Zanzibari Paratha / Chapati
I call this Zanzibari Paratha when in actual fact we call it Chapati or ‘Mkate wa Kusukuma’ which translates to ‘Push Bread’ in Swahili. We of course can’t take full credit for these being ours. When we had a lot of Indian influence on the Island. So whether we discovered or Indians discovered is up for debate. But all that matters is how you create this super flaky bread!
You’ll get tired of me constantly telling you to add coconut to your bread but lets just say coconut milk is the equivalent to water in Zanzibar. Without hard evidence I would like to say coconuts are easier to come by then clean water. My family have always put coconut milk in our parathas - it literally makes them stay softer for longer, that’s not to say we won’t do them water, so please don’t feel like you have to. But….. you should do!
I’ll try and explain how we do the layers as best as I can but if you struggling to get it I have a video on youtube from an Instagram Live I did and if you skip to 25 minutes you’ll see how I form the layers. I promise to eventually do a much nicer video!
Cooking tips:
If you are not vegan please try and use ghee, I promise the texture is unmatched!
Warm ghee is always key!
If you are using oil do not smother the dough in it. You can do that with ghee but with oil it will only make the paratha crispy.
Resting time for your dough is essential! If you rush these don’t blame me if they are thick or hard. Rest the dough every time you do something to it. You can even rest over night! But if you are using coconut milk any overnight rests have to be kept in the fridge otherwise they will go bad.
The dough once the layers are formed are perfect to store in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Most recipes use chapati flour for their paratha but I prefer plain as it’s much easier to work with and I prefer the taste!
Ingredients:
650g Plain Flour + Extra for dusting
250g Warm Ghee
3-4 TSP Salt
400ml Coconut Milk or 4 heaped TBSP Coconut Milk Powder + 400ml Water
Note: You can use 400ml water. Coconut Milk is optional (read notes).
Method:
In a stand mixer or large bowl combine your flour, 4 TBSP ghee, salt & coconut milk or water.
Knead for 10 minutes (in a mixer) or 15-18minutes (by hand)
Once it is smooth, knead into a soft ball and leave in your bowl and cover the dough with a damp cloth and leave to rest for a minimum of 10 minutes up to a maximum of 30 minutes.
Evenly divide the dough into 10 balls or 20 small balls (depending on how many parathas you want). Cover all your balls with a damp cloth while you work with each one.
Now flour your surface, take one ball and start rolling it out. We are looking to roll it out till it’s super thin that you can almost see through to the kitchen counter. You’ll notice that while you roll, it will start to spring back, take a dribble of ghee and spread on the surface and then take some more and wipe it on the dough. This will help to stretch it.
If you are struggling with the rolling I prefer to use my hands to spread it out. Check my video at 25/26mins to see how. Don’t worry if the dough rips a little bit but then also don’t allow the whole thing to be covered in holes!
Once you have stretched it out, take a couple of tsp of ghee and dribble over the dough and then use your hands to wipe it all over, the aim is to make sure that the dough is not dry but also not soggy and dripping! So add slowly.
Now you want to poke a hold in the middle of the dough and using both your hands start rolling the hole outwards to basically create one giant ring (making sense? check the video if not!)
Once you have one big ring you want to break it anywhere to form a long sausage shape. If it looks slightly loose from the rolling, just roll between your hands to neaten it up slightly.
Now for the final layering, you want to spiral both ends of the sausage at the same time. BUT you want to spiral from opposite ends, so one spirals at the top, one spirals at the bottom till they meet in the middle.
Once they meet place on of top of the other and press down slightly so they stick.
Place back under the cloth and repeat with the rest (it gets easier!).
Leave them to rest for a minimum of 20 minutes or overnight in the fridge. Or freeze at this point for another day!
Frying - take each spiral ball and roll it out till it’s a couple of centimetres thick.
Place in a non stick frying pan with no ghee.
Once the bottom of the paratha starts to cook and becomes firm, flip over and then spread some ghee all over (no dry bits!).
Allow the other side to firm up then flip over, put ghee on this side and then allow both sides to cook.
Some will puff up (always a good sign), just take your spatula to press them down.
They will need a couple of minutes on each side to cook and will form really cute brown streaks on them.
Once they are ready place them on a plate, and make sure to keep some foil on top as you fry each one to keep them warm.
Serve up with a lush thick stew, eat with a side of honey or simply enjoy on its own!
Ps. I’ll show you some amazing stuffed ones soon!