What is Chapattis?

Flatbreads are a wonderful item that can help set off a dinner perfectly. Flatbreads are something that can be used as a side dish, as the bread in a wrap, or in one of a multitude of other ways. A fantastic type of flat bread that you may never have heard about before is called chapattis. Chapattis or roti, depending on what region of India the recipe comes from, is basically a form of unleavened bread.

Unleavened bread is a relatively simple type of bread that is made without yeast or similar type of agent. Some other examples of unleavened flat breads include things like tortillas and pita breads. The main difference between chapattis and other kinds of flat breads lies in some of the ingredients that are used, as well as the method for cooking the bread.

Chapattis aren't particularly difficult to make, though it does take a little practice to perfect them. Here is a basic recipe for chapattis. Feel free to add most anything to create your own unique version of this regional flatbread.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flower
• Water
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons oil

Process:

1. Make the dough. To make the dough, put all the flour into mixing bowl and create a little "well" into which you can add the water. Go slowly when you are adding the water though, it is really easy to add too much. Add a little, mix it all together, and then add a little more water and repeat. Do this until your dough is ready for kneading. (You will know that it is ready it doesn't stick to your hands easily, and it is not runny like soup.) When you are preparing the flour add salt to taste.
2. Knead dough. Knead the dough till it is smooth and medium soft. Add water as needed to reach this consistency.
3. Add oil. To have some really good chapattis add your oil to the dough as you are kneading it. It's not necessary, but it does help prevent burning later on.
4. Knead again. After you have added the oil, you may need to knead the dough again. Remember, the goal is to have a smooth, medium-soft lump of dough.
5. Rest. Once you have reached the proper dough consistency, you need to let the dough rest for fifteen minutes to rise.
6. Balls. After letting the dough rest for fifteen minutes, separate and roll the dough into golf-ball sized balls. Once you have created these balls, go ahead and lightly coat the balls in flour.
7. Flatten. Use your fingers and lightly press the dough flat. You have now prepared the dough for rolling. Use a rolling pin and further flatten the balls into four-inch circles.
8. Recoat. After creating the four-inch circles, recoat the dough with flour for further flattening.
9. Flatten again. Further flatten the chapatti dough into circles that are roughly six to seven inches in diameter and about 1/6 of an inch thick.
10. Cook. Cook the chapattis in a pan or griddle that has been heated on medium flame or heat. Allow the dough to cook till you start to see some bubbles or bumps on its surface. When you see this, flip the chapatti in the same manner as you would a pancake and continue cooking. Wait roughly the same amount of time before flipping the chapattis bread again. Repeat this process roughly two more times on each side.

By the time the bread is finished it will look like a partially inflated balloon Don't worry; it is supposed to look like this. Remove the bread and set aside to cool, the bread will "deflate" as it cools. This will make roughly 12 pieces of bread. Congratulations, you have finished making your first batch of chapattis bread.