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
- ⅓ cup spelt flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt + more to sprinkle above
- 2 tablespoons lukewarm water
- ½ 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 ½ 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
Jennifer says
I NEED more flatbread in my life! Then again...can we ever really have too much!? I have to try your recipe SOON!
Bianca says
Yes! There can't be too much flatbread ^.^ Curries without bread just aren't the same :)
Strength and Sunshine says
The bread is so important for getting up all those flavors so nothing is left on the plate!
Bianca says
Ohhhh, I totally agree! :)
Natalie says
I have been trying to find a good spelt flour bread of flat bread or something carb-y for a while now, I was so excited when I saw this!!! Need to try! And it's such a pretty color too :)
Bianca says
I'm glad this recipe comes in handy! Thank you so much and I hope you'll like it, if you give it a try :)
I'm having a phase now (again) in which I want to ditch the white flour. We'll see how long it will last :D
Audrey | Unconventional Baker says
Beautiful recipe, Bianca. Nothing beats homemade bread -- and this looks like a perfect chapati <3
Bianca says
Aww, thanks, Audrey! I have been experimenting a lot with vegan flatbreads lately. Different flours, yeast or no yeast, ... and most of them turned out great for different occasions. It's never a bad thing to have a nice assortment of easy & quick flatbread recipes :)
sina @veganheaven.org says
This Indian flatbread looks so delicious, Bianca. I totally agree with you. Indian curries are awesome! I can't get enough of them! :-)
Bianca says
Especially now with the temperatures dropping! Me and my friends go to our fav Indian restaurant once a week (on sunday, actually) and I've noticed that many people prefer to eat kind of heavy, creamy Indian curries in fall/winter and less in the summer :) I didn't mind, but when it was really, really hot outside, I sometimes struggled with finishing my plate :D
eveline debruyn says
ga question abiut the calories
is that 84 per serving or per recipe
thnx
Bianca says
the calories are per serving - so one flatbread. :)
Roseanna says
Yummy! Thank you :)
Bianca says
I'm so glad you like it, Roseanna!
Gabrielle says
I tried this to go along with baingan bharta and it didn't come out properly at all. The dough didn't puff up and I found the finished bread very stiff. They taste ok and would work for wraps, but I wouldn't call them chapati.
Gabrielle says
Update: I doubled the recipe so I had dough left over; yesterday (2 days later) I used it to make a wrap and it did puff up. I filled it with a quinoa, lettuce and tomato situation and it worked out well. Thank you.
Bianca says
Yeay, I'm glad it turned out well, Gabrielle! To make the flatbread puff up, it oftentimes helps to add a bit of weight (e.g. pressing it down with a spatula) while the bread bakes in the pan.
Gabrielle says
Hey, yea I did that actually. Not sure why nothing happened.
Maria Zaman says
Thank you so much! So excited to trying right now!
Will says
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.
Roshan says
Perfect!!
Vegan eater says
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.
Jonathan says
Is it possible to sprout spelt grains before and mix it with the Ingredients?