Flatbread is the BEST! Why?
There are very few things as good as food you can eat with your hands in front of a good movie. Or while socializing. Or… any food you can eat with your hands – end of.
I would definitely classify that as one of the great pleasures in life!
There’s no other way!
Chicken wings, pizza, kebabs… all yummy! But what about something not so mainstream? What if our little mixed household found the way to the hearts of everyone with a delicious vegan flatbread?
I’ll say more: this is an aloo masala (or potato masala), homemade (but quick), flatbread recipe.
You can call it Italian flatbread with a kick, you can call it Indian flatbread with a twist.
Call it what you want… Jay called it a success! And trust me, you don’t know a picky eater until you meet him!
How to make flatbread can be the big question, but the truth is that the answer will be short and sweet, as the recipe is quick!
How quick?
To speed up time, I have used instant yeast for this recipe as I personally like it (plus normal yeast and its waiting time scares me… what if after such a long way it doesn’t work? Although I found the perfect recipe for that too… eventually!). In this instance I had the chance to swing by an Italian Deli and purchased a sachet of Mastro Fornaio instant yeast, but I used this specific brand simply because I was buying other groceries from there – any generic brand from the supermarket works perfectly fine, just ensure you follow the guidelines for that specific product!
This is a fun food that can be served for many occasions!
You will love it because it is ideal for sharing, quick and easy to prepare, tasty and the ultimate fakeaway meal – much better than ordering in (and cheaper!).
Treat yourself!
It is a heavy carb dish that is ideal as an occasional treat and I do like to treat myself! I absolutely believe in moderation… we live only once and while I do want to be the healthiest version of myself I can be, I also want to enjoy my favorite foods, which obviously happen to be everything that is not low calories!
Combining vibrant Indian spices with the most famous Italian food, this delicious meal is complemented by a fresh and spicy green chili, which adds flavor and color!
Have you got friends visiting? Did you find the perfect movie for Saturday night?
Do you fancy delicious Indian potatoes and Italian bread? This is for you!
~~ Need a dessert to go with the meal? Vegan Black Forest Gateau | Black Forest Cake and Cupcakes
Ingredients
- For the flatbread
- 7 g Instant Yeast or as much required for 400g of flour
- 1 tsp Caster Sugar
- 400 g Water
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Salt
- For the Aloo Masala:
- 500 g Potatoes
- 1 tbsp Sunflower Oil or any oil that doesn’t have taste
- ½ tsp Mustard Seeds
- ¼ tsp Hing Asafetida
- ¼ tsp Fennel Seeds
- 15 g Fresh Garlic finely chopped
- ¼ tsp Turmeric
- 2 Green Chilies finely chopped
- 15 Curry Leaves
- 5 g Fresh Coriander finely chopped
- ½ Red Onion
- For the Simple Green Chutney
- 20 g Fresh Coriander
- 3 g Fresh Garlic Half large Clove
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 5 ml Lemon or lime juice
- ½ tsp Chaat Masala
- 1 Green Chili
- Water as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to FAN 180 degrees Celsius, 200 degrees Celsius static oven, 400 degrees Fahrenheit, Gas 6.
- Start by preparing the topping: peel and cube the potatoes (cubes about 1,5cm in size) then boil with some salt until nearly cooked, about three quarters of the way. Drain well and set aside, in a bowl.
- In a small pan, warm up the sunflower oil on medium heat and once it is warm add the mustard seed; after 30 seconds they should finish popping, so you can add the hing, fennel seeds, turmeric, garlic and green chilies. Mix these well and allow to cook until the smell of raw garlic has gone, which should take about one minute.
- Once the rawness of the garlic has gone, continue mixing and add the curry leaves and finely chopped coriander leaves. These should be ready in about 30 seconds. Once ready, add this tadka to the boiled potatoes, mix well and set aside.
- Chop the red onions in juliennes and set aside.
- The next step is to prepare the dough: In a glass, mix well the yeast, sugar and ½ cup of lukewarm water. Straight away in a bowl (or countertop if you prefer) add the flour, salt, olive oil and start mixing with the yeast-water mix. You will require more water the more you mix the dough, but the quantity will depend a lot on the moisture of the flour amongst other variables. Please note these are generic guidelines: always follow the instructions on the packet.
- As soon as the dough is ready, divide it in two parts and roll them out until the dough is about 3mm in thickness; move the flatbreads each on an oven tray that is covered in greaseproof paper. Evenly divide and spread the julienned red onion and aloo masala (potato masala) across the two vegan flatbreads. You can either cook one Indian flatbread at a time, for about 15 minutes in the middle of the oven or place both trays in and switch their position around about half way through.
- My oven takes about 15 minutes to perfectly bake this homemade flatbread, however to ensure it is cooked you need to lift the bottom with a spatula and if the center bottom looks cooked and crunchy, then it is ready. If the bottom center part is not cooked, return to the oven until ready.
- While the Italian flatbread is cooking, add all of the simple green chutney ingredients in a grinder and make to paste; you may need to add a bit of water to facilitate this. You can add as much water as liked, however I prefer the chutney to be not too liquid, so it is not runny on the flatbread, and try to add no more than 5 tablespoons of water.
- Once the vegan flatbreads are ready chop and serve among six people, or cut into bite size portions and place on a tray if serving at a party. You can either drizzle the green chutney on the flatbreads or keep it in a small bowl on the side, while garnishing with some fresh coriander leaves.
Notes
It is very important to completely drain the potatoes before putting them in a bowl as you do not want to put any water on the flatbread; if you can, leave the potatoes in a colander to drain until the tadka is ready, then move last minute to a bowl before dressing. Should you prefer to keep this milder, you can either halve the quantity of green chili in both the potatoes and the green chutney, add it only in one of the two or amend as you wish! These quantities work perfectly for us, but when we have Italian (or non-Indian) friends visiting I have the doses in both and it becomes mild with a little kick.
