Chapati

 My brother taught me how to make chapati when he visited Portland a couple years ago. He was visiting from Kenya and he taught me how to make chapati the way the Kenyans do. I'm not sure if I still do it the way Alan taught me, I make it every now and again and I always think of him way off in Nairobi where you can get fresh chapo on the street corners in the mornings.


I used 3 parts white flour and 1 part whole wheat flour for these, in addition to a teaspoon or two of salt, 1-2 cups of warm water and a clove of garlic, pressed.

Once the dough was formed I kneaded it with my hand until all the dry parts came together in a bowl.

Then I went through the process of rolling out the chapatis one by one, starting with spreading the dough with my fingers, then rolling it out flat.

When the dough is rolled into a thing rectangle I spread some oil over the top and divided it into even strips. These are rolled-up and set aside for final flattening and cooking.

As far as I can tell this rigorous process just works the oil into the dough, helps divide the dough into even portions and let's you listen to a whole one hour podcast.




In a heated skillet I sprayed some oil and cooked the chapati on both sides until browned and puffy with air holes.

I think these are best eaten warm with a curry, stew or a simple cup of sweet chai.