How To Make Super Soft and Fluffy Chapathi

Last month I visited Mysore[or Mysooroo/Mysuru as they call it now].A weeks stay in my aunts place was not sufficient to admire the beauty of the city.We enjoyed the visit to the vast palace by the day and were awestruck by its beauty in the evening when the palace lights were lit and it looked like the palace was bathed in gold!!

The Zoo-Shri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens- was the one which lil angel enjoyed the most and I think she loved the elephant coz even after we came home she kept repeating its name!!It is said to be the oldest zoo in the world as it was established under the royal patronage in the year 1892.There you can adopt animals and have your name displayed near the cage of the animal!!

The other places we visited were the famed Chamundi hills which has a gigantic statue of ‘Mahishasura’ a demon who was killed the Goddess.On the way to the temple is another famous landmark- an impressive statue of Nandhi[bull] which draws tourists.

The other beautiful spots include the Jagamohan Palace,Brindhavan gardens which has beautiful and colorful musical fountain shows,Philomina’s Church,Railway museum,Karanji Lake and a lot more.Of course I cannot forget the shopping, for this place is very well known for its silk saris ,popularly known as Mysore Silk.

With so many tourist attractions,time was not enough to pay a visit to all but nevertheless it was a memorable trip.

The other most important thing is my aunts cookery.One day we were watching TV and there was an advertisement for a popular brand of wheat flour.In that they show a puffed-up chapathi and I asked my aunt if that really happened when we cook it at home.

So off we went to the kitchen and there the dough was ready and aunt rolled out the chapthi’s and cooked them.Lo and behold!!!They were just like the ones in the commercial!! They were super-soft as well.I begged her to share the secret and she said it is no big deal.I asked her a million questions like-Do u use hot water or curd to make the dough,Do u use any special /secret ingredient ,How long do u let the dough rest before rolling it out etc..

Her secret has nothing to do with any special technique or secret ingredient.

The basic ingredients for chapathi – Whole wheat flour, salt and water to knead.

Make the dough as usual and knead well for 15 minutes.Don’t worry about the pain in ur wrist [actually they don’t pain at all,it’s rather a good exercise for the hands :)] coz u are about to be rewarded with super soft and fluffy chapthis.Let the dough rest for at least an hour before you roll them out.

I snapped a few shots to share with all and here they are….

Put the rolled dough on a hot griddle[We will call it side 1]

2.Wait for 10 seconds and flip it over[Side 2].Wait for 30 seconds.

3.Using a pair of tongs ,remove the chapathi from the griddle and put it on the open flame,side 1 facing the flame.Tap the chapathi gently with the tongs and watch it puff up!!

4.Once it puffs up,again using the tong flip it over ,remove and put it back on the griddle.It will still be puffed up.

Remove from heat and serve.Brush lightly with ghee if you like.

Updated[14/11/2011]:

Sending this to Jaya’s Back To Basics event hosted here with the theme Basic breads.