Indian Breads

     India offers a variety of breads like roti, parantha, puri, nan etc there are over 50 varieties of them you name it and you have it and all of them have a different taste.

     The commonest bread is the chappati or roti as usually called, which you can see Indians making in any odd corner over angithis or chulhas using wood or charcoal. Basically, the chappati is just flour and water dough rolled very thin and cooked like a pancake on slow heat. These are hot and fresh and you can eat several of them with your vegetable or meat curry.

     A richer version of the roti is the parantha, which is cooked with butter. It comes out soft and delicious. Indians also make paranthas stuffed with potatoes or other vegetables. Stuffed paranthas are complete meals and are eaten with plain yogurt and pickles or even with ketchup.

     Puris are made from the same basic dough rolled out thin and round with a wooden roller and deep fried in clarified butter or vegetable fat. Similarly, a hot bread made of slightly different dough is called a luchi in Calcutta.

     In the south dosa and idli substitute for bread. Papad, spiced with pepper and aniseed, go with every meal. They taste very good when served hot from the oven. They go better with drinks also.