry blender, a fork or your (clean) hands, gradually work in the lard or shortening or fat until it is all incorporated (this means it's all mixed together). Add enough warm water to make a soft but not sticky dough. Soft but not sticky. Turn out onto a lightly floured board (or it'll stick and you'll end up cussing and moaning) and knead (squash) for 5 minutes (or longer if you're in a foul mood).
Divide the dough into 1/4 cup (3 oz) portions and form them into balls, or funny shapes (I make cubes, because they're fun).
Roll each ball into a flat round about 6 inches in diameter and 1/8 inches thick. It'll spoil your nice shape, but it's fun.
Heat a large heavy skillet (a sort of frying pan**) over medium high heat. Place the tortillas one at a time into the dry hot skillet; cook until brown on one side, not burnt, then turn and brown the other side.
Remove from the skillet and keep warm in cloth towel.

Serve with a couple of bottles of wine and eat alone in a quiet room. Put a bit of jam on for sweetness.

* flour that hasn't been bleached (check this)
** skillet

I got really great Chapatis (and Naan and Paratha but that's another story) with the mixes made by Punkawalla's. You can get them at www.naanmix.com

I know some of the mixes have cream and yogurt in them already! How d' they do that?

hi
i love making chapatis at home the key is the flour. I buy jcr chapati flour from
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I have not had much luck making good chappatis. I was told that the problem related to having an electric stove as opposed to gas burners. I use a ceramic top stove, and the burners keep going on and off in order to maintain a relatively constant temperature. This causes the chappatis to become stiff, rather than soft and flexible. I am going to get a separate gas burner, and I'll see how that works out!

Wonderful recipe.Created some stuffed chapatis ended up using 100% wheat tortillas.Love www.currystyle.com/index.html Indian quick fixes,more time on the table less time in the kitchen.