Recipe for an easy-to-make and delicious Spelt Chapati. It’s an Indian flatbread, with basic ingredients, baked in a hot pan. No oil, no yeast & vegan. My version is with 100% spelt flour.
I love all kinds of Indian curries and of course, there’s no curry for me without a naan or other Indian flatbread.
Usually, chapatis (unlike naans, are made without yeast) are made out of Atta, which is a super fine ground whole wheat flour but I’ve used spelt flour because I had that one at home. I added some white sesame seeds on top of the chapatis and sprinkled it with a little bit of salt.
The Spelt Chapati is vegan (obviously), but also oil-free and yeast-free!
Serve it with …
It was the perfect addition to Dal Makhani, but would be awesome for many other curries as well like Palak Tofu (or the quick and dirty version) or a Falafel Curry.
When I published the 4-Ingredient Naan recipe I’ve been asked a lot if it would be possible to leave out the white flour and sub it with any other flour. Well yes, you can! It just needs a bit of adjustment of the flour-water-ratio and you’re good to go.
However, I found that chapati would be the more suitable name, as it contains no yeast and because of that needs less time to make it. I’ve let the dough rest for a bit, to make it easier to work with, but it’s still much quicker than waiting for the yeasty dough to rise.
Spelt Chapati - Simple Indian Flatbread
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup spelt flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt + more to sprinkle above
- 2 tablespoons lukewarm water
- 1/2 teaspoon white sesame seeds (optional)
Instructions
- Add the spelt flour in a big mixing bowl, add the salt and mix. Slowly add the water little by little until you can form a smooth dough. You might not even need all of the water given in the ingredients.
- Either mix and knead with your hands until a smooth dough forms or use a kitchen machine with a knead hook. (You may have to double or triple the amounts for a machine to work properly).
- Let the dough rest in the bowl covered by a clean kitchen towel for about half an hour.
- Divide the dough in two equally large parts and roll them out on a floured surface.
- You can sprinkle sesame seeds and a pinch of additional salt over the flatbreads and lightly roll the seeds into the dough with the rolling pin.
- Heat a crepe pan (or another really flat pan) super hot (as hot as possible).
- Place one chapati after another in the hot crepe pan and let it cook for about 1/2 a minute on each side.
- Serve & enjoy :)
Nutrition
Should you decide to give this simple spelt chapati a try I’d love to hear how it went! Write me a comment or post a picture on instagram, use the hashtag #elephantasticvegan and tag me via @elephantasticvegan to make sure I’ll see it ^.^ I love to see all your lovely creations! Thanks! <3
Lewi
Sunday 2nd of May 2021
I can only find white spelt flour in my local shop. Will this work? Looking forward to trying the recipe.
Jonathan
Thursday 24th of September 2020
Is it possible to sprout spelt grains before and mix it with the Ingredients?
Vegan eater
Saturday 2nd of May 2020
Thank you so much for sharing this. Eating healthier and getting more nutrition without sacrificing taste is always the goal. Your recipe for rotis/chapatis/flatbreads may just change my family's eating habits forever. No more empty refined carbs.
Roshan
Sunday 19th of January 2020
Perfect!!
Will
Tuesday 1st of October 2019
Hi Bianca! Thanks for your recipe. I’ve made tons of chapatis using wheat flour, but I’ve always had a problem with the dough consistency with spelt flour and having them puff up. They end up more like spelt crackers. Any suggestions?
Thanks.