How to make chapathis softer

[Karnati Sudhakar]

Does any one know how to make chapatis softer?

I have been asking my mom to prepare soft chapatis but she says "I am trying the best". I have explained the steps mentioned in this link : http://indianfood.about.com/od/breadrecipes/ig/How-to-Make-Chapatis/ but does not seem very useful.

North indians make chapatis very soft, I like them

Any suggestions?

[Sripathi Krishnamurthy]

The basic idea is not to press the chapati dough very hard. If you press it very hard while flattening it, it will become papad. Do not use all your strength to make it flat before putting it on tawa.

[Deepak Bala]

I have been asking my mom to prepare soft chapatis but she says "I am trying the best". I have explained the steps mentioned in this link : http://indianfood.about.com/od/breadrecipes/ig/How-to-Make-Chapatis/ but does not seem very useful.

And you do not want to make the chapati (an Indian bread) yourself because ?

The basic idea is not to press the chapati dough very hard

How do you make the dough without working it ? I find adding oil / ghee to the dough makes it softer and easier to work with. The chapati ends up being soft too. There are many ways to make a chapati. I throw mine into an open fire and roast both sides for 3-4 seconds. It is better and softer than a normal chapati, but nowhere close to the softness of traditional North Indian chapatis. The grain that they use and the oil that accompanies their dough makes a difference; along with the skill that it takes to make a great chapati of course.

For those that do not know what a chapati is - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapati

[Maneesh Godbole]

How to make chapathis softer

Tell them "Not tonight, I got a headache"

[Campbell Ritchie]

Maneesh Godbole wrote: . . . Tell them . . .

The thread title says "softer" not "suffer".

[Tim Holloway]

You too?

I dug into this a couple of times without any positive conclusions. Despite my best efforts, they tend to come out, um, "chewy". Emergency shoe repair kits.

Some seem to recommend yoghurt, but I'm not a fan of spoiled milk - just plain water and flour, maybe a touch of salt and occasionally some ajwain.

Using hot water seems to be about the most promising approach, but it's recommended that when you do pie crusts that you roll them out rather than roll on them because of the effects on the gluten. So that almost certainly applies to chapatis as well.

I have a tortilla press, but it presses out kind of thick, and that doesn't help.

[Sumit Bisht]

The trick is to use a bit more of water (and not oil) while kneading dough. Otherwise you can only make poories out of it.

[Karnati Sudhakar]

Deepak Bala wrote:
And you do not want to make the chapati (an Indian bread) yourself because ?

I am very bad at cooking..Even if i try that outcome will be something weird[not-eatable]. However i need to learn

I can make ACT II pop corn very well

[Deepak Bala]

I can make ACT II pop corn very well

Thanks for that. It made me smile. Act-2 popcorn falls under the same category as cooking eggs / maggi and err... water

[Muse Ran]

Prepare Chapathis, and dip in Hot or Cold water, it will become softer..

[swapnil kataria]

use milk with flour instead of water

[Deepak Bala]

swapnil kataria wrote:use milk with flour instead of water

Will the chapatis not go bad if one does that ? Milk turns bad pretty quick when left out in the open.

[Arjun Srivastava]

Try adding little bit of gram flour(Besan) to the dough.
And yeah do tell me what was the outcome.

[Karnati Sudhakar]

I think i just found the secret

The Aashirvad,Pilsbury these brands mix some of the white flour which makes the chapathis little papad. I just got the loose wheat flour from a local store and it is very smooth and soft..Love it

[John Call]

[chetan deol]

Karnati Sudhakar wrote:

North indians make chapatis very soft, I like them

Thanks for your complement.

[chetan deol]

This will help you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapati

[Kaustubh G Sharma]

if you want soft chapatis my friend .. you must get married soon to an indian girl... let me tell you it's a big risk... don't try this at home or do it in your parental presence...

[Karnati Sudhakar]

Kaustubh G Sharma wrote:if you want soft chapatis my friend .. you must get married soon to an indian girl... let me tell you it's a big risk... don't try this at home or do it in your parental presence...

If i get married i will have to prepare chapathis by myself.. But the thing is i want to eat soft chapathis..dont want to make

However I need to start sightseeing(interviewing gals)

[Kaustubh G Sharma]

GOOD LUCK

[Stella Cox]

From my experience I know, how to make chapati. To cook softer chapatis all you need to know is to flaten it properly, as when you push very hard, you make them too papad. I believe there is nothing you have to change in your recipe, as I looked through it, and it seems to be fine. So I believe this small advice will help you to gain optimal structure of your dish, hope this helps!

[Campbell Ritchie]

Welcome to the Ranch

[crawford hugh]

My best friend who is from India is a good cook. She used to add ghee or milk along with wheat powder to increase the softness.

[Ganish Patil]

You need to add water (No need of hot water) and apply oil while making dough properly. Keep it for 10 minutes then don't flatten too much so will become Papad rather than Chapati. Apply oil to Chapati while heating on pan. Heat on medium flame. I also love Chapati but because of same problem every day I make Roti without oil but have to eat immediately after you make it else becomes hard.