Cooking The Chapati

After being stuck for so long in searching the ingredients to cook chapati, finally, last week, I have successfully cooked it along with the vegetable curry. The special ingredients I got are: whole wheat flour and instant curry paste.

Whole wheat flour (known as Atta flour)

I had searched for the whole wheat flour in supermarkets from the last 2 month but sadly I couldn't find any. I finally found it at the Indian mini market in Pasar Baru, Jakarta. The unique things is, this is a Bogasari brand (which is Indonesian product) but they put Taj Mahal picture on its packaging, completed with the Poori recipe on the back cover. The 1 kg package was sold for Rp 14,500, and Rp 28,000 for 2 kg package. The flour smells really like the Quaker Oats, the color is a bit brownish, and the particle is rough coz it also consists of sprinkles of wheat.

Thai Curry Paste

I had never put attention to the instant seasoning every time I go to supermarket before I hunted for the instant curry paste to accompany my chapati cooking. In Hypermart and Giant supermarket, it's the Thailand curry pastes that are mostly available, with various flavors and brands. I choose to try Mae Ploy Red Curry Paste that costed Rp 10,500 but... the smell was strongly like terasi (just as mentioned in the package that it contains crustacea) and the taste was not as I expected. Actually, I had also found one Indian curry paste and Japanese curry bricks, but their prices are just too high.

Ok then, let's move on to the recipe:

Chapati

Ingredients:

- 1 cup whole wheat flour (in market known as Atta flour)

- 3/4 cup of water

- a pinch of salt

- little drop of cooking oil

How to make:

- Put the flour in a large bowl, sprinkle with salt, mix gently

- Create the hole in the middle of flour, add water gradually, mix until become a soft dough

- Sprinkle the dough with more flour if it's still a bit sticky

- Add some drop of cooking oil, continue mixing the dough until the perfect softness

- Rest the dough for 15 minutes

- Now its time for burning: pre-heat your skillet or non-sticky teflon

- Form the dough into + 20 cm log shape, divide into 4 smaller pieces

- Rounded the pieces into ball shape

- Take 1 ball, sprinkle with flour, evenly flatten with rolling pin until + 3 mm thick (use your feelings, not too thin, not too thick)

- Put the flatten dough on the hot teflon, set the flame to medium-high 

- The small bubbles will appear within 30 seconds, turn the chapati to the other side as the bubbles appear

- With the cotton napkin or the frying spoon, press and rotate the chapati to evenly distribute the heat to every side 

- The bigger bubble may also appear, this is the indication of a smooth chapati

- Turn the chapati one more time if needed, then put in the plate

- Apply some rub of butter to the hot chapati *optional

Tips: 

- Knead the dough until it's really soft, a little bit of sticky is fine

- Make sure to flatten the dough evenly, not too thin or not too thick

- Make sure the teflon or skillet is really hot before burning the chapati, the less hot teflon may result the less soft chapati

Vegetable Curry

Ingredients:

- 2 medium size potatoes, cut each potato into 8 pieces 

- 1 medium size of carrot, cut into dice pieces

- 1/2 cups of green pea, or can be replaced with leunca

- 2 pieces of tomato, chopped

- 1/2 pieces of onion, cut into fine pieces

- 1 piece of garlic, chopped

- half pack of curry paste

- 200 ml of water

- 2 tbsp cooking oil

- salt and pepper

How to make:

- Heat the cooking oil, saute the onion and garlic

- Add in the potatoes and carrots, stir well for 1 mint

- Add in the water, green peas and chopped tomatoes, simmer in medium flame for 3 mint

- Add the curry paste, salt and pepper until desired taste, simmer again with low flame until the water reduced and become thick gravy 

Tips:

- Add salt and pepper just after adding the curry paste to avoid over salt

- Select the appropriate taste of curry paste that suits your curry

Happy cooking!