Chapati is a tasty east African dish. In the past it was reserved for special occasions but is now prepared regularly as an accompaniment to stews. It can be rather labour-intensive to prepare, but it’s well worth the effort.
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups water
2 tsp sugar
4 tsp salt
3 tbsp cooking oil/ ghee
Serves 5
Method
- Pour the water into a saucepan and heat until warm (not hot).
Dissolve the sugar and salt in the water. - Put the flour into a bowl, add the water a little at a time and knead until you form firm dough.
- Make a well in the middle of the dough, add the oil/ghee then knead some more.
- Allow the dough to rest for at least 30 minutes while covered with a cloth. This relaxes the gluten and make the dough easier to work with.
- Divide the dough into balls as if making cinnamon rolls. Take each ball and roll it onto a floured surface using a rolling pin until they form a circular shape.
- Heat a frying pan, put a tablespoon of oil then place your first chapati.
- Fry until it turns brown, flip it over and oil the other side.
- When both sides are brown remove the chapati and repeat the process for the others.
- Serve hot with a stew of your choice.
