According to Ilse in her recipe book, Timeless South African, Indian rotis are a daily staple within South African Indian communities. Also known as chapati, these are meant to be soft, and served with curries.
Skip ahead to the recipe for Chapati
These South African Chapati
I can remember the first time I had chapati. I was visiting a friend and was invited to stay for supper. They had spent time in India, and her young children were used to eating curries. They asked their mom to please make chapati as it was a special occasion. Today, I make a variation of flat bread with no excuse. And, when it came to making something to go with the Durban curry I was cooking, it made sense to make these chapati. These are in no way traditional, but they are very common in South Africa. We have a large community of people whose families came from India. Traditionally these would be cooked in a tava and then puffed up over direct heat. I cooked mine using a non stick frying pan. Despite veering off from the traditional cooking method, they were perfect.
Making more changes
I mentioned getting LED lamps for our guest bedroom. And it really seemed like a great idea until they arrived from the online store I ordered them from. The light they cast was pretty pathetic, and there was no ways anyone could read using the lamps. This was quite a disappointment as they were pretty. Dave suggested combining the two existing lamps’ plugs into one slimmer plug. I went out and purchased a new plug top, and Dave rewired the lamps. This worked so well, and saved me some money. And with new, brighter LED globes, made reading possible. Now all I need is new lamp shades to go with the décor of the room. But, that is a problem for another day!
Take a look at this inspiring recipe for ♥ Chapati ♥ from Lavender and Lime #LavenderAndLime Share on X
Click on the links for conversions and notes.
Chapati
Ingredients
- 420 g flour, plus extra for dusting
- 2.5 mls fine salt
- 30 mls canola oil
- 25 g soft butter
- 375 mls boiling water
Method
- Place the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine
- Add the oil and butter and use your finger tips to rub it in, under the mixture resembles bread crumbs
- Add the water and stir using a spatula, until the dough comes together
- Turn out onto a lightly floured worktop and knead the dough, taking care as it will be hot, until it is smooth
- Divide the dough into 6 pieces weighing 130 grams each and roll each piece into a ball
- Roll each ball out till they form a 25cm disc
- Heat a non stick frying pan over a medium to hot temperature and fry each chapati for 2 and a half minutes a side
- Place the chapati between two towels to keep warm while you cook the entire batch
- Serve warm with your favourite curry
See the links below for blog posts I published on September 10:
- 2024: Sweetcorn Bread
- 2023: This Time Could Be Different
- 2021: Sous Vide Limoncello
- 2020: YBG: You’ve Been Gifted
- 2019: Cherry And Blueberry Strudel
- 2018: Eyes Like Mine
- 2015: Road Tripping
- 2013: Chicken And Kiwi Salad
- 2012: Roger Stowell Interview
- 2011: Sticky Chicken Wings
- 2010: Pasta With Mushrooms, Bacon And Tomato
Dave and I leave for overseas tonight. We will be away until the 28th of September. I will not have time to read blogs while I am away, or reply to comments on my posts. But, I will do so when we get back. If you want to see how our trip is going, follow along here.
What a wonderful meal! Must be so satisfying with that awesome curry.
It was very satisfying, thank you!
I remember following you on a previous trip with great success . . . shall do so now! Have a great time . . . I think the weather should be turning to lovely autumnal days . . .
We had a mixture of very hot, some rain, and a lot of perfect days 🙂
I do like Indian food, but we mostly eat in in restaurants. It’s one cuisine that I have never really learned to cook and my husband does not care for curry. The chapati sounds easy to make and delicious.
I love making curries at home, but they are never the same as when you eat out 🙂
The only problem is that I can easily see myself eating all the bread before even touching the curry. Yum!
That is an easy problem to have 😉
Oh, so South African chapati uses hot water to knead the dough. In Indian homes, we only use hot water for non gluten flours. So interesting!
Oh wow! That is so interesting to learn 🙂
I am really amazed about Dave re-wiring your lamps. Here in Oz we are not allowed to do stuff like that – safety and insurance purposes I guess. Unless he is an actual electrician? Just curious … not judging …
cheers
sherry https://sherryspickings.blogspot.com/
Yes, Australia does have some very stringent rules, but anyone can rewire a lamp here – it is one of the first life skills I learnt! In fact, Dave did all the wiring for our house. All it requires is a sign off by a licensed electrician and a compliance certificate.
I’ve had a variety of experiences with LED lamps. Some are better than others, but I’ve never had much success in having them for any other reason than ambience. What your husband did sounded like a great idea.
thanks, the LED really only works for ambience as you say 🙂
I’ve never tried making chapati. It looks great and so does the curry.
thank you so much!
That chapati story made me smile — I love how you tied it to Durban curry and your own kitchen experiments. Even if you didn’t use a traditional tava, the result sounds just as comforting.
And I had to laugh at the lamp saga — classic case of “pretty but impractical.”
So right – pretty just did not cut it 😉
Hi Tandy, there is lots of variety when it comes to food in South Africa. Thiscrecioe sounds delicious.
we are so lucky like that!
This is new to me, Tandy! Looks really interesting and definitely something I’d love to try.
I hope you do!