Gluten free flat bread

This bread is the result of necessity, being Indian, flat breads, be they Chappati, Paratha or Naan are a staple part of our cuisine. And though I do not miss wheat based bread as such, I did miss having flat bread especially with certain dry curries which cannot be served with rice and are perfect with flat bread.

This particular bread is inspired by the misi roti, I remember my grand mother used to make it, but I think  generally equal quantities of chick pea flour and wholemeal wheat flour is used.

So I tweaked the recipe and made it with rice flour and chick pea flour and while the results were pretty good (for a gluten free bread) I felt the end result could be improved. The bread could be softer and moister. So I experimented with potato flour, and I am really glad that I did as the results are superb. The dough is pliable, and the bread can be rolled out just like a chappati and is soft and moist.

Ingredients
1 cup of chick pea flour
1/2 cup of potato flour
3 tablespoons of oil
1/2 teaspoon of salt
approximately 80 ml of water
1 teaspoon of ajwain (bishops weed, it adds a great flavour but is optional)

In a large mixing bowl, mix together both the chick pea flour and potato flour to ensure there are no lumps. Add the salt and ajwain (if using) and mix well. Then add the oil and the water gradually to bring the mixture together into a dough. You may not need all the water, on the other hand you may need a little more, it all depends on the moisture content in the flour. Once you have a smooth dough, set it to rest for 10 minutes, and then shape into small balls. Roll out each ball into a round shape on a flat surface with a rolling pin. Use some potato flour to dust the rolling surface to make the rolling easier and to stop the bread from sticking. You can do it free hand or use a round pastry cutter or bowl to get the shape you want. Pan fry in a tava (traditional Indian utensil for cooking flat bread) or crepe pan or fry pan cooking both sides. For a crispy result, use a little oil on each side when frying the bread.

Best enjoyed fresh and warm but can be stored for a couple of days in an air tight container and reheated before use.