Chapatti or Roti Indian Flat Bread, With Gluten Free Chapatti Flour
Gluten Free Chapatti
Mamta Gupta
If you are from north India, happen to have allergy to gluten and can not eat wheat flour, life can be difficult, because chapatties are a staple food of north Indians. In my opinion, there is no better bread amongst Indian breads than a freshly made, crisp chapatti, eaten straight off the fire, with a hot (temperature) vegetable or meat curry and a dal! But it doesn't have to be wheat.
Here, I have made chapatties using Dove Farm Gluten Free Plain White Flour. It is the gluten that makes the dough stretchy. To get that, I have added Gum resin or gond* to the flour. You can use Xanthum gum if you prefer. Ingredients of the flour listed on the packet are Rice, Potato, Tapioca, Maize & Buckwheat flours. In UK, it is made without nuts, milk, casein, eggs, gluten and soya, making it suitable for vegetarians, vegans and people with milk allergy. If you cannot find ready-made gluten free flour where you live, you can make your own; see notes below.
*Gum resin can be bought from most large Indian grocers.
Makes 15-20.
Ingredients
500 grams Gluten Free Plain White Flour like Dove Farm
2 tbsp. gum resin (Gond, ground to a powder
Enough water to make dough (enough to make a soft, pliable dough)
Optional: Ghee, for smearing the surface of each chapatti). Not for vegans.
Instructions
Keep aside 2-3 tablespoons of dry flour on a plate for dusting while rolling out chapatties. Making dough: Dissolve gum resin in water.
Place the flour in a bowl and add enough water, a little at a time as you mix it in, to make a soft dough. If you are new at making chapatties, it is better to have a little firmer dough, which is easier to control while rolling out. Experienced Indian cooks prefer a softer dough which makes softer chapatties.
Knead to bring it together, cover and leave to stand for an hour or so. Knead a little again to get a smooth, soft dough.
Rolling out: Break dough into 10-15 portions, numbers depending on the size and thickness of chapatties you prefer. Make each portion into a ball by rolling between your palms.
Heat a griddle or tava.
Dip/dust one ball into the dry flour, covering all sides. You will need to ‘dust’ it in dry flour a couple of time during the rolling out. Roll it out into a round circle of 15-16 cm circle with a rolling pin. It should be rolled from centre out, with a flicking movement of the wrists, so that the edges are thinner than the centre. This helps them to blow up during cooking.
Cooking on the griddle or tava Place the chapatti on a hot griddle or tava.
Turn it over when it becomes slightly darker in colour.
Cook the other side until it has a few brown blisters on the under surface. It is now ready to cook on flame/under a grill or on the tava itself.
To finish off on a flame, pick the chapatti with tongs, flip over and place directly on a medium flame, it will balloon up. Move it around continuously, flipping over frequently on both sides, coaxing it to balloon up. It should be cooked evenly all over. If you see steam escaping from somewhere, try to seal it with your tongs. The steam trapped inside helps the chapatti to balloon up and cooks it from inside.
To finish off under a grill ; For beginners, it may be easier to cook chapatties under a hot grill. After step 9, place the chapatti under a pre-heated grill, with non-blistered side up. Turn it over when it balloons up or gets a few brown blisters. Cook the other side. You have to be very watchful when cooking under a grill, because surface can burn very quickly as it comes closer to heat source when ballooning up.
Cooking on a griddle alone: If you do not have a gas cooker or a grill, Chapatties can also be cooked entirely on a tava/griddle. After step 9, leave the chapatti on the pan. Press gently all over using a kitchen towel, coaxing it to balloon up, from the edges in, until the whole chapatti swells up into a ball. Continue to press it all over, turning over on the other side too, until all areas are cooked.
Serve hot and crisp. You can put a thin film of ghee or butter on one side before serving.
