Quality Living Styles

Mouth-Watering Easy Recipes

[Photographer:Nirmala Pather]

Yes you do have the time to cook! Success with these easy to follow recipes will make your day a good one.

Roti

Roti, a type of Indian bread similar to the Mexican tortilla is an excellent accompaniment to the curries described here. For those who feel adventurous, do try this recipe. It takes about half hour to make approximately 8 rotis.

It is a simple recipe that I learned from my mother. She was adept at making delicious curries, and Indian breads. My version is fairly close to the delicious rotis made by my mother.

I have mentioned the word Ghee which is used in the making of rotis. For those not familiar with Indian cooking, ghee is clarified butter. A description of how ghee is made is included, once again taught to me by my mother. If you do not want to make ghee, you may use regular butter.

Rotis last for several days if kept in the refrigerator. They can be frozen as well. Apart from eating it with curries, my family also enjoy it with tea, spread with butter and jam. As children we also ate it with condensed milk!!

Ghee can be made ahead of time and used when you want to make roti. Many cooks use spoonfuls of ghee to add to the rich flavor of curries. Because of health reasons this is not promoted on a regular basis, but using 1 or 2 tablespoons of butter or ghee occasionally does enhance the taste of dishes, without adding too much to your waistline.

Ghee does not have to be refrigerated but if you have not used it in over a month you should refrigerate it as it can get rancid

Basic utensils you will need are a bread board, rolling pin, a tava (a kind of pan) or a thick bottomed pan / griddle, pastry brush or just a spoon. You may wonder why the melted ghee is put into the fridge. This was a clever tip from my mother. When the butter is a melted mass it is hard to separate the water and the think white creamy stuff. But when it is hard it is so easy to separate all of this from the block of ghee.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 cup hot water
  • 2 tablespoon canola oil
  • pinch salt
  • 3 tablespoon ghee (see recipe below)

Method

  • Sift flour and salt
  • Add ghee and oil
  • Pour hot water gradually. When you have used up over half a cup start mixing the ingredients
  • Add more water as needed
  • The dough should not be sticky and be able to form a ball. Add small amounts of flour if the dough is sticky and not forming a ball.
  • Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, turning and kneading and thumping, (if you like)
  • Sprinkle flour lightly on board. Divide dough into 8-9 balls or less, if you want bigger roti.
  • Heat tava or griddle or pan on a medium-high heat
  • Roll out the ball into a circle with a width of about 6"
  • This process is done in small steps, roll a small circle then flip it and roll again and repeat until you get a thin circle
  • If the dough sticks to the board, lightly sprinkle some flour
  • Cook on tava or griddle
  • while it is on the griddle, you can roll out the next ball
  • Let it heat up for a few seconds and then apply about a ¼ teaspoon of ghee with a pastry brush or spoon.
  • Flip Roti and repeat the process. Press the roti with the pastry brush or the back of a spoon when you see it rising, this encourages more rising. When it is nicely speckled on both sides it is done.
  • Please note that the flipping can be done more than once. Lower heat if necessary
  • Don't worry about shapes, it will come with practice. Sprinkle flour on board with each new roti that is rolled
  • Keep the cooked roti on a plate and cover with paper towel. It will keep soft this way
  • It is ready to be eaten. It is best served warm. If you eat it much later, warm in the microwave for just a few seconds.
roti dough

The ingredients have been mixed, forming dough.
[Photographer: Nirmala Pather]

dough divided into balls

Roti dough divided into balls, ready to be rolled.
[Photographer: Nirmala Pather]

roti being cooked

Roti on tava or griddle being cooked.
[Photographer: Nirmala Pather]

Ghee

.

Ingredients

  • 16 oz butter

Method

  • Remove wrapper and put butter into a deep microwave-proof bowl
  • Melt butter in microwave for 1 min. on high
  • Ensure that the contents do not overflow
  • Microwave for another minute. It should be “ foamy”, melted with no solid pieces
  • Put this bowl into the refrigerator to harden the contents
  • When it is hard, use a spoon to scrape off the creamy stuff on the top. Save this. Next use a knife to cut the block of ghee. You will find some milky water at the bottom. Now remove the block and store it in a bottle or bowl
  • What remains is ghee . When it is melted it is a soft rich yellow color. Use the ghee in amounts called for in recipes

  • I do not waste the creamy stuff from the top or the water. Use the water as part of the water for the dough. I add the creamy stuff to curries. It may be discarded but I prefer to use the remains.
solid butter or ghee

Melted butter which has been placed in fridge to ease separation of water and butter or ghee.
[Photographer: Nirmala Pather]