Spiced layered flatbread Lachha paratha

Ingredients

100g (3½oz) chapatti flour

100g (3½oz) plain flour, plus extra for rolling out

½ teaspoon salt

about 120ml (8 tablespoons) water

melted ghee or sunflower oil, for brushing and cooking

1 tablespoon chaat masala

1 tablespoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

Directions

Mix the flours and salt together in a bowl. Then gradually add just enough of the measured water, or a little more if needed, to bring the mixture together into a soft dough. Knead the dough in the bowl or on a work surface for a few seconds, then cover and let it rest for 5–10 minutes.

Divide the dough into 5 portions. Sprinkle each portion with flour, then roll out on a work surface into a circle about 18cm (7 inches) in diameter. Brush some ghee or oil all over each dough circle, then sprinkle with a big pinch of chaat masala and kasuri methi and gently press into the dough with your fingertips. Fold each circle into a series of pleats like a fan, then roll it up into a small roll. Sprinkle with flour, then roll out flat again into about 18cm (7 inch) circles.

Heat a heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat and cook one paratha at a time for 1 minute on each side until golden. Drizzle a teaspoon of ghee or oil over and cook for a few more seconds until crisp. Serve warm.

You can prepare and cook the parathas a few hours in advance but without adding the ghee or oil at the end, then let them cool, wrap in a clean tea towel or foil and store in an airtight container. When you are ready to eat, just reheat and crisp them up in the ghee or oil as above before serving.

Notes

People in India enjoy lachha parathas in all shapes, sizes and flavours. I often make them plain but sometimes add chaat masala for zing and kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) for aroma and warmth to make them special, as here. Serve these divine parathas with any chutney in the book, or on the side of any dal or curry.