Chapati
Chapati is the everyday bread of northern India and Pakistan, made in many homes for almost every meal. It is thin rounds of wholewheat flour, water and a pinch of salt, cooked on a dry pan until they puff like a balloon, then brushed with ghee. No yeast, no oven, no waiting — just half an hour's rest for the dough. Chapati is served with dal, curries and vegetables, torn into pieces and used to scoop up the food. The keys are a soft, well-kneaded dough and a hot pan.
Your own work in that: 10 min.
- Dough 10 min
- Resting 30 min
- Rolling and cooking 40 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneKnead the dough
Mix the flour with the salt, add the oil and pour in the water gradually, mixing with your fingers. Knead 8–10 minutes until soft, smooth and slightly tacky — softer than pasta dough.
Ingredients: 300 g wholewheat flour (atta) · 200 ml lukewarm water · ½ tsp salt · 1 tbsp oil
Soft, smooth and slightly tacky.Rest the dough
Rub the dough with a few drops of oil, cover and rest 30 minutes. The gluten relaxes and the rounds roll out more easily.
Ingredients: 300 g wholewheat flour (atta) · 200 ml lukewarm water · ½ tsp salt · 1 tbsp oil
Divide
Divide the dough (about 515 g) into 12 balls of about 43 g. Keep them under a cloth so they do not dry out.
Ingredients: 300 g wholewheat flour (atta) · 200 ml lukewarm water · ½ tsp salt · 1 tbsp oil
Roll out
Flatten a ball, dust it with flour and roll it with a thin rolling pin into a round 15–16 cm across and about 2 mm thick, turning it as you go so it stays even.
Ingredients: 30 g ghee · 30 g flour for dusting
Even and thin — then it will puff.Heat the pan
Heat a dry cast-iron pan or flat tawa over medium-high heat. Shake excess flour off the round so it does not burn.
Ingredients: 300 g wholewheat flour (atta) · 200 ml lukewarm water · ½ tsp salt · 1 tbsp oil
Cook the first side
Lay the round in the pan and cook about 30 seconds, until small bubbles appear. Turn and cook the second side 1 minute, until brown spots appear.
Ingredients: 300 g wholewheat flour (atta) · 200 ml lukewarm water · ½ tsp salt · 1 tbsp oil
Puff it
Turn once more and press the edges with a folded cloth — the round should puff up like a balloon. Mind the hot steam escaping from it.
Ingredients: 300 g wholewheat flour (atta) · 200 ml lukewarm water · ½ tsp salt · 1 tbsp oil
A puffed chapati is light and soft inside.Brush with ghee
Lift the chapati off, brush thinly with ghee and put it in a cloth-lined basket. Cook the rest, stacking them — the steam keeps them soft.
Ingredients: 30 g ghee · 30 g flour for dusting
Before you start
Atta flour
Indian atta is finely milled wholewheat flour, traditionally stone-ground (chakki), sold in Indian shops and online. Coarser wholemeal flour works similarly — sift it, add a spoonful more water and knead a little longer.
Over the flame
In India, once both sides are cooked, the round is held briefly directly over a gas flame, where it puffs in a second. Use tongs, and only on gas, never on induction.
Storage
Wrapped in a cloth and film, chapati keep a day at room temperature. Reheat a few seconds in a dry pan. They freeze, interleaved with paper, for 2 months.
