Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

My version of Parathas - Also covers Chapatis

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • My version of Parathas - Also covers Chapatis

    So Inspired by tas's thread on frybread, coupled withe the fact that I've been meaning to post a chapati thread for a while anyway.
    I decided to add baking powder to my chapati recipe and also use oil in frying them (chapati's are usually dry fried).
    These minor changes turn a chapati into a paratha. Parathas are often deep fried as well as shallow fried. But in both cases they use a lot more oil than I do.

    The ONLY differences between making chapatis and making these parathas is the use of oil and baking powder and a couple of things to look for when cooking.

    The recipe

    Use wholemeal wheat flour. You can buy special chapati flour, but it's usually more expensive and it's EXACTLY the same stuff - wholemeal bread flour.

    PER PERSON

    1 cup medium chapati flour (wholemeal bread flour)
    1 tsp baking powder (parathas only, not used for chapatis)
    1 Dsp oil (I use olive, any food grade oil will do)
    90ml - 1/3 cup hot water
    Seasonings - these can range from a pinch of salt and pepper, to a full on spice mix and sauteed onions and garlic. See below for my last spice mix

    So for 3 people (what I actually made)

    3 cups flour
    3 tsp baking powder
    1/4 cup oil
    1 1/4 cups very hot water

    Spice mix
    1 tsp peppercorns
    1.5 tsp salt
    2 tsp turmeric
    3 tsp coriander seeds
    1/2 tsp asafoetida
    3tsp dried onion
    1tsp mustard seed
    2 tsp garlic powder

    This was ground together to a fine powder.

    Mix all the dry ingredients together with a fork.



    Then add the oil and water and combine with a fork.



    Then use your hands to form a sticky ball and transfer to a board and knead. I knead it on a clicngfilm coverd board. This way you don't add any more flour or oil to the dough.



    When done it will form a smooth almost sticky dough. The dough should NOT be as elastic as a standard bread dough and still quite soft.





    Leave to rest. It's supposedly best left overnight, but I often make and use immediately or at best after an hour or so. If leaving overnight, cover with clingfilm and leave in the fridge. If being used sooner (like mine) cover and leave at room temperature until you're ready to use it.


    Cooking The Flat Bread

    Indian flatbreads are usually rolled on a small wooden board with a specially shaped rolling pin.
    The rolling pins you buy in the asian grocers are cheap, mass produced and not great to look at (they still have the pin holes from the lathe in the ends and are stained softwood). So I made these :-)
    The top one is ash and the one I'm holding is made with maple and iroko (or sapele - one of the two anyway. They are similiar and both used as mahogany susbstitutes in cabinet making).



    The flat wooden thing is a chapati presser. You use it to push down the big air bubbles in a chapati. I made my first chapati set for my next door neighbours 30th birthday. Apparently it was the first time anybody among their family or friends had seen a matching set made from different hardwoods :-). It was also the first time they'd seen a presser turned from one piece of wood. They are usually a flat slice of wood with a seperate handle screwed on (quick and cheap to make). And should I want to make more - there's a definite market for custom made chapati sets

    You'll notice that the central barrel of the rolling pin tapers towards either end. This is deliberate. When you roll out the dough you do so with a slight rocking motion and this automatically turns the dough for you, keeping it round.
    I now use the same process for rolling out pasty rounds, tortillas, etc.
    I can't claim to be anywhere near as good or fast as next door (mine aren't always very round) - but they've been doing it all their lives.

    I always set out a flat bread station/production line before starting.
    I use plain/AP flour as the bits in wholemeal flour tend to burn in the frying pan and set off the smoke alarm.

    [IMG][/IMG]

    Pull a piece of dough a little bigger than a golfball. Form a ball and then press it into the plain flour both sides till you've got a flat circle.



    Get a good even coating of flour and I find I don't need to add any to the either the rolling pin or the board.

    Roll out the dough to around 2-3 mm


    This one was too thick and didn't cook through properly - subsequent ones were rolled out a little thinner.



    The most important thing with parathas or chapatis is to make sure you have a hot frying pan. A smallish thin based pan is best. I work on a sort of Three flip system for chapatis (modified slightly for the parathas).

    Cooking Parathas

    Drop the dough circle in the pan. And flip for the first time when you see bubbles on the surface of the dough. If the frying pon is hot enough this will take about 20 seconds.


    The second flip timing takes a little practice and should be done just before the bread starts to blacken. Usually after about 40-50 seconds



    At this point I added approx 1 tsp oil to the pan and shook and flipped the bread quickly to evenly distribute the oil both sides of the bread.

    [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GBiVCbqdn8[/yt]
    (yeah that's right, mad frying pan skills right there :-) )
    Attached Files
    Made In England - Fine Tuned By The USA
    Just call me 'One Grind'




  • #2
    When you first add the oil the bread will instantly puff up.



    Use a presser (spatula works almost as well as a presser) to flatten the larger bubbles and then do the flipping thing.



