INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

Chappati is a delicious, very plain, unleavened bread that is a
standard ingredient of a typical meal in urban Maharashtra. If you  are
a cook who loves to make sacrifices for your family and guests  you can
make a steady stream of chappaties for others to eat, or you  can
prepare them beforehand and keep them warm in an oven wrapped in  a
towel.  Source: " Beyond Curry: Quick and Easy Indian Cooking" by
Hemalata  Dandekar  MAKING THE DOUGH: Combine salt and flour and heap
this mixture in a  bowl. Make a well in the middle and add oil. Work
flour and oil  together, as for pastry dough, and then add two cups
water. Mix and  knead the dough, aiming for an homogeneous mass. Add
more water  (about 1 up), a little at a time, kneading to absorb the
moisture  until the dough is soft but not sticky. It is the right
consistency  if, when poked with the index finger, a little indentation
is made  but the dough does not stick to the finger.  ROLLING THE
CHAPPATI: Pinch off enough dough to make a ball 1 1/2 to 2  inches in
diameter. Flatten the ball and dip into white flour. Lightly  flour a
surface for rolling out the dough. With a rolling pin, roll  the ball
into a circle about 4 inches in diameter. Smear lightly with  oil and
fold in half. Smear with oil again and fold into a quarter.  Round off
corners of the triangle by squeezing in.  Flour the rolling surface and
formed chappati again and roll it out  into as round a shape as
possible. The objective is to end up with a  flat circle of dough that
looks like a Mexican tortilla, 8-9 inches  in diameter. The edges of
the chappati must be fairly thin. Ue the  rolling pin with a circular
motion, exerting more pressure on the  edge so that the chappati keeps
turning with each roll. White flour  must be occasionally sprinkled on
the dough and the board to allow  the chappati to turn.  COOKING THE
CHAPPATI: Heat a thick, cast-iron griddle ( a pancake  griddle or a
large frying pan will do) on high heat, then turn down  to medium.
Spread the rolled out chappati onto the grill. It's color  will change
to a slightly darker shade within 30 seconds. Slide the  chappati to
the edge of the grill with your fingertips (this is a  skilled task and
requires asbestos fingers), pick it up and turn it  over. Let it cook
another 30 seconds or so, until small blisters or  bubbles appear on
the surface. Turn it over again. If everything is  going well the
chappati should (miraculously) start to inflate like a  small balloon.
This process can be encouraged by gently pressing down  on the chappati
at various points with a cloth towel. All is not lost  if the chappati
does not inflate in this fashion; it is still quite  edible as long as
it is evenly cooked. Any spots that look a bit raw  can be cooked by
pressing them against the hot griddle with the  towel. Turn the
chappati over and cook for a final moment.  Take the chappati off the
grill and crush it to remove the air. It  may hurt to destroy the
spherical shape, but if the chappati is left  blown up, it tends to
become hard and tough. Squashing the air out  maintains it in a soft
and flexible condition for eating.  Chappaties are usually spread with
ghee (substitute margarine or oil)  and eaten warm, often with a
vegetable dal and a salad, chutney, or  pickles. Leftover chappaties
are good for lunches. Make a sandwich by  rolling one around spiced
vegetables. Refrigerate any unused dough.  It stores quite well for a
few days and is handy to have in reserve  for other meals. Lightly oil
the leftover dough and store in a  plastic bag or airtight container.
Posted to JEWISH-FOOD digest  Volume 98 #002 by David Fillingham
<dfillingham@earthlink.net> on 2  Ja, n 1998

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Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
----------------------------------------------
Calories: 238
Calories From Fat: 15
Total Fat: 1.7g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 99.9mg
Potassium: 68mg
Carbohydrates: 47.8g
Fiber: 1.7g
Sugar: <1g
Protein: 6.5g