South Indian Breads

I suppose the term "breads" could be disputed. Or maybe not. There are so very many types and styles of bread-like recipes abounding in India. A whole lot of them are specifically a breakfast type of food. Some are sort of sub-titled as "vegetarian omelets." This term is used since the bread is a breakfast food, often filled with vegetables of various kinds, sometimes few and sometimes many, and they are eaten as is with maybe one of the soup-like lentil dishes and some chutney. 

Akki Roti or Rice Flour Pancakes

To date, I have come across one bread using rice as the base, called Akki Roti ("roti" refers to a bread of some kind). Then there is another called Besan Chilla, using chickpea flour made from the Indian brown chickpeas, and I found that makes a difference. The third is one called Adai, and is made from a similar mix to the way Idli are made; a mix of rice and urad dal with a little moong dal added in. All three of these have some vegetables added, usually at least shallot or scallion, and maybe garlic, some with ginger, some with coconut, carrots, cilantro. Some may have tomato. I guess it all comes down to what one prefers in one's "omelet." 

"When making an Indian recipe that calls for Besan, or chickpea flour, the type of chickpea used to make Besan flour is not the large, white garbanzo bean  that we know in the U.S., but in fact made from Channa Dal or Desi Chickpeas, different from large white chickpeas. White chickpea flour does not act the same in Indian recipes. The flavors are very different in besan made from Channa Dal. If making something that calls for Besan flour in an Indian recipe, look for an Indian brand, or your recipe may well not come out as you expect."

BESAN CHILLA / CHEELA

Besan Chilla (or Cheela) uses besan (brown chickpea flour, read above). Brands I have seen on Amazon, and used are Taj, Laxmi or Rani, though there are other brands. All these state on the packaging that they are made with channa (dal), which is what is needed. 

Uttar Pradesh

Just used as bread alongside your morning eggs, these would be perfect, though they are so good, you would want them for any meal. These are also called Besan Puda in many places, and they are a northern Indian (Uttar Pradesh and places north) type pancake / vegetarian omelet preparation. Read the note below the recipe for other ideas to substitute for the carrots. But the flour used is also varied. Obviously, as they are called Besan Chilla or Besan Puda, Besan flour is the main flour used. However, some recipes call for substituting a small amount of the overall amount of besan flour (start with a quarter-cup) with oats ground to flour, semolina flour, rice flour and possibly others.

These come out about ⅛-inch thick or so. If you prefer, thin the batter a bit more with water and make them thinner, more crepe-like and crisper.

⇢ ⇢ Not everyone will have Carom/Ajwain seeds in their spice cabinet. If you find yourself in this situation, use a pinch of dried thyme leaves in the mixture, or 2 teaspoons if the thyme is fresh. As for asafetida, do click the link to read more about it. It is a dried resin and it stinks. . . until, that is, it is exposed to heat, whereupon it magically transforms into the smell of onions. Use it or not, as desired.

Besan Chilla or Chickpea Flour Pancakes with Carrot

Besan Chilla / Cheela

Makes about 6 to 8 unleavened pancakes
1½ cups besan flour (see above)
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon carom / ajwain seeds
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of asafetida, optional
2 inch piece ginger, finely minced
2 scallions, minced
1 carrot, grated finely
1 green chili, de-seeded, minced
1 tablespoon cilantro, finely minced
1 - 2 tablespoons ghee or oil

In a mixing bowl, stir together the besan flour, salt, carom/ajwain and cumin. Add in all the vegetables and mix together, then slowly add in 5 to 6 tablespoons of water, until the consistency is that of heavy cream. 

Have a skillet heating on medium to medium-low heat. Lightly brush the pan with ghee, and pour a ladleful of the batter into the pan, swirling the pan to get an even crepe / pancake about 6 inches in diameter. Cook for 35 to 40 seconds, then gently flip and cook the opposite side for 35 to 40 seconds. Repeat with the remaining batter.

NOTE: The kind of vegetable added can be many things: alternate the carrots with such things as chopped spinach, zucchini, bell pepper, tomato, or a smaller amount of all of these.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ADAI

Adai

The only one of these three breads with any advance planning required is the Adai. It is simple to soak the rice and lentils overnight, then blend them in the morning, adding in whatever else is desired. Obviously, you will need to have short grain rice, toor/tuvar/ardhar dal (dried, peeled, split pigeon peas), urad dal (dried, peeled, split black gram) and moong dal (dried, peeled, split mung beans). Otherwise the methodology is simple. Adai are another of many, many south Indian unleavened bread / pancake-like breakfast or any meal treats, originating from southern India, Tamil Nadu and possibly Sri Lanka. They can be used as a mid-afternoon snack as well. Generally eaten with a chutney or soup to accompany, these are delightfully flavored. While these take some advance planning, they are simple to make, and are my personal favorite of these three, though they are all so very good.

