- How to make Chapati :
Place Tawa on the gas to heat, break a piece big as a lemon off the dough and roll it into a ball with your hands. Wrap the ball in dry flour, dust off excess dry flour(excess dry flour should not be put on the ball).
Place the ball wrapped with dry flour on a board and flatten into a circle 2-3 inches in diameter with a rolling pin. Make a uniform circle with the rolling pin. Wrap this rolled Chapati again in dry flour, dust off extra dry flour.
Place the Chapati wrapped in dry flour on a board and roll it into a round Chapati 5-7 inches in diameter. One has to practice to make a round Chapati with even thickness. Apply equal pressure while rolling the Roti, do not exert lots of pressure. Else Roti will be thin on some parts and wont get puffed.
Place the rolled Chapati on heated Tawa. When its lower layer is slightly cooked and the upper layer becomes a bit dark in colour, change sides. Cook the other side till brown spots appear.
Chapati can also be placed directly on the Tawa :
To cook Roti on a Tawa, turn it over when spots appear on the other side. Now use a cloth or ladle to press it over the Roti and cook.
Tawa can also be removed and Roti can be cooked directly on the gas :
To cook on the gas remove the Roti from the Tawa. Place the Roti with its first side marked with spots on the gas directly and move it around using tongs. Cook Roti till dark spots are visible. Do keep it mind to cook the Roti only till the spots are brown and not black. Keep Roti aside on a plate. Hold the Chapati and move it around with a pair of tongs till brown spots are seen. Chapiti will turn puffy. Never catch a puffed Chapati with your hand, the steam coming from it may burn your hand.
Puffed Chapati indicates proper cooking, cook till light spots are visible on it.If you are serving hot Chapatis to someone then you can cook till the spots get darker. It means you can serve also crispy Chapatis. It feels nice to eat Chapatis with heated Ghee spread on it instantly. But hard cooked Chapatis eaten later do not taste good.
Cook Chapati and keep it in a casserole. Repeat tis process with the other Chapatis. Apply little(less than 1/4 tsp) Desi Ghee on both Chapatis. Keep Ghee laden Chapatis in the casserole. Eat hot Chapatis without Ghee, while Ghee laden Chapatis stored in the casserole are soft to eat even after 5-6 hours or more.
Do not keep hot and steamy Rotis in the casserole as the steam makes them soggy. First allow steam to escape from the Rotis.
Place a paper, foil or cloth on the inner base of the casserole then put in the Rotis. They can also be wrapped in a cloth and kept.
Use warm water to knead the dough. This makes the dough more soft as well as the Roti..
For a usage of 2 days, dough can be prepared and kept in the fridge. This helps in using the dough when needed. To store dough in the fridge apply some oil and make it smooth. Then keep dough in closed container and it stays fresh.
