chickpea parathas/an indian flatbread

Making bread at home, be it leavened or unleavened is a rather rewarding experience. The process is no doubt messy with flour splattered all over the kitchen and your clothes (and sometimes on your face) but I find it calming and in a way relaxing. You get to knead your energy into the dough, sometimes you get to punch it to release the trapped air from fermentation, you might get to massage out your thoughts with a rolling pin and at times you even get to slap it. In short, bread making is therapeutic and fun!

This bread is all about flatbread and one of my favorites because you it’s pretty much a whole meal in itself, served with a little plain unsweetened yogurt on the side and you’re good to go. I think of chickpea flour or “besan” (in Hindi) as the other flour, the one that comes after wheat and rice in Indian cooking. I strayed away from the traditional method of preparing these as a roti (another type of flatbread) and instead made it flakier by trapping fat between layers of the dough. If you’re looking to venture out and try a new type of flatbread, this is a great one to begin with. 

…….And I like to drizzle this bread with a little melted ghee or butter.

Here are some of my kitchen tips that you might find useful when preparing these parathas,

• This is not a gluten-free bread. The gluten from the wheat helps to create a softer bread. The dairy ingredients help to provide fat and protein to make the bread even softer. 
• Sift your chickpea flour, I’ve found some brands to be grainier than others. 
• Avoid rolling out the bread too thin or it will be come very crispy. 
• If you can’t find durum wheat flour, try the 50-50 mix of whole wheat to all purpose flour option I’ve listed in the ingredients below. It mimics the durum flour softness rather well.

chickpea/ besan parathas

yields: 10 parathas

ingredients 

1 cup chickpea flour

1 cup durum wheat flour or (1/2 cup all-purpose flour + 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour) + a little extra for dusting

1/2 teaspoon kosher sea salt

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (or any other dried herb you like)

1/2 teaspoon dried red chili flakes

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup full-fat whole milk

1/4 cup plain full- fat unsweetened yogurt

1/4 cup water, at room temperature (you might need a little more or less)

vegetable oil for brushing the bread and cooking

1. If mixing by hand: Place all the dry ingredients from the chickpea flour to the red chili flakes in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center. Then pour the oil, milk, yogurt in the center of the well. Begin to mix the ingredients together with your hands to form the dough. Slowly add a little water to the dough to bring the dough together, you may need a little more or a little less depending on the humidity and how dry the flours are. As soon as the dough comes together and there are no visible flecks of flour, form it into one large ball, wrap with cling film and allow to rest for at least 1 hour before using . If using a Food processor: Attach the dough blade in the food processor. Place all the dry ingredients and pulse a few times to mix. Then add the all the liquid ingredients from the oil to the yogurt. Begin to pulse the ingredients to mix and slowly trickle the water into the mixture while the processor is running (you might need a little more or a little less). As soon as the dough comes together and no dry flecks of flour are visible. Remove the dough from the bowl of the food processor and form it one large ball on a clean lightly floured surface and wrap it with cling film. Allow to rest for at least 1 hour before rolling. 

2. Divide the dough into 10 equal sized balls. Take one ball at a time to prepare the parathas. Dust a ball with a little flour and then roll it out using light pressure into a small circle about 5 inches in diameter with a rolling pin. Spread/brush with a tiny amount of oil on the upper surface of the rolled out dough. Fold it into a semicircle and brush the upper surface with a tiny amount of oil and fold it over itself to form a triangle. Dust each side with very little flour on both sides and roll it out using light pressure out on a clean lightly dusted surface to form a triangle/tear drop shaped bread. It helps to rotate the dough by 90 degrees between every roll. Prepare the rest of the parathas in the same manner and keep the aside until ready to cook.

3. Heat a skillet on medium-low heat. Add one teaspoon of oil, gently dust off any excess flour from one rolled out paratha and place it on the hot pan. Allow to cook until you start to see tiny blisters form on the lower side (about 1 minute). Press the ends of the bread down with a damp clean kitchen towel or a silicone spatula to ensure the bread cooks evenly. Spread a tiny amount of oil on the surface of the bread and flip it over and cook in the same manner. Transfer the hot bread and keep them sandwiched between two clean kitchen towels. Cook the rest of the parathas and serve them hot/warm and drizzle with a little melted ghee or butter.