How To Make A Chapati

Spitalfields Life Books will be publishing A MODEST LIVING, Memoirs of Cockney Sikh by Suresh Singh on 18th October.

Today we present one of Jagir Kaur’s recipes from the book, as photographed Patricia Niven. These recipes have been eaten by Suresh & Jagir’s families for generations in the Punjab and they still cook them today in the East End.

I was lucky enough to eat many chapatis cooked by Jagir while we were working on the book and the magic of watching them inflate like balloons never ceased to delight me.

In this first London Sikh biography, Suresh tells the story of his family who have lived in their house in Princelet St for nearly seventy years, longer I believe than any other family in Spitalfields. Chapters of biography alternate with Punjabi recipes by Jagir.

You can support publication by pre-ordering a signed copy now, which will be sent to you on publication.

Click here to order a signed copy of A MODEST LIVING for £20

Suresh Singh & Jagir Kaur in their Spitalfields kitchen

Chapatis are the grain staple of the Punjab where most of the grain harvest of India is cultivated. We always include rotis and they are part of our blessed ceremony.

Makes about fifteen chapatis

3 cups atta (wheat) flour
1 cup cold water
1–2 teaspoons of oil (optional)
butter, ghee, or vegetable oil for coating the finished roti (optional)

Knead the flour, water, and oil (if you are using it) into a smooth dough. Then let the dough rest in the fridge for at least half an hour.

Take half-handfuls from the dough and shape them into round saucers with your palms, these shapes are known as ‘perras.’

Flatten out the perras from the centre using your thumbs to make thick, disc-like shapes, using a rolling pin to further flatten them out. Shape the chapati by tossing it back and forth from one hand to the other, making a clapping sound.

Use a tawa (flat cooking plate) to cook the chapatis. Set the tawa on a medium heat and place the flattened-out dough on the hot plate, flipping the chapati every fifteen to twenty seconds.

Towards the end of the cooking process, the chapati may be toasted briefly on the naked flame to puff it up like a balloon. This also helps cook it more evenly. You can dab a little butter or ghee on the finished chapatis to keep them fresh. Be careful not to get any grease on the cooking plate as this will make your kitchen very smoky.

Keep the chapatis warm by wrapping them in a clean tea towel.

For yellow chapatis, which are eaten with Sarson da Saag, use corn flour instead of atta (wheat) flour, and hot water instead of cold water.

Makes about ten chapatis

2 cups of fine corn flour
3⁄4 cup boiling water (start with half a cup, and add a tablespoon at a time to get the right consistency)

Mix the ingredients with a spoon until the corn flour absorbs all the liquid, making a sticky (not runny) dough. Add more water or corn flour as needed. Then knead with your hands into a ball.

Divide the dough into five equal portions. Wet your hands and flatten the dough by tossing it between your hands, making a clapping sound.

Place the tawa on high heat and place the flattened-out dough on the hot plate. Toast for about three minutes, turning frequently until brown on both sides and puffing up in the middle.

You can dab a little butter or vegetable oil on the finished chapatis to keep them fresh.

Chapati ready for cooking

Turning the chapati

Flipping the inflated chapati

A finished chapati

Buttering the chapati

Jagir Kaur with her cat Lohri Ji at 38 Princelet St

Photographs copyright ©Patricia Niven

Click here to order a signed copy of A MODEST LIVING for £20

You may also like to read these other extracts from A MODEST LIVING

A Modest Living

At 38 Princelet St

A Hard-Working Life

Joginder Singh’s Boy