essentially there are 5 main types of bread in indian cuisine; poori, chapati, naan and parantha, all may be classed under the generic term of roti. Although there is a specific bread called roti also
usually or traditionally these breads are unleavened (contain no yeast) but they can also be made with a yeast dough (especially the naan) which might get cooked in a tandoor (a wood burning, clay based oven). This recipe is for leavened breads For unleavened (non yeast) based recipe clink on the link below
clarified butter is known as ghee in Indian cuisine, it is simply butter until it bubbles, removed from heat and allowed to settle and skimmed and strained to remove the impurities (the scum on top and the white milk solids that settle on the bottom). Once removed, this allows the butter to be heated without burning, but still retaining the butter flavour
place the plain flour into a bowl, sprinkle with the yeast and a half teaspoon of sugar
pour in 3/4 of the water, stir gently and allow to sit until the mixture has frothed and doubled in size
add sufficient of the wholemeal flour to form a loose slightly sticky dough (more than a cup may be required)
turn out onto a lightly floured work bench and knead for approx. 5 minutes until a nice soft, elastic dough is obtained, dusting a with a little more flour if required
form into a ball, rub a little oil over dough, place in a bowl, cover in clingfilm and set aside until proved to doubled in size
punch dough to deflate and divide into 5 to 7 even pieces
flatten and roll into oval shapes approx 1 mm thickness or approx 3cm thick for naan
cook as required (see chef notes below)
for poori
preheat 5cm of vegetable oil to 180C and deep fry each piece, turning occasionally until golden brown and crisp (they should puff up and inflate like a balloon)
for naan
preheat oven to its hottest setting, bake breads spread out onto a lightly oiled tray
for chapattis
brush each piece with a little oil or clarified butter and place in a hot, dry frying pan turn as required to prevent burning for approx 3 minutes. If you have a gas stove, turn a a gas ring and place finished product directly onto the gas hob, if you have laminated the dough correctly it should puff up like a balloon
chef notes
the naan and chapatis may also be brushed with plain or flavoured (garlic) melted butter once made
to keep warm, pile on top of each other and wrap in a clean tea towel
to this basic mixture many other ingredients can be added, e.g.
