EAST AFRICAN CHAPATI (FLAT BREAD)
Chapati is a diverse dish of various origins. It is quick and easy once you know the method well and is very easy to alter to your desired taste. Not only is it a fantastic emergency dish; it's highly versatile due to its compatibility with all kinds of flavour profiles because of it's subtle taste. You can serve it plain with your beverage of choice (preferably sweet), or as a pancake with maple syrup and lightly sweetened coffee. It also makes an amazing wrap, which you can fill with fresh fruit and chicken mayo, creamy meat deluxe or make it a sausage role. Lastly, it goes well with many soups, graves, creamy sauces and stews and can stand alone as the sole starch in a full meal.
DO NOT BE AFRAID TO EXPLORE YOUR OWN VARIATIONS! FOOD IS AN ART, SO BE FEARLESSLY CREATIVE!
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoon ghee (Clarified/plain butter) or oil
1 1/4 cup warm water
In a large bowl add flour and make a well then add sugar , salt, followed by water , ghee or oil
Knead to form a soft and sticky dough.
Place dough on a heavily floured board and knead for about 8-14 minutes. Continue to flour dough as needed to facilitate kneading . Be careful not to over do it. Dough should be soft , elastic and smooth.
Divide dough into 6 or 8 pieces according to preference and let it rest .The resting of the dough helps to relax the gluten and make it not only easier to work with but also produces tender chapati.
Using a rolling pin roll out dough into a circle. They do not have to be perfect circles.
At this stage you may proceed to cooking . However, if you want chapatis with layers you have to do the next steps.
Lightly oil chapati dough with ghee. Be gentle with the oil.
Then place dough on a heavily floured plate , press the dough down.
Turn dough over and press down – lightly shake off excess flour.
Shape dough like you would shape a paper fan- Starting at one end, all the way to the opposite end.
Then coil it up- like in the picture.
When all the dough has been coiled up , cover the dough with a damp cloth and let them rest for 20 minutes.
Glently flatten out coiled dough and roll out . Begin rolling out the dough from the center working outwards.
Rotate the dough out each time you roll it . This helps to make a perfect circle. Make sure they are not roll out to thin . Chapatis are not meant to be thin- 1/4 inch dough thickness is good.
Oil pan. Then place dough on the pan. I used crepe pan to make this chapati- a skillet will work as well.
Heavily oil the other side of the dough making sure you oil the edges too.
Cook for about 2-3 minutes rotating as need until golden brown.
Serve warm.
HOW TO MAKE CHAPATI SAUSAGE ROLLS (my favourite)
Collect the same set of ingredients for the plain chapati, prepare as advised above and leave raw. P.s. Make it as THIN as possible.
As for the sausage, I would recommend that you go with thinner ones like viennas because they cook easily so you'll run less risk of serving it raw (unless you want it medium rare). If you're going to use the thicker kinds of sausage like boerewors, make sure to slightly fry it on low heat for about ten minutes before using it for the roll
Roll the sausage up in the prepared chapati dough and leave to fully set. In the mean time, pour oil into a deep pan and heat until sizzling. Deep fry the rolls and leave to drip before serving.
Serve with cool beverages as a light meal.
A great snack for children!
