Easy Indian Chapati Recipe

This quick and easy chapati recipe with just 4 ingredients makes soft and chewy flatbreads, perfect for mopping up the last of that curry sauce.

Chapatis are a type of Indian flatbread, made with simple ingredients: wheat flour, salt, oil and water. They are traditionally brushed with ghee or butter at the end, but to make a dairy free chapati, I have added a little oil to the dough. The oil makes them light, moist and chewy, helps the chapatis stay soft and pliable, and you don’t miss the dairy one bit!

You cannot beat fresh bread, whether it’s a baked loaf or a simple flatbread such as these chapatis. The ones in the photograph disappeared in minutes whilst I was cleaning up after the photo shoot.

Whilst we tend to eat curries with rice, for a change I like to make these chapatis. Ready in under forty minutes, they can be made alongside your curry. They are easier than you think!

They are a great side for toddlers, as you can eat them with your hands, and use them as a ‘dipper’ in the curry. Toddler Jones also loves them dipped into soups, especially carrot and red lentil soup, pumpkin and peanut butter soup and creamy carrot soup.

Confession time: This exact recipe is actually the result of a mistake. My original recipe used more flour, but one day, as I was weighing the flour whilst trying to stop Mini Jones from covering the cat in honey, I knocked over the last of the flour. With no more flour in the house, I decided to carry on and hope for the best. The resulting chapati were flaky, soft – and stayed soft for the next few hours rather than going stiff and hard as soon as they cooled, as my previous chapatis had done.

The plain flour makes a lighter chapati but you can use all wholemeal flour if you wish. You may need to add a little more water if you do use all wholemeal.

These light and puffy chapatis are vegan, making them a great addition to vegan curries such as this coconut chickpea curry, this satay pumpkin curry or this easy Chana Masala.

Leftovers:

They are best eaten fresh but can be reheated. Keep in the fridge for 2 day, reheat in the oven in piles of 3 wrapped in foil 160 for 7-8 minutes.

You can also make a chapati pizza! For 2 chapati pizzas: mix 1 teaspoon tomato puree and 1 dsp  ketchup with a splash of Worcestershire sauce. Sprinkle with grated cheese and finely chopped capsicum. Grill under hot grill for 3-5 minutes. Eat straight away.

Can I reheat Chapatis?

Chapatis taste best when freshly made, but you can reheat them. Wrap and keep in fridge, and then warm them as a stack in the microwave or in a low oven (120˚C/ 248˚F ) for 5-7 minutes.

What to serve with chapati:

As well as the curries mentioned above, here are some other curries from some very talented blogger friends of mine that the chapatis would go perfectly with:

Low Carb Keto Butter Chicken – from Mad Creations Hub

Lamb Curry – from AnotherFoodBlogger

Pakistani aloo keema – from MirchiTales

Chicken Karahi – from Belly Rumbles

Simple Beef Madras Curry – from Recipe Pocket

Right, after looking at all those recipes I am really hungry and think curry and chapati will be on the cards for dinner tonight!

Hope you enjoy making and eating these chapatis as much as we do!

Rx