Indian breads are a wide variety of
flatbreads and
crêpes which are an integral part of
Indian cuisine. Their variation reflects the diversity of
Indian culture and food habits.
Ingredients
Most flatbreads from
northern India are unleavened and made primarily from milled flour, usually
atta or
maida, and water. Some flatbreads, especially
paratha, may be stuffed with
vegetables and layered with either
ghee or
butter.
In
southern India and the West Coast, most pancakes are made from peeled and split
black lentils (urad dal) and
rice. Popular varieties include
dosa,
appam, and
uttapam. Popular flatbreads include
rice rotis and
ragi rotis.
Most Indian
breads make use of the yeast spores in the atmosphere for fermentation.
Preparation
In northern India, a dough of the main ingredient is prepared and flattened by rolling. Most Indian breads, such as
roti,
kulcha and
chapati, are baked on tava, a
griddle made from cast iron, steel or aluminum. Others such as
puri and
bhatura are
deep-fried. The dough for these breads is usually made with less water in order to reduce the oil soaked up when frying.
In Southern India, a
batter of rice and black lentils is prepared and ladled in small amounts onto a hot greased skillet, where it is spread out into a thin circle and fried with oil or
ghee until golden brown.
In Western India (including the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and
Rajasthan) bread may be made from coarse grains such as bajra, sorghum or ragi, though wheat is the staple in these regions. The grains or cereals are usually milled into a fine powder, and mixed with a little water to make a smooth dough. This dough is patted into a circle by hand, either by holding it between the two hands or by placing it on an upturned plate or other flat surface.[1]
In Maharashtra, a multi-grain flatbread called "thalipeeth" is also prepared. It contains many grains and cereals like wheat, rice, bajra, jowar, ragi,
horse gram, green gram, black gram, chickpeas and so on. Each grain or cereal is roasted separately and then milled together into a fine powder. Spices and chopped onions are added along with water to make the dough, and it is patted into circles, after which it is roasted on a griddle with some ghee or oil. It is often served with homemade butter.[2]
Indian breads of
Central Asian origin, such as naan and tandoori roti, are baked in a
tandoor. Naan is usually leavened with
yeast.
Varieties
Different varieties of Indian bread and pancake include
chapati,
phulka,
puri,
roti, bajra rotla, thepla,
paratha,
naan,
kulcha,
bhatoora,
appam,
dosa,
luchi,
puran poli,
pathiri, and
parotta. Some of these, like paratha and roti, have many varieties. Some varieties depend on the kind of grain used to prepare them, and others depend on the fillings they contain.
Dosa – a typical dish in
South India. In
Tamil Nadu the popular adai dishes are made from millet dough or rice dough. It is closer to a
dosa when made with
fermented batter of a mixture of
lentils.
Bobbatlu/
Bakshalu/
Obbattu – made of maida, chanadal/ toor dal, sugar/jaggery, from the Telugu / Kannada cuisine, specially prepared for the
Ugadi (Lunar New Year) festival in Telugu states and Karnataka
Bhturu - Bhturu is famous in Himachali cuisine. It is prepared from soft kneaded fermented dough. It is almost like soft bread from inside and crisp outside. It is served with local delicacies of Himachli Dham like Madra, Dal and Khatta etc.
Chapati – unleavened
flatbread (also known as roti) from India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan which is baked on a hot surface.[4] It is a common
staple food in
India
Cheela – crepes made from batter of varying ingredients in North India - ingredients usually include pulse (dal) flour,Chickpea flour, wheat flour and sometimes finely chopped vegetables.
Charolia - a thin, pancake like bread made by spreading a batter on a hot pan in a pattern to make net like shape once cooked.
Chili parotha – essentially a plain
paratta shredded into small, bite-sized pieces mixed with sauteed onions, tomatoes, and
chili powder
Dhebra – Two different types: one made with
pearl millet (bajra) flour, often flavoured with
fenugreek leaf (methi). The other is an unleavened jaggery puri, made with jaggery and whole wheat flour.
Kulcha – leavened bread eaten in India and Pakistan, made from
maida flour (wheat flour)
Luchi – deep-fried flatbread from Bengal similar to Puri but made with maida flour instead of atta.
Manda roti (Rumali roti): Traditional Indian flatbread which thin like handkerchief and cooked on upturned pot. It was known as Mandaka in ancient India.[5]
Thalipeeth – savoury multi-grain pancake popular in Maharashtra.
Utthapam – dosa-like dish made by cooking ingredients in a batter
Kori Rotti – crisp dry wafers (about 1mm thick) made from boiled rice and served along with spicy Chicken curry. Usually available in A4 size packs and very popular bread in Coastal Karnataka.
Litti - Litti, along with
chokha, is a complete meal originated from the Indian subcontinent; and popular in Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, parts of Uttar Pradesh as well as Nepalese state of
Madhesh. It is a dough ball made up of whole wheat flour and stuffed with
Sattu (roasted barley flour) mixed with herbs and spices and then roasted over coal or cow dung cakes or wood then it is tossed with much ghee. Although very often confused with the closely related Baati, it is a completely different dish in terms of taste, texture and preparation. It may be eaten with yogurt,
Baigan chokha,
Aloo chokha, and
papad.
Thepla - Gujarati chapatti made with whole wheat flour and flavoured with fenugreek leaves and spices.