Bhature is so delicious, yet…
Homemade bread sound so long and complicated to prepare – especially when we see it served nicely in the restaurant and compare it to our first tries!
The truth is, making bread should be easy, quick, and… relaxing! Knitting the dough should almost be an experience… reaching the perfect consistency for rolling out with the pin, should be magical. Yes, I may be exaggerating… but I know the number of times I ended up with a solid 2-kilo bullet of dry flour or a watery, inconsistent mess! The fact that now I finally found my happy spot with bread making is priceless!
As mentioned in the Punjabi Chole recipe – if you read it – Jay loves bhature and I tried multiple ways to achieve that bready-crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside result… and I am happy to say I am ready to share my bathura recipe!
What you need to know?
If you have never tried this delicious bread before but want to try preparing it: once ready it will be crunchy outside, yet inside it will look like bread loaf – soft and ready to collect your curry for you!
Why is there sugar in a savory dish? I use it to give it that nice golden color and crunch: it caramelizes while cooking!
Can I use low-fat yogurt? I find that the richness of full-fat yogurt enhances dishes, keeps you full for longer and… it is much harder to split! Low-fat yogurt splits very easily while cooking.
What if I don’t have semolina? You can replace it with polenta flour, all-purpose flour or whole-wheat flour. The polenta flour will be the best substitute as it assists with the ‘crunch-factor’.
Can I use vegetable oil instead of sunflower oil? The answer is yes – any oil that doesn’t have a flavor (or smell) will be a good substitute, but I would try and stick to one of these two options (as I’ve tried the recipe with these myself!).
Are you ready to get knitting?
Bhature or Bhatura
Ingredients
- 150 g White Flour
- 30 g Semolina
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
- 2 tsp Granulated Sugar
- 50 g Full Fat Set Yogurt
- 4 tbsp + 1/2 tsp Sunflower Oil
- Water as needed room temperature or slightly warmer, not cold
Instructions
- Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl; I like to use a metal bowl that has no weird ‘angles’ or ‘corners’ so the dough doesn’t get stuck and it is easy to mix.
- Add the yogurt to the dry mixture; once incorporated start adding the water slowly and knit the dough well until a uniform, soft (but not sticky) consistency is achieved.
- Form a ball with the dough and use 1/2 tsp of sunflower oil to ‘wet’ the surface of it; with a tea towel or some cling film, cover the bowl and set aside to rest for at least half an hour.
- Divide the dough in four equal parts - each representing a portion. Divide each portion in two, then roll each piece in a ball and set aside to rest again for about ten minutes.
- Once rested, roll out each ball with a rolling pin till about 2-3mm thickness (this will allow frying with less oil - keeping an eye on the calories!)
- To fry - if you are calorie counting - use a small frying pan and put one tablespoon of sunflower oil in it and warm it up; do not overheat the oil, as you want to cook the bhature through and through while having them crispy on the outside.
- Shallow fry the bhature in the pan until golden brown; as there are baking powder and baking soda in the mix, the dough should ‘balloon’ in some areas as it will create air bubbles while frying, making them look much bigger than what they actually are!
- Add a tablespoon of sunflower oil every time two bhature have been fried; if you see there is still enough oil in the pan, then skip one ‘’adding’’ round and reduce the calories!
4 Responses
Thank you for the lovely bread recipe, never thought it was so easy to make, tasted great!
Thank you, Patricia! ? I’m glad you like it!
Tried to make Bhatura’s for the first time, and it came out superb just like a pro. Thanks Elle
Yes, Arpita! Like a pro!! ??