How to Make Chapati the-Kenyan Way…

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Chapati is a common and favorite in most Kenyan homes. People make the flat bread differently and serve differently. Chapati is often served with beef stew or vegetable stew. You can get chapatis all over the world, differently prepared but still tastes great. This is my version of the Kenyan dish.

Ingredients

½ Kg of Wheat Flour

½ litre of cooking oil

Freshly grated lemon peel (peels from 2 or 3 lemons)

Ground cardamom seeds

Sugar

Salt

Margarine

Hot water (depending on the amount of flour)

How to Prepare

v    Mix flour, sugar, salt, grated lemon peels, ground cardamom seeds in a large bowl until they are well mixed.

v    Add margarine or cooking oil and mix with until the mixture is evenly soft.

v    Add water and knead till the dough is soft but not sticky.

v    Keep the dough in a plastic container for at least an hour to make it a little bit soft and easier to knead if necessary. (If the dough is soft enough, you do not have to keep it for an hour.)

v    Next, cut the dough in to part and one by one spread on a smooth surface to give you a big round shape.

v    Apply cooking oil or margarine on the surface of the dough and make it turn over it over till you get a big roll.

v    From the rolls of dough, cut small rolls and shape them. Each small roll will be shaped to make one chapati.

v    Shape one roll at a time and place it on a hot frying pan while regulating the heat.

v    First let the chapati cook for a short while (like a minute) on each side.

v    Once you have both sides have dried, add oil to each side and let it fry till it browns. Repeat this for all your chapatis.

Serve with any kind of stew.