I've been following the links on Kaveys site for breadmaking and I've started making my own with great results. I thought I'd now try some Indian breads but .... there seems to be so many. I tried searching google to find out about the different breads and when they are used but I'm not having much success. I've got some pointers from Mamtas recipes ie some say they are breakfast breads etc. Can anyone explain the main breads to me?
Many thanks.
Main, everyday Bread; Chapatti/roti/phulka. It is the same, with different names, and it is the most commonly made, everyday bread in northern India. Some people will say that roti is a bit thicker than chapattie and phulka is the thinnest, but this not a written rule.
Plain paratha is a pan fried Indian bread and it is often eaten with evening meal or for packed meals.
Stuffed parathas are generally served for a brunch type of heavy breakfast or as a replacement for a meal. They are generally quite filling.
Poories are eaten for special meals, as on Indian festivals, or when guests come for dinner.
If it is a stuffed poori, it is usually made for big festivals or special occasions or eaten for breakfast.
Naans and tandoori roties are generally eaten at lunch, in place of chapatties, but can be eaten at either meal time.
This is only in north India and in my type of families. India is so vast with so many different cultures and eating habits within its different states/provinces that it is almost impossible to give a general rule. For example, they will hardly ever eat breads in southern India, eating rice mostly or things made with rice.
More and more people in India now prefer chapatties to parathas for their everyday meal, but in my grandmother's generation, evening meal had to be paratha or poori, not chapatti/roti!
I will suggest that you make one of each type and serve whichever you wnat, whenever it suits you.
Hi Seabird
Am glad you've found helpful links on my site, that's lovely to hear.
My husband recently took things to another level by grinding wheat grains he grew this year and making bread from them... :)
One of things I found when I visited India, viewing it from a strange kind of British perspective (having been born/ grown up here) but mixed with being part of an Indian family, was that, to my eyes, there seemed far less separation of what was eaten for the breakfast, lunch, and evening meals.
It's probably only my perception, but I confess, it didn't take long for me to start wailing for some variety when confronted by chapati, daal and vegetables for breakfast, chapati, daal and vegetables for lunch and, you guessed it chapati, daal and vegetables for dinner!
Certainly, I didn't see the stark difference that we have in Britain, especially these days of dishes that are specifically breakfast (cereals, yoghurts, toast or fry up), specifically lunch or most commonly lunch (sandwiches, soups, wraps) and then the wide range for dinner.
Anyway, just my two pence.
x
As always - thanks for the replies. We're going to Birmingham this weekend for the German Christmas market and we've booked a nice Indian restaurant for Saturday night so I'll try some of the bread to see how they should be done before having an attempt at home.
I am no fan of bread from supermarkets and the likes, but I do like the Indian unleavened breads. I have a recipe for yeast-free nan that just uses yoghurt and is left to ferment - and it is amazing!! I am going to make a batch in the next few days. I am also going to make a huge batch of chapattis - ohhh I love a chapatti! (excuse my spelling).
What are you doing up at 2.30 in the morning sid!!
In India, naan is usually made with yoghurt alone, because it is a hot country and the dough rises pretty fast. Yeast is added here to make it rise faster.
I have just had a thought, I will make yoghurt only in my bread maker, which usually sits idly these days and used only occasionally for dough making.
I don't like going to bed early, 2AM is an average time for me. I like to turn the TV off at 10 when everyone has disappeared and I sit and observe silence for four hours or so. It's amazing what thoughts and ideas can come to you when you are not subjecting yourself to constant distractions.
I think I have seen you mention that before about people in India not using yeast in their nan dough. I prefer the ones without yeast because I am not a fan of yeast in anything.