I find that most South
Indian women, even those who are normally good cooks, throw up their hands when
it comes to making chapattis. “I just can’t make good chapattis,” they say
apologetically.
Admittedly, rice is mostly
eaten in the south and chapattis or rotis are more a staple food north of the
Vindhyas. But making good chapattis is not really a big deal and there is no
one correct secret formula to making a decent, soft stack of the ubiquitous
Indian bread.
I have watched quite a few
people in the process of making chapattis, rotis, parathas and phulkas and
there seem to be almost as many methods as people making them. Right from Step
1 people go their different ways, but most do manage to produce rotis that are
fairly soft and edible.
In days gone by, women
would bake the rotis while the menfolk and children sat down to their meal, and
provide fresh, hot rotis straight from the fire while they ate. Today’s women
like to eat with the family, so the rotis necessarily have to be made in
advance. So how do you ensure that by the time one gets to eat the chapattis,
they have not mysteriously turned to leather?
The process starts right
from selecting the wheat; - the grains should be fat and preferably a light
brown in colour – to having it ground to the right texture. Some sieve it to
remove the bran and some add maida to make it softer and lighter. Some people
add salt for extra taste, while others add ghee or oil for softness and
flavour.
Then comes the actual
kneading process. Some mix the dough quickly, leave it for a while and then
make the chapattis. Others knead patiently until the dough is the right texture
and consistency. How soft do you make the dough? My mother used to make it
stiff – you needed strong arms to knead it. My grandmother’s dough was so soft,
it wouldn’t remain in a ball, but flow out flat.
Then there are questions on the size of the
balls and the thickness of the rotis. How do you roll them so they are evenly
round and all the same size? And what about the actual baking process, the puffing
up on the fire and whether to smear it with ghee or not? These are all areas where people entertain many doubts.
I have been making rotis
since before I was fifteen. I had three teachers – my mother, my paternal
grandmother and my maternal aunt. Each one had a different method and every
time I helped out, I had to follow a different set of rules. Eventually, I
developed my own. Over the years I have relaxed some of the rules, as my
standards became less stringent. In the long list of dos and don’ts, I
discovered, there is a lot of scope for variation and improvisation. I used to
select my wheat and grind it just right, but now I buy readymade atta (Pilsbury
is my favourite). I don’t add oil or salt, but knead it with plain water at
room temperature. I used to make small balls and roll the chapattis so thin
they were almost translucent. But then you have to make many more, and I find
now that I have more important things to do than make perfect chapattis.
I have come to the
conclusion that there is only one cardinal rule for making soft chapattis,
rotis or phulkas – DO NOT LET THE DOUGH OR THE CHAPATTI DRY OUT AT ANY STAGE!
Apart from that rule, everything else is pretty flexible. A dehydrated roti is
stiff, dry, leathery and unappetizing. So to prevent dehydration is the most
important thing.
So, now that you know that
there is nothing formidable about making rotis, let’s get down to making some
phulkas, my favourite everyday bread.
Let’s start with the
kneading process, assuming you have flour of a reasonably good quality. I find that
phulkas have a better chance of puffing up, if the dough is well kneaded.
Use a roomy shallow bowl
and measure out the flour. Pour water a little at a time, mixing roughly. Then
knead with your knuckles, sprinkling more water as you go along, until you get
the right consistency, i.e., what you can comfortably roll. If your touch is
light, you can handle a soft dough, but if you tend to press heavily on the
rolling pin and need to keep picking up the roti to turn it round, you had
better make it fairly stiff. Keep kneading it until the dough is fairly smooth.
If it sticks too much, it may help to smear your hands with a little oil.
Now remember the rule –
DON’T LET IT DRY OUT! Roll the dough into a ball, wet your hand and pat it all
over. Now cover it with another upturned vessel not too much bigger than the
ball. Leave it for fifteen minutes to half an hour while you do something else,
like setting the table or heating the rest of the food. Remember that if you
leave it too long, the dough will get soft. When you actually begin to roll, it
may be softer than you can handle. If you have been too generous with the water
earlier, you may have to add dry flour to stiffen it up a bit.
