Soya Chapathi

Chapathis are Indian unleavened flat bread that are usually made with wholemeal wheat flour, Atta, which has less bran than regular wholemeal bread flour. I have found soya flour to be a great natural emulsifier when baking bread that results in the softest crust and crumbs. Not only that, it is high in protein and low in calorie and so is naturally very healthy. So I made soya chapathi last night by replacing 1/3 of the atta with soya flour. Since, soya flour has less gluten compared to wheat flour I still needed atta to make my chapathi. The end result was very soft and flavourful chapathis which my 3 yr old daughter eloquently described as "Yummiest chapathis!" It is very easy to make and the method is quite simple. Anjalie, as usual, helped in mixing and rolling out the chapathis while I took care of the cooking. So young children can most definitely "help" with this recipe and it can be quality time for the adults and children together. You can use the same recipe to make regular wheat chapathis by replacing the soya flour with atta. So here is the recipe...


You will need:
2 cups atta/sifted wholemeal flour
1 cup soya flour
salt to taste
cool water (not cold) as needed to make a soft dough
flour for dusting
oil/butter/ghee as needed for cooking

In a large mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients and mix well with little cool water at a time to form a soft dough.

Knead for 3 mins to make a smooth pliable dough. Cover and set aside for 15 mins.

Divide the dough into 10-12 equal sized balls. For some reason I always end up with baker's dozen (the 13th one being baby size)!

Roll out each ball into thin circles.







You can have your "assistant" help out with it as long as you are happy to do the cleaning afterwards :)






Heat a skillet/tawa to medium heat. Add a few drops of oil

and when ready cook the rolled out dough in medium heat for 30 secs to 1 min

until golden brown. Turn over and cook the next side until golden brown as well. Remove from heat, cover the chapathis and continue with the rest of the dough.

When all the chapathis are cooked, and after cleaning up your assistant and the area,...

serve warm with your favourite side dish. You can freeze half cooked chapathis in a zip lock bag and warm them up in a tawa when needed. Fully cooked chapathis can be stored at room temperature in cling wrap/ziplock for 1-2 days and in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can warm the chapathis in microwave (for 5-10 secs each side) or on stove top when needed.