If you are planning
to start dieting or simply want to eat healthy, Phulkas are really a great way
to cut down on your calories, Not much oil goes into making phulkas . As
opposed to chapatis, phulkas are lighter and smaller. Make this small change to
your diet and I bet you will see some results, provided you are not loading it
up with 2 tbsp. of ghee or butter or oil.
Many people hate cooking on electric hobs, one reason is we
are used to cooking on a gas stove and second the unnecessary need to add water
in cooking, with which you end up eating diluted or liquidy food. I might have overcome
my fear to cook on an electric hob, I would still love to have gas stove,
meanwhile I really have to make peace with it and continue cooking.
And honestly it is not that bad, So let’s start with simple
phulkas, they are light and healthy. Making phulkas is a breeze, if you master
to make the dough right; getting a round shaped phulka in the beginning is
however acceptable if you have some really supportive people around, my husband
is lucky I was well trained when he met me. However, my brother has been my
guinea pig and has eaten chapatis of all shapes, textures and sometimes burnt
without complaining I love him for that and for all the motivation he has been
giving me. And sometimes I secretly used a steel plate to get my rotis right,
just to get complimented from my mom (as if she wouldn’t know) funny days!
However, I am proud of myself as I trained my husband to
make phulkas who has never done this in his life before and is now good at it. So
this recipe is perfect if you have never made it before or just skip the method
and look at how to make the phulkas.
Ingredients:
Wheat flour/ Atta for the dough and some more for dusting
Salt to taste
Water
Oil (optional)
What you will need:
Pan/ Tawa, rolling
pin and a cooling rack/baking rack.
Method:
To make the Dough:
I have never measured the flour or water to make phulkas in
my life, however this is really a rough measurement that you could use as a
guideline,
In a bowl, add 1 cup of flour to it add a pinch of salt and
drizzle some oil( say ½ tsp.) add water spoon by spoon, you might need less
than or more than a half cup and start kneading till the dough leaves the sides
of the bowl and the bowl looks clean, if the dough looks too dry just dip
your fingers in water, and lightly dab your fingers on the dough cover it and
let it rest for 10 to 15 min, after which with greased palms knead the dough
again and rest it till ready to use. Kneading is the key to make soft dough,
not too soft not too hard just pliable.
I find the resting step crucial to make soft Phulkas.
To make the Phulkas:
Now, place the rack on the hob on high heat and place the
tawa on top of it,
make small balls from the dough (making it in the beginning you can be assured all the phulkas will
be the same size) and using some dry
flour roll it out not too thin as a papad or not too thick as a nan just medium
thick, dusting some flour as needed.
Place it on the hot
tawa( getting rid of as much dry flour as you can by flipping it in your palms)
and within seconds turn it over and cook till you can see the phulka bubbling (
you might not see it, but just till the side facing the pan is cooked).
This is
the time you lift the tawa and flip the phulka on the rack (uncooked side
facing the rack) and it should fluff up almost immediately, and that’s it, it
is ready.
Follow the same with the rest. Keep a check on the heat, if the pan is
too hot your phulkas might start burning so keep a check. Even if it doesn’t fluff
up it will still taste fine and might just be a matter of practice.
Wrapping it in a foil you can be assured it stays fresh
longer and applying a little oil it will stay fresh and soft till lunch time. I
skip this step and wrapping it in the foil also works well for me. Remember if
you are going to reheat it don’t heat it more than 2 to 3 seconds as that would
turn them hard. Leaving the left over dough wrapped in a cling film and placing
in the fridge, you should have it fresh for the next day.
I'm trying to make my peace with my induction cooktop. Can i ask from where did you buy the baking/cooling rack? Is it supposed to be magnetic as it sits over the induction zone?
ReplyDeleteGreat article.
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