Concord Grape Jelly
Yewande Komolafe, Sarah Sanneh of Pies ‘n’ Thighs
74 ratings with an average rating of 3 out of 5 stars
74
3 hours 45 minutes
Chapati
Updated Oct. 12, 2023
- Total Time
- 2 hours
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour 15 minutes, plus 40 minutes’ resting
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:8 chapatis
- 4cups/520 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 2teaspoons/13 grams coarse kosher salt (such as Morton)
- 2tablespoons neutral oil (such as grapeseed, sunflower or canola oil), plus 1 cup for brushing and frying
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
268 calories; 4 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 50 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 159 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Make a well in the center and add in 2 tablespoons oil and 1 cup water. Using your hands, mix the dry and wet ingredients into a shaggy dough. Add more water 1 tablespoon at a time, combining until the dough comes together into a slightly sticky, uneven ball (you’ll use a total of 6 tablespoons additional water). Transfer the dough to a very lightly floured work surface and knead into a smooth ball, about 8 minutes. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest. The dough will relax and should spring back when poked lightly, about 30 minutes. Brush a small sheet pan or large plate with a generous amount of oil, and set aside.
- Step 2
Place the dough on the work surface and cut into 8 even pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place on the oiled sheet pan. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Let rest for 10 minutes.
- Step 3
Place a dough ball on a lightly floured work surface and dust the top with some flour. Using a rolling pin, pat the dough down, then roll into a 4-inch-round piece. Pick up the dough and place it on the back of one hand. Use the other hand to stretch the dough by gently tugging along the edge of the round. Turn the dough an inch in a clockwise direction after every pull to keep the round shape and evenly stretch the piece of dough until it is thin enough to see your hand through it. Don’t worry if the piece rips: Pinch the tear back together and try to stretch carefully. Place the stretched dough sheet on your lightly floured work surface (you should be able to see the work surface through the dough) and use the rolling pin to roll over the outer ½-inch edge so it’s as thin as the rest of the sheet. The sheet should have a 13- to 16-inch diameter.
- Step 4
Generously brush the surface of the sheet with oil and lightly sprinkle with flour. Starting with the edge closest to you, roll the edge of the sheet over itself, into a log. You should end up with a long rope. Lift the rope and squeeze along its length to press out any air bubbles and stretch it until it’s almost double in length, about 22 to 28 inches.
- Step 5
Starting at one end, roll the rope into a snail-like spiral and tuck the last 1½ inches of the rope underneath. Place the spiral back on the tray, cover, and repeat the process with the remaining dough balls.
- Step 6
Place a spiral on a floured surface, and sprinkle flour over the top. Roll into a 9- to 10- inch round, turning about an inch clockwise after each roll to maintain its round shape. Move the round aside, making sure the surface is well floured to avoid sticking. Roll out the remaining spirals and stack them, flouring the top of the stack before placing another round on top.
- Step 7
Heat a 10- to 12-inch skillet (nonstick, steel or a seasoned cast-iron) over medium. Brush the pan with oil, place a round in the pan and cook until the surface looks dull and the dough begins to puff, about 1 minute. Brush the surface of the dough round lightly with oil and flip to cook the other side for 1 minute. Brush again with oil and flip to brown the original side, and cook for 1 minute. Brush lightly with oil and flip again to brown the second side, and cook for 1 minute. The total cook time should be about 4 minutes, and both sides should be golden brown in spots. Move the cooked chapati to a plate, cover with a kitchen towel or another plate to keep warm. Brush your pan with oil and repeat the cooking process until all the dough rounds are cooked off.
- Step 8
Enjoy the chapati immediately while still warm. Store any leftovers at room temperature, wrapped or sealed in an airtight bag for up to 24 hours or frozen for up to 1 month. To reheat, defrost and warm up in a skillet over medium-low heat.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Martina
I'm not sure about the water and the oil. In sentence 2 of step one it says to add 2 tablespoons of oil and one cup of water (the water is not mentioned in the ingredients list). Then in sentence 3 it says to add the water one tablespoon at a time, using a total of 6 tablespoons in all. Could you please clarify?
Valerie
I admit I haven't made this, but comments prompted me to share my ex-husband's Indian aunt's chapati method. Whole wheat flour with a little oil - 4 cups flour to 2 T of oil seems about right. Not to make the flour greasy, a slightly less powdery consistency. +enough water that you can handle and roll out the dough into rounds. Brush each round with oil (everyday) or butter. Fold in 1/4ths, roll and brush again. Rinse and repeat until you run out of patience. Cook on cast iron. Same idea
Emily
I haven't made this recipe (yet), but I wanted to chime in to respond to the other commentators. I'm a professional recipe developer and in my experience it is pretty common not to include water as an ingredient in the ingredient list. I have read the instructions and it seems clear to me: you need 1 cup plus 6 TB water.
Lynne
This is a recipe that would benefit from a video and discussion while prepping the chapati. I learned to make chapati "East African-style" more than 30 years ago in a kitchen in Kenya. It is hard to understand the variables of water and oil and the necessary layering technique without visuals. For example, I learned to roll out the chapati into a round, make a diameter size cut into that round and roll it up in a manner that produces layers when rolled again.
Aisha
Fwiw, in India chapatis usually are made only of flour and water, soft pliable dough, rolled flat and cooked on a griddle..sometimes brushed with ghee after cooking. .what's described here is a paratha. Of course recipes (and names) change as they travel..the more diversity the merrier.
