Chick Pea Flour Bread (Besan Roti)

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(Photo by darktek13/Flickr)

Known as besan roti, these are nutritious because of the protein content of chick peas.

Ingredients

140 g/4 1/2 oz/1 cup besan
250 g/8 oz/2 cups atta or roti flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed ajowan seeds
1 tablespoon ghee or oil
250 ml/8 fl oz/1 cup water
ghee or oil for shallow frying

Directions

Sift besan before measuring it, and in a heavy pan roast it over low
heat, stirring constantly all over the base of the pan as it burns very
easily. It will turn from pale yellow to gold. Remove from heat and
continue stirring until it is cold, or turn it out into a bowl so it
doesn't scorch in the hot pan. Sift both kinds of flour together with
salt, pepper and ajowan into a bowl. Rub in ghee or oil. Add water and
mix to a dough, kneading firmly until it is smooth and elastic. Cover
with food wrap and set aside for at least 1 hour.

Take balls of the dough, roll out on a lightly floured surface to the
size of a large saucer, and about 3 mm (1/8 in) thick. (Spreading with
ghee and rolling twice, as in the recipe for parathas, gives a much
softer result.) Heat a griddle or heavy frying pan and cook as for
parathas.

Recipe excerpted from Encyclopedia of Asian Food by Charmaine Solomon (Periplus Editions, 1998).