prep: 1hr Servings : 4 amount:12-14 Chapatis
Ingredients
- 3 cups of flour
- 1 1/2 cups of warm water
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 tsp of sugar
- 3 tbsp margarine (substitute with white fat)
- extra margarine for layering, extra flour for dusting and sprinkling
Procedure
- In a bowl, mix together flour, salt and margarine.
- Add water and knead the dough. Knead for 10-15 minutes or until the dough is super soft. Cover with a damp cloth and rest for 30 minutes.
- Take a portion of dough in your palms (enough to fill your fist). Roll it out into a thin circle.
- Spread 1 tbsp margarine evenly and sprinkle some flour over it. This is how you would start to make the chapati’s no matter which of the four methods you use.
- Now create the folds or rolls. View the video above for detailed information on how to roll it and create the layers.
- Once you have chosen your method of rolling the chapati into layers, press down the dough and roll the dough into a circle of your desired thickness. However, too thick will make the chapati too dough’y and too thin will make it too crispy and it wont be soft.
- Heat a heavy pan (heavy pans make better chapati’s than the light pans) and place the chapati on it. Cook for 30-45 seconds and once the air pockets start to form, flip it.
- Use a chapati press or fold a cloth and press on the chapati on all sides so it cooks evenly. Flip it again, add 1 tsp of margarine on it and flip it over the margarine.
- Use a spoon or spatula to press the sides down as you keep moving the chapati. Cook for 15-20 seconds and flip it around again. Press down for another 15-20 seconds and its ready to serve.
- Serve straight away or if you are serving it much later, cover with a towel and set aside. This will keep them from drying out and will stay soft. You can also roll the chapati’s and serve.
The trick to getting a soft chapati boils down to 2 things
1. How you knead your dough… Don’t be in such a hurry… Work on your dough thoroughly.
2. The heat should not be too high nor too low.
The temperature of the water being used to knead doesn’t matter.