Sandia
I agree that the instructions are not clear. Since the recipe begins with 4 cups of flour and 6 T. of water can't moisten that much flour, I'd guess that the first cup of water gets things started, then one adds additional water 1 T. at a time to form a "slightly sticky uneven ball." I question the author's confidence about six additional T. water - conditions in each individual kitchen (temperature, humidity, altitude, age of flour, how it is stored) will determine the final amount of water.
Cathy Lo, Senior Staff Editor, New York Times Cooking
We've tweaked the wording - thank you for pointing out the need for clearer instructions! In step 1, you will be adding 2 tablespoons oil and 1 cup water to the flour and salt, then working in an additional 6 tablespoons of water to form your dough. (The remaining 1 cup oil is used throughout the rest of the recipe.)
Miz
This recipe doesn’t include a cup of water in the ingredients list. It says a CUP OF OIL. Someone needs to clarify how much oil and water should be used. I’m assuming the cup should be water. How much oil is a mystery.
Katherine P
I was taught to make a variation of these by a Malay woman in Cape Town, South Africa. One interesting variation: instead of rolling the "rope" into a single spiral, she rolled it into two opposite spirals, like an "S" that has kept turning on itself, if that makes any sense. (Start rolling at both ends in opposite directions until they meet in the middle). Then she flipped one spiral half on top of the other, and did the final rolling-out from there. An easy way to double the layers.
Jane
I would really love to make this recipe but could somebody please clarify the water and oil ingredients as 1 cup of oil seems to turn into 1 cup of water in the method. Thanks.
Jen
I'm reading the recipe wants 2 tablespoons of oil and 1 cup of water into the 4 cups of flour to start. Then add an additional tablespoon of water, one at a time, to get the dough where you need it. The 6 tablespoons of water aren't part of the original one cup. And the two tablespoons of oil are for the dough, the other cup of oil seems to be for the rest of the brushing of the dough and cooking.
Sabra Stein
As a Celiac traveling in India, fresh chapati was one of most difficult-to-pass-up foods I encountered. Would love to try that fresh combo of browning, flake and oil. Has anyone been able to do this with gluten-free flour? If so, what kind? I’m thinking of trying an all-purpose blend with added tapioca for stretchiness and tensile strength?
Chris
Video: How to Make the Flakiest Chapati (and Turn It Into a Rolex) | Yewande Komolafe | NYT Cooking: https://youtu.be/_xfTKtz8JTU
Sadsack
This is the recipe for a lachha paratha. Chapati dough consists of whole wheat Fluor and water, rolled into thin tortilla like circular sheets and dry cooked on a griddle, and then seared on a direct flame.
marie
Not chapati but roti or rumali roti or paratha.
Rae
Love this recipe! So easy to follow and produces such great chapati. My only note is that I’m Kenyan and this skews slightly flakier than my aunties would let slide, so I’d either be veerrry generous with the oil in step 4 or use vegetable shortening (or ghee) instead for those soft chapatis that I grew up on.
Carol
Fascinating. Saw this recipe after reading the East African chapati recipe and watching the video. Could the world be united by its love of simple flour pancakes??! Let it be!
Hans
Check out her youtube video for clarification on the water issue. These were excellent.
Jackie
I would just love to say, that Yewande has such a great presence. The way she discussed the diaspora with such care as she explained how the "rolex" came to be really exemplified the kind of compassion and thoughtfulness that I aspire to. I will never make chapatis. This looks impossibly time consuming. But it's really nice to see how it's done.
MM
I had so much fun making chapatis. It was my first time. The video was a great help. Yewande, thank you for explaining what to expect! I was totally in the zone as I worked the dough with the back of one hand and pulling the dough with the other. Not perfect but everyone loved the chapatis! Question - is there good place within the steps where I can make ahead? For example say after rolling into the snake-like spiral, could it be refrigerated until ready to cook and if so what to do?
Chris
Video: How to Make the Flakiest Chapati (and Turn It Into a Rolex) | Yewande Komolafe | NYT Cooking: https://youtu.be/_xfTKtz8JTU
Farmgirl
I haven't made the recipe yet, but it seems a tortilla press would reduce the rolling and stretching. I'll post again.
Kristine
I will be trying this recipe but would love to see a video!
Lisa
Can you use ghee instead of oil?
PJ
Endorse going for an Indian style chapati (no offense to our African friends). For 2 reasons: - much less than 2 hours to make - use wholemeal flour (if you have access to an Asian store, it's worth getting the right flour 'atta' as this makes for a much softer, authentic product. In Indian homes, the dough takes about 5 minutes to knead, and then sits for 15 mins. Then small balls are rolled out and cooked like thin pancakes on a hot skillet with a swish of butter to finish. Yummy!!
Alexa
As someone else said, in Rajasthan and probably most of north India this is a paratha. Chapatis have little to no oil.
sundaram
It is somewhat hard to follow the instructions. However, from what I could follow, this sounds more like the recipe for 'Parotta' - a flat bread popular in South India, especially Kerala and usually served with vegetable, chicken or meat curry. In the case of Parotta, the last step involves crushing the Parotta radially inwards from the edge to form a flaky heap - Yum.
Nick
Why do almost all NYT recipes use so much salt or even use salt at all? Haven’t you heard it’s unhealthy? And all salt is salt, sea salt, kosher salt, salt from Mars even. I leave it out and the recipe always turns out well only there’s no unhealthy salt in it.
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