Put the tava (griddle) on a
medium to low flame, position your ‘chakla’ in front of you and keep a plate or
large bowl filled with dry flour to your right. Have your chapatti box lined
with a cloth or kitchen paper and a pot of ghee with a spoon within easy reach.
I use a metal spatula to turn my rotis as I find it easier to handle than tongs
– the choice is yours.
Now you have to be as quick
as possible to avoid drying out the dough. Keep the dough covered, lifting the
lid only enough to pinch off a bit to make a ball. Now dunk the ball in the dry
flour and flatten it on the rolling surface – a ‘chakla’, an upturned thali on
a piece of cloth (so it won’t keep moving) or even a clean counter top. Roll
gently and firmly, until it just begins to stick. Then pick up the roti, place
it on the flour, turn it so both surfaces are coated and then back on the
rolling surface to finish rolling to the desired size. Don’t worry too much
about shape at this juncture – concentrate more on speed. As you get used to
the process, slowly the shape will begin to improve. I have learned to roll
with a light hand so the roti turns itself and I hardly have to lift it at all.
Now put your roti on a hot
tawa, which should be on a low flame. The right way to do this is to place it
on top of your right palm (if you are right handed), move your hand directly over
the tawa and quickly flip your wrist so that it falls on the tawa flat, without
wrinkling or folding. It may be difficult at first, so be ready with the
spatula to straighten out the wrinkles or folds. It may be easier for beginners
to pick up the roti with both hands and place it gently on the tawa. But this
too is not foolproof. However, you get better with practice.
When your first roti is on
the tawa, start on the next one, keeping a watchful eye on the first. As soon
as the colour changes and bubbles begin to appear, quickly turn it over and
increase the flame to medium or high. Ideally it should be undercooked with no
dark specks. Now roll the next roti as quickly as you can. Do not keep lifting
the first roti off the tawa or turn it round and round! Keep handling it to a
minimum. If you must, lift up one edge and take a peek to see if it is
ready.
When enough brown specks appear, flip it over with the spatula and, in one smooth move, lift the tawa away and slide the roti on to the flame. In three to five seconds it should puff up. If it doesn’t, never mind – better luck next time. flip it back on to the tawa, lift it off and put it on a flat surface. Smear it lightly with a teaspoon dipped in melted ghee (otherwise you may have too much ghee on your roti), place it in the chapatti box and cover. You need to apply ghee to the surface that was in contact with the flame.
Meanwhile, you should have replaced the tawa on the fire, wiped it free of flour and lowered the flame in readiness for the next roti. It will take a bit of practice and juggling to get the timing and sequences right, but it is well worth the trouble. Before long, you will be receiving compliments for your soft and fluffy phulkas!
Here are some common
practices that lead to drying and therefore to be avoided:
·
DON’T make all
the balls in advance and keep them exposed. Instead, you can roll the ball of
dough into a long roll, cut into suitable sized pieces and keep the whole thing
under cover, picking out one at a time and rolling into a ball.
·
DON’T roll out
all the rotis in advance and then bake them one by one. The top dries out and
the underside gets too moist. The phulkas, if they do puff up, will not be
soft.
·
DON’T bake the
phulka entirely on a low flame. It will be stiff because it will dry out. DON’T
use a high flame throughout either, as the first side will cook too fast or
burn – unless you have become expert enough to roll at the speed of lightening!
·
DON’T turn the
roti more than once and DON’T keep picking it up to shift it around. If you
must shift it, slide it, rather than lift it and expose the underside to air.
·
DON’T keep the
chapatti box open while you make the rotis. Keep a loose cover on, lift it to
add the next chapatti and immediately cover it again. Even while serving,
replace the lid as soon as you have removed a chapatti to keep the others soft.
·
Lastly, Don’t
entertain phone calls or participate in family arguments while making
chapattis. Otherwise, you may find yourself shouting, “Help! My chapatti is on
fire!”
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