I regularly make my own gluten free flour blends so getting bags of random flour types being delivered to the house is pretty normal here. On my last batch of sorghum flour I noticed a serving suggestion I’d never thought of before- parathas! Now I love a good flatbread alongside a curry so this was a perfect idea for us. After trying to make a good paratha however, I had to change my techniques and look towards making chapatis instead.
There are numerous different types of Indian flatbreads and I love them all but, paratha is special. A decadent dish all by itself, you’re looking for a texture similar to puff pastry with flaky layers and often interesting stuffing. Creating those layers is incredibly difficult without gluten so instead we’ve gone for the much easier chapati style. A flat, unleavened bread cooked on a hot pan, these are easy to throw together and much more forgiven if using a gluten free flour like sorghum. I’ve snuck in some courgettes, an easy blend of spices and some great aromatics like coriander, garlic, and ginger to make these the perfect flatbread to snack on alone or to mop up your favourite curry.
We ate these with my Brinjal Bhaji and it paired beautifully!
- Makes: 6 Flatbreads
Ingredients
- 125g Courgette, grated
- 240g Sorghum Flour
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 1 Small Green Chilli
- 1/4 Cup Fresh Coriander, roughly chopped
- 3 Garlic Cloves
- 5g Ginger
- 1 tsp Crushed Chillies
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric
- 1 tsp Salt
- Warm Water as needed
- Oil for cooking
Directions
Courgettes are a very watery veg, so once you’ve grated them you need to remove as much water as possible. I like to wrap up the shreds in a clean tea towel and then squeeze, and keep squeezing, until all the liquid has been removed.
If you don’t want too much spice you can remove the seeds from the chilli. Place into a small blender with the coriander, garlic, and ginger. Whizz until everything has been chopped finely.
Now the steps are very simple. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, adding the water a little at a time, until you have a soft, but not sticky, dough. You may need slightly more, or slightly less water than I did depending on how wet the courgettes are. Kneed lightly until smooth and cut the dough into 6 even balls. Place a little flour on your work surface before rolling out each ball into circles no thinner than 5mm, adding more flour to the surface as needed.
Place a large frying pan on a medium to high heat with a touch of oil. Once the pan is hot (and do wait for the pan to heat up – a cold pan makes for slightly tough breads) add one of the freshly rolled chapatis. Cook until the side facing the pan is golden brown and flip. Once the bottom has cooked, flip again. The flatbread is cooked and ready to serve when golden brown on both sides with the occasional dark spot. Repeat with the rest of your rolled flatbreads.
Enjoy piping hot, with your favourite curry, dipped into some hummus, or even on their own as a mid-afternoon snack.
Notes
Don’t leave the dough to stand once made, it really should be cooked as soon as it’s ready. If you leave some standing then the courgettes will weep even more liquid and the dough will turn into a bit of a mess.
Allergy Notes; This recipe is gluten free, vegan, nut free, and soy free. If you have any issues with these ingredients then feel free to let me know and I can suggest substitutions.