Adai

Adai with accompaniments

Makes about eight (8-inch) unleavened pancakes

¼ cup idli rice (short grain white rice)
¼ cup pre-cooked, cooled rice 
¼ cup toor dal (dried, peeled, split pigeon peas)
⅛ cup (2 tablespoons) urad dal (dried, peeled, split black gram)
⅛ cup (2 tablespoons) moong dal (dried, peeled, split)
1½ cups water for soaking
-----
½ teaspoon salt
⅔ - ¾ cups water
-----
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
½ - 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
½ teaspoon asafetida
⅓ cup minced shallot
8 - 10 curry leaves, chopped lightly
¼ cup cilantro, minced
Oil, for frying the adai

This recipe can be done in various ways. 

1. One way is to soak the rices and lentils (whether for 3 hours or overnight) and proceed with the recipe directly after the soaking time. 
2. If soaked overnight, it is easy to pick up making this for breakfast. 
3. Another way is to soak the lentils, drain and grind, and then let them “ferment” overnight before proceeding with the recipe. This would require the initial soaking to take place earlier in the day.

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl and rinse repeatedly, stirring and agitating the grains, until the water runs nearly clear. Drain well, then add in the 1½ cups of water. Cover lightly and set the mixture to soak for at least 3 hours, or overnight.

To proceed, drain the lentil rice mixture well and pour into a blender container. Add in the half-teaspoon of salt and ⅔ cup of the water, reserving the remainder to use if needed. Blend the mixture to a thick batter, relatively smooth. If it is too thick, add some of the remaining water. Let the batter rest for about 20 minutes, or up to 2 hours, for more immediate use. If fermenting overnight, reserve the salt to add the next day.

When ready to make the adai, add in the remaining ingredients, except the oil, and stir well. Have ready a fairly hot skillet and add a little oil. It is good to have some of the cooking oil in a small bowl nearby with a pastry brush, also.

Pour a small ladle-full of the batter into the hot skillet, spreading the mixture slightly outwards with the back of the ladle, make a thin, but not too thin flat bread. Make a small hole in the center, about finger-width. This is said to help them cook more evenly, though some do this and some do not. Using the pastry brush dipped in a little oil, dab some oil into the center hole, then around the edges of the adai. Cook for about 1½ minutes on the first side, or until it gets golden browned in spots, then flip and cook for another minute or so, as needed. Serve immediately.

These are great served with unsalted butter, idli podi, tomato chutney, nariyal chutney, and/or one of the “soups,” such as Sambar.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Chapatis are an Indian Version of Tortillas

Meaning to get to this blog days ago, I have been doing other things since returning from our trip. I made Lamb Korma last week and decided that while my husband is absolutely wild about Indian Naan bread, this time I was going to give a go with making Chapatis instead. I am not sure if he cared for them, truly. He said nothing at all. Still, I cannot completely go with making only what my husband will eat; it's just a little too prohibitive for my tastes. Sometimes I absolutely must try something that intrigues me.

Chapatis

Kamut® Khorasan

Kamut® Khorasan

Part of the reason I decided on something other than Naan Bread (apart from the fact that it is, by popular acclaim, the only bread accompaniment for Indian meals in my house), is that while on our trip, I stopped at The Whole Foods Market and found Kamut® Khorasan berries (triticum turgidum ssp. turanicum) in the bulk aisle! I have used Kamut® in past, as a flour that was a variation on regular wheat flour, and that so many are allergic to. It has been available in flour form for quite some time. Kamut® Khorasan is an ancient strain of wheat, along with another called "Emmer". These two tetraploid strains have 28 chromosomes instead of the 42 found in our hexaploid strain of durum wheat of today. Kamut® Khorasan berries are nearly twice the size of our modern wheat berries. When I bought Kamut® flour in past, I thought that Kamut® was the name of the type of wheat, but was in error. The name of this grain is actually Khorasan, referring to a historical region in modern Afghanistan and northern Iraq. The title of "Kamut®" Khorasan was given later by two brothers in Montana. Growing this strain of wheat in hopes of preserving the strain cleanly, they registered the name of Kamut.

