Bhatura:

Bhatoora also spelled Bhatura (Hindi भटूरा bhaṭūrā) is a soft and fluffy deep-fried bread from the Punjab region of Pakistan and India, and is often eaten with a chickpea curry, chole or channe, making the classic Punjabi dish chole bhature. A typical recipe includes white flour (maida), yogurt, ghee or oil, and yeast. Once kneaded well, the dough is left to rise, and then small balls of it are either hand rolled or flattened using a rolling pin.

Then the bread is deep fried until they puff up into a lightly browned soft fluffy bread, which is elastic and chewy. A non-fried variant is the kulcha, which can be baked or cooked on a flat pan and is garnished with coriander leaves. It is cooked from the same dough.

Ingredients:
2  cups of AP flour

1  cup of chapati flour  
2 tablespoon of semolina or sooji
1 cup of yogurt
4 tablespoon of oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 pack of Eno fruit salt (or you can add yeast, I prefer without yeast)
3/4  cup  + water to make soft dough (has to be soft for moisture so the bhatura will have enough air bubbles to blow up like balloon when frying them)
½ teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
Vegetable oil for frying

Method:

• In a bowl mix all AP flour, chapati flour, sugar semolina and salt, eno salt or yeast if using yeast.
• Add yogurt,  oil, baking powder, flour and salt mix and make dough.
• Make the dough in stand mixer at medium speed for 5 min.
• Set aside in a warm place to rise for at least 4- 5 hours.
• Once the dough rises, kneed it again for about 2-3 min in stand mixture.
• Divide into balls of equal portions (8 if making large bhaturas and 12 ball if making small bhaturas.
•  Heat oil.
• Apply some oil (not flour) and roll thin into desired size. I made them small, but if you have a big fryer with lot of oil (enough to submerge the Bhatura) you can make it in a big round shape.

• Deep fry the bhatura.

Serve hot with Chhole (recipe on this blog)

Description of Bhatura source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhatoora
Ist Bhatura picture from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Bhatura.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Recipe by My dearest Mom Mrs. Kasturben.

Photographs by Surekha.

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