How To Make The Everyday Indian Flatbread - Roti/Chapati

On the weekends, I would often wake up late to the sound of Ammi saying utho roti banao which meant 'wake up and make some bread'. I would lazily get out of bed, excited about getting fresh hot, ghee crisped roti drizzled with honey and thick cream to go with my chai, not as much about making roti.

Ammi always neatly ties her hair and covers it with a head scarf while making any bread. It is roti among all food that deserves utmost respect, she says. I often marvel at how bread has such religious and cultural significance in almost every culture.

Naan seems to be the popular flatbread outside India but back home naan is seldom eaten on daily basis and often limited to restaurants. In most North Indian homes, roti is the first thing to be made in the mornings. This unleavened flatbread is soft, light, wholesome and easiest to wrap around any morsel of food. The dough - a basic mix of flour and water when kneaded to different hardness and cooked differently (baked in tandoor, deep fried, layered) creates a unique bread, each one has it's own merit and combination with certain foods, but it is safe to say that a chapati pairs well with everything! If not with curries, it is equally good with a good old lemon pickle, chutney or with honey.

BBC Good Food India Feature and Happy New Year

Earlier this year, I was commissioned to work with BBC Good Food, India to do a Bohra food feature. I chose the Bohra recipes closest to my heart and those that evoke beautiful childhood memories of family and friends. 

Orange Nankhatai - Indian Shortbread Cookie

 

This year has been one fine year. From the arrival of my little sunshine, having family and friends visiting all year round and getting to work on photography and food assignments - I feel totally blessed. To make sure I make most of the family time, the blogging has taken a small step back but I'm so excited about the coming year and what it holds.

Pumpkin Orange Halwa and Latest work for Ecru

Pumpkin was never a major part of my life growing up and not something we made at home often. Weekend eat outs would sometimes have pumpkin desserts which we devoured but never requested Ammi to make. Then, there were community dinners that sometimes featured pumpkin halwa, which I liked but still preferred Ammi's bottle gourd halwa, carrot, apple and pineapple halwa hands down.

Two Chef and A Waitress - Nuqat 2013

Last week, I was lucky enough to be tiny part of a dinner hosted by Chef Mariam Al Nusif and Chef Dana al Tourah at Bayt Lothan for the organisers and speakers of Nuqat 2013, a local platform that brings forward creatives from all over the world.

The supper was themed around pooling together local produce and talents. All the greens and dairy was sourced locally from Sharq Organic Farm and some from Mariam's own farm.

Ras Malai - Sweet Milk Dessert with Dumplings

He didn't look nervous. There was a certain untouchable calm on his face that didn't match my own trembling self. My mom invited them inside the house, had them seated,  he and his mom. I peeked though the little opening in the kitchen outwards to the hall. I wondered why his calmness should surprise me. Hasn't he always been that way - calm, composed and confident.

Momentarily my eyes drifted from his face to the freshly fried samosa, that were being picked out of the kadai (wok) by my sister, arranged religiously onto the platter, neatly aligned, triangular crisp garam masala scented pastry. Should I eat one? I contemplated and decided against it. The flaky pastry might get stuck in my teeth I feared. My younger sister, went looking in the pantry for vintage tea saucers, that only came out for special guests. Oddly, the golden rim and dainty floral design with blushing rose pink roses matched my own dress.