Nothing beats a good chapati, good flakey soft chapati with a stew of your choice. This East African chapati is a soft, flakey unleavened bread that is quite different from the Indian flatbread because this chapati uses a substantial amount of oil in its preparation:
INGREDIENTS:
3 cups all-purpose flour plus a little more flour for kneading
1 Teaspoon Salt
3 Tablespoons oll
11/4 Cups Water
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and oil in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Add the water a little at a time to form a soft and sticky dough.
2. Turn to a floured surface, knead for about 10 to 15 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic. Place in a bowl. Cover and let it rest in a warm place for about 20 to 30 minutes.
3. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide the dough into 8 equal parts and roll each piece into a circle. You can roll out the dough into a circle cook the Chapatis at this point. However, if you want a flaky and well-layered chapati, more on with the rest of the steps below.
4. Lightly brush the rolled out chapati with some Oil and roll it as you would roll up a mat.
5. At this point, it should be like a rope then roll the "rope-like" to form a coil then pull the tip towards the center of the coil and tuck in using your index finger then cover it up with a damp towel and leave it to rest for about 10 to 15 minutes.
6. Flour your work surface again and start rolling out each of the coiled dough to about 1/8th thickness (the dough will eventually shrink up to about 1-2/4 inch thickness).
7. Preheat a non-stick pan or a heavy bottom skillet. Place the chapati on inside the pan and leave it to cook for a few seconds before disturbing it.
8. Brush the surface of the chapati with a very thin layer of oil. Once you begin to see bubbles rise on top of the chapati, flip it over to the other side and brush it also with a thin layer of Oil.
9. Continue to flip over about one or two more times until you achieve your desired brownness. Serve hot or warm and enjoy with your favorite dish.