    When the paratha is an even golden colour both sides and about 3 times thicker than it started it's done.



    Transfer to kitchen roll wrapped stack and start again.

    Three cups of flour should make a stack this big.



    Chapatis or parathas can be eaten as they are with a little spread or butter. Or eaten with curry, chilli, soup, PP, bbq etc.



    You can see here how the baking powder creates an almost risen, bubbly texture to the flatbread.



    Cooking chapatis differs very slightly.

    You make your first flip when the chapati starts to change colour (no baking powder - so no small bubbles) I'll add pictures later - when I find them lol.
    But it's almost as though the upper surface of the chapati is getting wet.

    The second flip is the same as the paratha. And on the third flip - if the pan is hot enough the chapati should puff up like a balloon.
    You could use a little oil to help here - but it's not usually neccesary.

    Essentially you are quickly sealing both sides and on the third flip the remaining water inside the bread turns to steam and causes the chapati to puff up. With a chapati you want the hollow interior so the presser is used to press the bubble gently to enlarge it as much as possible. Pressing the chapati into the frying pan will help it puff up as well.

    So the verdict on my parathas was excellent, definitely make them again. I even took some next door for a second opinion. As good as shanti's was the verdict - and coming from toral, who started making chapati's when she was 3 - that's good enough for me
    Last edited by curious aardvark; 09-01-2012, 09:04 AM.
    Made In England - Fine Tuned By The USA
    Just call me 'One Grind'



    Comment


    • #3
      Cool...but pretty labor intensive eh?
      In God I trust- All others pay cash...
      Check out the Mad Hunky and products at https://madhunkymeats.com or https://www.facebook.com/MadHunkyMeats
      Lang 60D, The Beast, 18 and 22 WSM, Brinkmann Backroads trailer, Weber 22 Kettle, gutted MB burning watts

      Comment


      • #4
        not in the slightest.
        I figure an hour from start to finish if I'm not resting the dough. Obviously less if you're not making as many as I did here.

        If I'm just making some for myself - then a 1 cup of flour batch of dough takes a few minutes. And I'll often use a spice mix I've already got lying around - and yes, MH often ends up in chipatis or tortillas :-)
        So for one person fresh cooked chipatis or parahas - 20 - 30 mins start to finish.
        Same with fresh wheatflour tortillas.
        Only difference between my chipatis and tortillas - white flour for the tortillas.
        Though next time I'll use shortening or lard in the tortillas instead of oil (see, I read the threads :-) )

        In most asian households chapatis and parathas are made fresh several times a day. They do make much larger batches of dough then me and simply keep them in the fridge for 3-4 days, using what they need when they need it and then putting the dough back in the fridge.
        So that cuts down on time quite a lot.
        Made In England - Fine Tuned By The USA
        Just call me 'One Grind'



        Comment


        • #5
          lol bump
          Made In England - Fine Tuned By The USA
          Just call me 'One Grind'



          Comment


          • #6
            Nice job mate I love me some Indian bread, have you ever tried making malaysian roti?
            sigpic

            Mary had a little lamb her father shot it dead, now it goes to school with her between two lumps of bread

            Comment


            • #7
              not yet - what's the difference ?
              Most flat breads are fairly similiar.
              So what sets the malayasian one apart ?
              Made In England - Fine Tuned By The USA
              Just call me 'One Grind'



              Comment


              • #8
                It's stretched out paper thin shitloas of times and folded and it ends up loads of layers, its sorta elastcy and my Dave flatbread by far, Singapore and Malay specialty is roti chanai witch is dhal and roti to slop it up with
                sigpic

                Mary had a little lamb her father shot it dead, now it goes to school with her between two lumps of bread

                Comment


                • #9
                  Fave flatbread even
                  sigpic

                  Mary had a little lamb her father shot it dead, now it goes to school with her between two lumps of bread

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    http://www.abc.net.au/tv/pohskitchen...s/s2789841.htm

                    Here ya go
                    sigpic

                    Mary had a little lamb her father shot it dead, now it goes to school with her between two lumps of bread

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Looks damn good, nice thread and really detailed for anyone who wants to make it
                      There is a cure...http://phoenixtears.ca/

                      sigpic

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        that's an interesting recipe. Roti just means flatbread, actually an indian word.

                        That malayasian stuff is almost like a savoury danish pastry.

                        I think you'd have to do that oil flicking trick outside or you'd end up with pots of oil all over the kitchen. Which wouldn't make me popular

                        The coiling I've seen before with a guy making parathas.
                        Made In England - Fine Tuned By The USA
                        Just call me 'One Grind'



                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Yea, there is also a stretch and fold method I've seen done in Asia but the texture of them is pretty awsum, and yea roti is Indian and brought to Asia with the Indians that the poms brought over and adapted over time to become uniquly malay
                          sigpic

                          Mary had a little lamb her father shot it dead, now it goes to school with her between two lumps of bread

                          Comment

                          Working...
                          X