Side by Side Size comparison of the grains

So, I bought about a pound or so of the whole Kamut® Khorasan berries and had no particular plan for how to use them. In reading about both the Kamut® itself and recipes for Chapatis, these flat bread recipes call for a whole grain flour. Kamut® has a lovely nutty, buttery flavor and has far less bitterness than our modern wheat. Since Chapatis are made with whole grain flour, and since Afghanistan and Iraq are setting just above India (Northern Indian cuisine has much influence from these areas), I felt that possibly Kamut® Khorasan would be the perfect flour for these breads. To top it all off, my husband recently bought me a Wonder Mill grain mill, so this would make quick work of milling the Kamut® Khorasan berries.

Chapati recipes are all basically the same. Use a whole grain flour. Moisten it enough with water to be pliable but not wet. Knead it. Make Chapatis. The basic ratio of flour to liquid is identical everywhere I looked for comparison. The only technicality would be if you live in a very dry climate or a very humid climate, as this affects how much water will actually be needed. If you live in a humid place like Florida or Louisiana for example, your flour will already be more water saturated than if you live in Arizona. I live in neither of these places, but climate in the high plains is often dry. Add to that the heat running in the house for more than a month already, with temperatures already been dipping below zero regularly. Dry.

On to the Chapatis

As far as Indian breads go, there are quite a few types and styles. Even Naan, which is getting to be very well known, can be made as a yeast dough or may be leavened with simple baking powder. The store varieties are certainly not yeast breads, and most very closely resemble large, soft flatbreads or pitas without pockets. Chapatis are more similar to a flour tortilla, in that they are most basically a simple and unleavened, thin, flat cake, traditionally cooked on a flat griddle called a tava. At home a hot skillet works just fine. Other Indian breads are many. To name a few, there are rotis (similar to chapatis), parathas (larger, thicker, fried), puris (fried and puffed up) and papadums (crispy). Each of these is unleavened. The differences are in how they are made, thickness, size and texture. I hope to make parathas again sometime soon. I have made them in past and they turned out very well. (If any of these descriptions is in error, please pardon me. I have not a drop of Indian blood in me, but am endlessly fascinated with all things Indian).

Flour water & oil mixed    |    dough well kneaded    |    rested and cut in portions    |    dough rolled into 6 - 7-inch circles

It is most common to make all of these breads with whole grain flour, though some are made with white flour. The recipe's ratio of flour to water is 3 parts whole grain flour to 1 part water. Some recipes call for added oil or ghee; some do not. I added a little oil to my recipe. Some recipes call for mixing the ingredients and kneading briefly to combine, while some recipes call for kneading for longer periods of time. Longer kneading yields a more elastic dough, easily rolled and shaped without tearing. 

I spent some time here on the detail of using Kamut® Khorasan flour. Whole wheat flour may as easily be used. It is an option to leave the dough, once kneaded, for a minimum of an hour, and even better if it is left overnight, before proceeding to roll out the chapatis.

Chapatis

Chapatis

Makes 8 chapatis

1½ cups whole grain flour; wheat or Kamut® Khorasan
½ cup water
1 tablespoon of oil or ghee
more oil or ghee for cooking the chapatis

In a bowl, combine the flour and water, mixing to combine. Add the oil or ghee and blend in. Turn the mixture out onto a very lightly floured surface or an oiled surface. Knead the dough for at least 5 minutes; more ideally for about 9 minutes. This develops the gluten in the flour, making it easier to roll out and form the chapatis without tearing. Set the dough aside to rest, covered, for at least one hour, or longer if possible. If leaving to rest overnight, place the dough, well wrapped, in the refrigerator until ready to use.

dough circle just placed in hot pan | bubbles forming under the surface | flipped over and nearly done     

Cut the dough into 8 equal sized pieces. Roll each portion of dough into a smooth ball. Lightly flour a surface and roll the dough into a thin circle of about 6 or 7-inches diameter. Heat a skillet to medium heat. Add in a small amount of oil or ghee to the pan and place one of the circles of dough in the hot pan. Almost immediately it will begin to form bubbles. Turn the chapati to cook the opposite side once the first side has well browned spots, about 2 minutes. Once flipped over, the opposite side should also have nicely browned spots, about 1 minute longer. Remove to a towel lined container and continue to make each individual chapati in the same manner.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.