Bhatura (Fried Leavened Flat Bread) is one of the most popular, tasty and is very well known, not just in India but all across the world where you can find an Indian restaurant. Yes I know, its a sinful food, its fried and unhealthy but sooo tasty. For those who are calorie conscious, look away now!
Bhatura is a staple food which is served with Punjabi masala chole, aloo chole and amritsari chole. Bhatura come is a variety of different shapes and sizes, textures as well as flavours.
I had not made bhatura for a long time prior to this and I did a lot of research before I set out on my venture. I was nervous and I know from experiences of my mum and friends that bhatura are not easy to make so my venture was one of a chef trying a brand new dish for the first time. One of the pitfalls of making bhatura is firstly whether they will puff up or not and whether they will be crispy or not.
Most bhaturas are made with plain flour as this has been the traditional flour that has been used, however it doesn’t have to be this way. Bhatura can be healthier buy using whole wheat flour with a ratio of 1:3; 1 part plain flour and 3 part whole wheat flour. There are many recipes available online for bhaturas made with yeast as well as those made without yeast. In my recipes I omit the use of yeast.
I have found that accurate measurements and temperature of the ingredients is essential. Bhatura need preparation beforehand so be ready to have ingredients ready the night before. When I used yogurt from the fridge the fermentation was not at the same level as with sour yogurt which was at room temperature. When the yeast mixture is left overnight, I have found the bhatura have a better texture. I always sift my plain flour and once I have achieved a good fermentation, kneading the dough for 10-12 minutes is a critical step in producing great bhaturas.
My recipe for Whole Wheat Bhatura will be posted shortly.
Enjoy!
Bhatura (Fried Leavened Flat Bread)
Ingredients:
150g organic plain flour
75g organic sour yogurt at room temp
40ml water
1 teaspoon organic brown sugar
1 teaspoon organic sea salt
½ teaspoon organic baking powder
¼ teaspoon organic baking soda
1 tablespoon organic semolina
1 ½ tablespoons pure ghee
6g / 2 teaspoons organic milk powder
Oil for frying
Method:
- You will need to prepare the ingredients for the overnight fermentation first.
- Firstly sift half of the plain flour, baking powder and sugar into a bowl.
- To this, add the yogurt; ensure that is it smooth and lump free.
- Mix all the ingredients well into a smooth , cover and leave to ferment overnight.
- The following day, you will know the mixture ready as you will see tiny bubbles on the surface of the mixture. This is now ready to be mixed with the remaining ingredients.
- In a bowl, sift together the remaining plain flour, salt, baking soda, semolina and milk powder.
- Now add the fermented mixture to the dry flour, add ghee and knead to form a dough.
- Knead the dough for 10-12 minutes until you have a silky smooth and slightly stiff dough.
- Once you have achieved this, rub the dough with a little ghee, cover with a damp cloth and leave it to stand for 2 hours.
- Heat the oil in a kadai on a medium heat while you knead the dough again for a few minutes. The dough is now ready to roll into bhaturas.
- Make medium size balls of the dough and roll into 4-5 inch discs. The dough will be stiff to roll.
- Fry them in hot oil. In order to encourage the bhatura to puff, gently splash some hot oil on to the upper side of them.
- Serve them hot with chole and cool chaas
Best Wishes,
Krishna
Cooking With Krish 