Chappatis with Garlic Sauce

You might have known by now, but I enjoy exploring food from other cultures. Not too far back I made dishes like curry and hummus. Exploring Indian food has been something on my mind for quite some time now, in particular the flat breads. In this post I bring you something like the tortilla to the latin community, the chappati. I came across this flour in my local grocery believe it or not. So I purchased it, and upon checking out, I get the usual strange look for the checkout girls, a look like ‘what the heck is that?’. I brought this home and got to work. These are so simple to make, much like the tortilla, and in fact, I used the tortilla press (which I highly recommend getting) to shape and flatten them out.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of Chappati flour
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups of water, room temperature

Begin by mixing your flour and salt together in a mixing bowl. Here is the fun part, probably much like making pasta. Make a well in the middle of the bowl and begin to add the water, mixing in the edges of the flour, gradually. When everything is mixed, add the oil and begin to knead for a few minutes, shape into a ball, then cover with a damp towel or with Saran Wrap for nearly 30 minutes.

When you are ready to roll, or press for my purposes, you can use a bit of flour for dusting, then shape into equal parts, approximately 1 to 2 inches in diameter. Flatten and roll out into a circle shape, approximately 5-7 inches in diameter. If you are using the tortilla press, following my process I did for my empanadas. Once flattened, I heat a cast iron skillet to medium high heat. No oil is needed here as the oil is already in the dough. Add a chappati to the skillet and cook for a couple of minutes on each side. They might begin to bubble and that is ok, this is just telling you that it is cooking just fine. Flip, and continue to cook for a couple more minutes. Once ready, I simply put in a tortilla warmer. If you do not have one, cover with a towel. Repeat the process until you are done.

My entire family loved these. They are similar to a tortilla, however seem a bit more healthy in nature. I served these with a homemade roasted chicken with garlic sauce.

For the garlic sauce, it doesn’t get any easier. In a blender, add these ingredients:

• 2 bulbs, yes bulbs of garlic
• 1/2 cup of lemon juice
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

Put in the garlic, salt, and lemon juice into a blender (NOT a food processor) and blend until smooth on medium speed. Begin to slowly add in the olive oil. Continue to blend on the same speed. The mixture will form a texture much like mayonnaise. You can store this in the refrigerator in a glass container for up to a week or so, if it lasts that long. 🙂 This goes great with grilled meats, or drizzled on lettuce, or spread on chippatis.