Sunday, February 28, 2016

Homemade Soft Chapati | How to make Soft Roti

Chapati, a soft Indian flat bread made from the wheat flour(also known as chapati flour / aata) and it's one of the common & staple flat bread in Indian households. Making chapati at home is super easy ! Chapati, roti and phulka all are made with the same ingredients like wheat flour, salt & water. The main distinction between one another is the cooking technique and in some places the names are easily interchangeable with one other.

Commonly, chapati is thinner than roti and oil is used to cook chapati. Roti is a bit thicker than chapati and usually cooked on stove top or oven without any oil. Phulkas are basically chapati cooked partially on tava and then placed over direct flame to puff up. 

Roti & phulkas became famous in South Indian after the arrival of many North Indian restaurants only.  Since i grew up in South Tamilnadu, i never heard about roti & phulka while growing, all we knew was only chapati, so i'm kind of inclined to that than the other two. It's one of the common bread that we used to make for any three meals of the day in my house.  For other variety of roti, check out here

How to make Soft Chapati?

  • First the flour, it should be fine wheat flour. I like to use Ashrivad brand of wheat flour aka aata flour here in Canada and used the same when in US. But back home in India, the freshly ground wheat flour from the mill is usually used in our home. 
  • The dough should be soft and pliable and at the same time non sticky. 
  • The tava should be hot to make soft chapati and it takes less than 2 mins to cook a chapati on both sides.
  • More time on tava makes the chapati harder.

Can i use the Whole wheat flour instead of Aata flour ?

Yes, you can use but the chapati is bit on hard side not as soft as made with aata flour.

Ok, now let's check out on how to make this famous indian flat bread, Chapati.

Chapati, Roti, Soft Chapati

Related:How to make Roomali Roti/Thin roti


How to make Soft Chapati

Preparation Time : 20 mins | Cooking Time : 15 minsMakes : 8 to 10 
Recipe Category: Roti | Recipe Cuisine: Indian Soft Chapati,Homemade Chapati,Chapati Recipe,Roti,soft roti,indian flat bread. Chapati, a soft indian flat bread made from wheat flour and it's one of the common & staple flat bread in Indian households.

Ingredients
Wheat Flour - 2 cup
Water - 1 cup (approx)
Salt - to taste( 1/2 tsp approx )
Oil - 2 tsp
* See the notes section for soft chapati

Stack of soft chapati
Procedure
Take the flour in a bowl, add salt and oil and mix it with flour well.

Now it looks like a crumble, then add water to the flour.
Mix it with your hand and gather it together as a single mass , now knead the dough well until the surface looks smooth. It may take 3 mins of kneading. Cover it with lid and set aside for minimum 15 mins.
Pinch medium lemon sized balls from the dough and roll it as smooth. Flour the rolling pin & surface well, take one ball of  dough and sprinkle with flour
Roll into thin disc using rolling pin and do the same for the all dough. Heat the tawa  & grease with oil.
Once the tawa gets hotter, add the rolled chapathi and apply oil on top too, once the top slightly bubbles up, flip it over and cook on other side. Remove it on plate when both sides have brown spots.
Serve it with your favorite side dish. 
Stack of soft rotis
Notes:
  • The dough should be pliable and smooth.
  • I have used ashirvad wheat flour, it requires 1 cup of water for 2 cup of flour. The water quantity varies among the brands and home made flour.
  • Try to add almost all water at once , it helps to make soft dough.
  • Cooking chapati in high flame gives soft chapati even after it cool down.
  • If your tawa is really hot, it may take only less than 2 mins to cook a chapati. 
Soft Chapati




47 comments:

  1. Good.. you divulged the secret...

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  2. Good lesson indeed, thank you please

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  3. Good lesson indeed, thank you please

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  4. Replies
    1. I am not chef but i have started cloud kichen from home.. I am not duing soft chapati.. I will follow your intrction and. Iwill do on Saturday.. ❤ lets see... Thank you mam🙏❤

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  5. Hi, if we make the dough at night & keep in the fridge would that be alright? As planning to cook the chapatti for lunch?

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    1. Yes, you can store the dough in refrigerator. Make sure to use the air tight container to keep the dough fresh.

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    2. That's delicious

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  6. Thank you so much
    It came very soft
    You made my day...thanks a lot

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  7. Thanks for the shared massage must try this today

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  8. Do you use water or cold water to make the dough

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    Replies
    1. Room temperature water is enough! No need to cold or hot water .

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  9. Can I add egg to make chapati? TQ!

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  10. Do we need to clap the roti efore we store it please

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  11. Do we have to clap roti please

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  12. Do I need to clap roti

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  13. No need to do that. You can store as it is .

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  14. Brilliant. It's the super hot tabs I've been doing wrong. Must make with super hot pan x

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    1. Thanks ! Yes, the hot pan is the key to make soft chapati.

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  15. Can you use all purpose flour

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    Replies
    1. Yes, you can use. But then it won't be chapati :-)

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  16. Is it cold or hot water to use

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    Replies
    1. Room temperature water is enough! No need for cold or hot water .

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  17. Sure going to try it to get so I can get soft chapati thank you

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  18. Thanks. I'm going to try this. I've tried chapati in the past and found that they were to hard/firm. I suppose the key is how tough the dough is when kneading, and also how long on the pan? I'm in the USA so I'll look for the most refined flour. Last question, after you knead the flour--how long is best to leave it before rolling and cooking?

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    1. As i said in my post, the flame should be in high and the pan should be really hot for making chapati. It takes hardly 2 mins to cook a chapati on both sides. It's best to rest the dough for 20-30 mins, it helps to roll the chapati easily.

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  19. As someone who moved out of the house and missing homemade food a little too much, Thankyou so much for this.

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  20. Can i make chapatis on induction stove

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  21. Hi. Can we add ghee or butter for the dough?

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    Replies
    1. Yes, you can add for flavour. But it won't be necessary.

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  22. Hello. I tried making chapati for the first time using your recipe. Very nice

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    Replies
    1. Glad to know! Thanks for trying and letting me know.

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  23. We can make roti without oil and ghee

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  24. Namasthe. Can I use 1/4 Maida with 3/4 Atta.? What is your suggestion for 4 fold Chapati. Thank you.

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    1. Yes, you can use the combination of maida and atta. It tastes good too. Without any folding itself, this recipe makes a soft chapati. But if you want to have layers in the chapati, then definitely do the folding method.

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  25. Thanks for the method

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  26. Thank you, I should start making myself some of these,. Other than going to restaurants

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  27. Do you use baking powder at all

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    Replies
    1. No, i never use baking powder for making chapati.

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