Soft Chapati Recipe

A picture showing several chapatis folded on a plate.

Fall in love with these layered, soft, and delicious East African chapati!

Course Appetizer, Breakfast, brunch, Dinner, Lunch, Side Dish

Cuisine African, Kenyan, Tanzanian, Ugandan

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Resting Time 40

Total Time 1 25

Servings

Calories 350kcal

Author Kate Hahnel

Ingredients

5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
2¾ cups water
6 tablespoon ghee or cooking oil (to add to the flour, and to smoothen the dough)
½ cup ghee or cooking oil (to knead as well as fry the chapati)

Instructions

Mix the dry ingredients, namely all-purpose flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add 3 tablespoons oil or ghee to the flour mixture and combine. Next, add the water, a little at a time, and use your fists or an electric mixer to knead for about 10 minutes until you obtain a soft and smooth dough. Feel free to add some flour in small handfuls, if the dough feels too sticky.
5 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, 2¾ cups water, 6 tablespoon ghee or cooking oil
Add another 3 tablespoons of oil or ghee to the dough and knead some more, for about two minutes (you will use the rest of the oil to cook). The dough should now feel soft and pliable, and should no longer stick to the fingers.
6 tablespoon ghee or cooking oil
Cover the dough with a clean and damp kitchen cloth or plastic wrap and allow it to rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.
Divide the dough into 10 equally-sized balls. Dust a wooden pastry board or your kitchen counter with flour, lightly sprinkle some flour on top of each ball of dough, and use a rolling pin to roll each into a circle of 20cm in diameter (about 8 inches). If the dough resists stretching, let it relax for a while and then roll again. Feel free to dust with more flour, if the dough sticks to the rolling board.
Brush each chapati with a little melted ghee or cooking oil, lightly sprinkle some flour on top and roll it so it resembles a rope (skip this step for plain chapatis - see the notes below). Next, coil the rope towards the centre, and tuck the end in the middle.
Cover the coiled balls of dough with a clean kitchen towel and allow this to rest for 10 minutes. Next, lightly dust your kitchen counter or wooden pastry board with flour again. Roll out each ball of dough into a circle of 20cm (about 8 inches) in diameter and 3mm (about ⅛th inch) in thickness. Feel free to lightly dust with flour, so it rolls out easily.
Bring a non-stick or heavy-bottomed pan to high heat. Once hot, reduce the heat to a medium and place the rolled chapati dough on top. Cook each side until brown spots form and the chapati starts to puff up then use a spoon to flip.
Lightly brush the cooked surface with melted ghee, allow the bottom to also brown and puff up, flip and allow the oiled side to cook for one to two minutes. Lightly brush the other side with ghee or cooking oil as well and allow it to cook for a minute or two, or until the desired level of brown has been obtained.
½ cup ghee or cooking oil
Serve chapati with tea or your favourite stews, curries, or grilled dishes.

Video

Notes

To make plain chapatis, skip brushing the dough with oil and coiling it into a rope. Rather, directly fry the chapati flatbread once rolled to a circle.
Get the temperature right - heat your pan under high heat before you place the chapati on top. Once you start cooking, reduce the heat to medium and keep alternating between medium and low heat. Cook at too high a temperature and they will brown before they are cooked on the inside. Similarly, if the temperature is too low then they just harden up.
Soft and layered chapati - Lukewarm water works best. If you choose to use cold water, then make sure to rest the dough for at least 30 minutes. Also, you can add a cup of buttermilk (maziwa mala) to your chapati. The acid in buttermilk helps relax the gluten, resulting in softer chapatis. Chapatis get their layers from the oil added once the dough has been rolled out before cooking, so I highly recommend that you do not skip this step if you want them flaky.
Reduce the number of calories in your chapati by using less or no oil!

Substitutions

Use whole wheat or ''Atta flour'' for more fibre.
Knead the dough using milk or plant milk, instead of water.
Use butter, ghee or any cooking oil with a high smoking point such as sunflower or corn oil. Avoid oils with low smoking points such as olive oil as these will dry your chapati.

Nutrition