Indian Flatbreads Food

ROTI RECIPE (BUTTERY INDIAN FLATBREAD)

Steps:

• Make the dough. In a large bowl or stand mixer, use a fork to whisk together 2 cups bread flour and 1 teaspoon salt. (I prefer kosher salt, but table salt is fine.)
• Add 2 tablespoons melted butter* and mix it in with the fork until the flour is crumbly. Make sure to break up any big chunks.
• Add 2/3 cup warm water. Mix it together with the fork until the dough pulls together. At this point, I start using the dough hook attachment on my stand mixer, but you can also turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Scrape down any dough that sticks to the side, but it should form itself into a ball pretty quickly.
• Rest the dough. When you are done kneading, shape it into a ball. Leave it in the bowl, cover with a tea towel, and let rest for 20-45 minutes. The longer you rest the dough, the softer and more pliable your roti will be, and the easier it will be to roll out. (It will not rise at all, so don't expect it to look different after the rest period. This ain't no yeast recipe.)
• Roll out the dough. Prepare a work surface with a light dusting of flour. Divide dough into six equal parts. Use your fingers to pinch each piece into a smooth ball. (see photos)Take one ball and pat it into a disk with your fingers. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a rough circle about 8-9 inches across. It should be rolled out very thin, see photos. (If you want to roll all the dough out at once before frying, stack the sheets, each one separated with a square of parchment paper so they don't stick together. I prefer to roll out my next piece of dough while I'm frying the first one, so I don't do this.)
• Cook the Roti. Set a cast iron skillet, griddle, or large frying pan over medium or medium high heat. Let it preheat for at least a couple minutes so that it's very hot.Add about a teaspoon of butter to the pan and swirl to coat the bottom.
• Transfer the very thin sheet of roti dough to the pan. Wait about 6 or 7 seconds, then use your fingers or a spatula to flip the roti over. You may need to add more butter; if there is not enough, the roti will not be soft. It will cook in 30 to 50 seconds. Adjust the heat as necessary so that the roti cooks quickly (under a minute) but does not burn. Every stove is different so you will have to play around. You will know it is done when light brown spots appear on the side that is cooking. The top should have a few bubbles. Flip the roti back to the original side (using more butter if necessary) just until the brown spots appear, another 20-30 seconds.
• Steam the Roti. This step is super important to get soft and pliable roti! Place a paper towel inside a large ziplock bag. When the roti is done frying, place roti on top of the paper towel in the bag. Top the roti with another paper towel (it should not be touching the plastic or it will get soggy.) Seal the bag. As you fry the remaining roti, add them to the ziplock directly on top of the first roti, with a paper towel on top. The roti will steam each other in the center. Keep the bag closed as much as possible. You can also skip these steps and steam roti in a tortilla warmer.
• Serve the roti hot, with curry and rice.
• Store leftover roti in a ziplock bag lined with paper towels.
• Freezing Roti: Layer your roti between sheets of parchment paper so they don't stick to each other, and seal in a ziplock bag. Store flat in the freezer.To reheat, you can either let thaw in the bag at room temperature, then reheat gently in the microwave (don't overdo it or they will get tough.) Or you can re-grill the roti straight from frozen, using the same method as the first time.

INDIAN ROTI

Steps:

• Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Add a bit of the warm water and the ghee. Mix with your hands to combine.
• Continue adding water, mixing constantly with your hands until a soft and slightly sticky dough forms.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and continue kneading until the dough is very soft and pliable.
• Divide the dough into 8, roughly even, sections. Roll each section into a ball.
• Flatten each ball and roll each section out, on a lightly floured surface, to 6 inches in diameter. (Keep the dough that you are not working with covered with a lightly damp tea towel to keep them from drying out.)
• Heat a cast iron skillet (or other sauté pan) over medium high heat.
• Place the rolled out dough onto the hot, dry skillet.
• Cook the roti on the first side just until the bottom is dry and the roti releases from the pan, roughly 1 min.
• Flip the roti and cook it on the second side for 2 min until brown spots start to form.
• Flip the roti back to the first side and move it in the pan as it cooks and puffs, pressing lightly with a towel on the area that is puffing, to encourage the air to spread out through the roti. Cook the roti for 30 sec - 1 minute, until fully puffed or until the bottom has brown spots.
• Remove the roti. Brush it with ghee or oil, if desired, and wrap it in a tea towel to keep it moist.
• Continue with your remaining dough. (You may need to reduce the heat slightly as you continue to cook your roti. If the bubbles in your roti are burning and popping, most likely your pan is too hot.)
• Serve the roti immediately or transfer the roti to a bread basket covered with a towel to keep them warm.
• Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in a cast iron skillet and cook the rolled out dough rounds in the skillet as directed above. (The bread may not be as likely to puff.)
• Fill the skillet with 1 inch of oil. Heat the oil to 350-370F and deep fry the flattened dough rounds, flipping once, until golden.
• Let the puri cool on a paper-towel lined plate.

INDIAN FLAT BREAD

Steps:

• Mix all dry ingredients together. Add 8 ounces of the warm water and mix just until blended. Add the remaining water, a little at a time, until a soft, but not sticky, dough develops. Cover and allow to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Tear into 2-ounce balls and roll out flat to about 10 inches in diameter and 1/4-inch thick. Heat the corn oil in a heavy-bottomed pot or deep fryer to 350 degrees F. Gently place the pieces of dough in the corn oil and cook on each side until golden brown.
• When done, carefully remove the flat breads from the oil and drain on absorbent paper towels.

FLATBREAD

Steps:

• Mix the flour, salt, yeast and oil in a large bowl and add enough water to make a soft, but not sloppy, dough. Knead well. Put into a lightly oiled bowl to rise for 1 hr until doubled in size.
• Divide the dough into 8 pieces, about 250g each, and use a rolling pin to flatten each one into a circle, 15cm in diameter, about 1cm thick. Then leave the pieces on a lightly floured baking tray to prove for 5 mins. Heat a large frying pan to a medium heat and dry-fry each piece until browned on both sides, about 5 mins in total. Set aside to cool slightly before serving.

INDIAN FLAT BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Stir all the ingredients together making sure that the baking powder is well distributed throughout the flour.
• Pour the flour mixture into your mixing bowl and slowly add milk to the flour and melted butter, while kneading the dough.
• You should end up with stiff workable dough that is not sticky. If you end up with wet sticky dough you need to add more flour. If the dough will not hold together then you need more milk.
• If you have never made dough before you may find the process of kneading a little daunting. I would suggest trying this at home a few times until you get the hang of it.
• I have improved upon the recipe as follows: After the dough is ready flatten into rectangular shape and sprinkle some garlic powder and aprox 3 teaspoons herbs de province then rework the dough to incorporate the herbs and spice to the dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest 8 hours or overnight. (Hint the longer the dough rest the more the herbs and spice infuse the dough with flavor.).
• Now that your dough is made you're ready to fry some Indian flat bread.
• Take your dough and divide it into small balls. The size of the balls is up to you.
• Next take the balls and flatten them out into patties. Try to flatten them so that they are about 1/8 inch thick or like a thick tortilla. This will make the bread cook fast and evenly.
• Heat up some oil in a frying pan and cook them for a few minutes on each side until they turn golden brown and puff up like pancakes.
• Don't try to fry bread with margarine or butter because it will burn in the frying pan.
• I top it with butter while still hot, right out of the pan and sprinkle a little kosher salt and garlic powder on top and eat. As Rachael Ray would say, Yummo!

NAAN (INDIAN FLATBREAD)

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and 1/4 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees). Let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Place 4 1/2 cups flour, the salt and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a dough blade or in mixer with a dough hook. Mix to blend. Add yeast mixture, milk, yogurt, egg, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and 3/4 cup warm water. Knead dough until smooth and elastic, 2 to 3 minutes in a processor, 5 to 8 minutes in a mixer, 8 to 10 minutes by hand. Dough should be soft but not too sticky. Add flour as needed.
• Place dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then a kitchen towel. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Punch down the dough and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll them into balls, place them on a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with a slightly damp kitchen towel. Let rise until doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes.
• If using a tandoor, heat it to about 450 degrees. If using the oven, place a pizza stone on the bottom rack and heat oven to 450 degrees. If using a barbecue grill, set it up for direct grilling and heat to medium-high.
• Roll out a dough ball on a lightly floured work surface into a disk about 6 inches in diameter. Roll and stretch one end to make a teardrop shape. Brush off any excess flour. Repeat with remaining dough.
• If using a tandoor, drape one piece of dough over the round cloth pillow called a gadhi. Press the bread onto the hot clay wall. Cook the naan until the top is puffed, blistered and browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a skewer, gently pry the bread off the tandoor wall, taking care not to scratch the clay. Brush the top of the bread with ghee or melted butter, then place in a cloth-lined basket for serving. Repeat with remaining dough.
• If using an oven, turn on the broiler. Lay 1 or 2 pieces of dough on the pizza stone. Cook until the bottoms are browned and the tops blister, puff and are lightly toasted, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from oven, brush tops with ghee or melted butter, and place in a cloth-lined basket for serving. Repeat with remaining dough.
• If using the grill, brush and oil the grate. Lightly brush top of dough with butter and place butter-side down on grate a few at a time (do not crowd the grate). Grill until the bottoms are browned and the tops start to puff and blister, 1 to 2 minutes. Lightly brush the tops with a little butter. Invert bread, and grill the other side until lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a cloth-lined basket, brushing tops of each with any remaining butter.