I am a bit of a snob when eating out and prefer to not order deep fried mains like Poori and Batura simply because the thought of that large kadai of bubbling oil puts me off. That’s not to say I don’t eat anything deep fried, I most definitely do, but they are hardly my first choice and I prefer to make Bhatura at home.
As mentioned in the Chana Masala Recipe post, when Amma visited last May we made Bhatura at home. I was all excited and then forgot to take pictures of the final dish so decided to make them again. You need to plan ahead a bit for homemade Bhatura but most of it is just waiting time and not active cooking time. I’d say make the Batura dough and soak the chana at the same time and by evening, you can make a hot plate of Chole Bhature. You can also do the waiting overnight and make it for breakfast or brunch – entirely up to you.
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| Chana Masala and Bhatura |
One word of caution – making Bhature is easy but since we are dealing with regular flour or maida here, it tends to get rubbery if the dough is not made properly and your oil heat is not regulated. I have made them twice (apart from with Amma when they obviously turned out perfect) and they got significantly better in the second batch. So do take care to follow the steps and give it enough resting time to get crispy and great-tasting Batura.
This Punjabi chole masala will go as a nice side dish to bhatura as well.
BATURA RECIPE – CHOLE BHATURE RECIPE
Preparation time: 8 hours
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Makes ~ 18 Bhatura
Recipe Source: Amma
Ingredients:
- 4 cups of maida / regular all-purpose flour
- 1.5 cups of plain curd / yogurt (not sour)
- 1 heaping tsp of baking powder
- 1.4 tsp of soda powder
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 3-4 cups of oil, for deep-frying
How to Make Batura:
- Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and soda until combined
- Add curd to this little at a time and knead into a soft, smooth, slightly sticky dough. You can add more or less curd as required but don’t add any water to the dough
- Keep this dough in the refrigerator covered with cling wrap or a plate for about 6-8 hours
- The dough will rise a bit and become more airy. Punch it down, knead lightly and roll into lime-sized balls
- Flour the dough balls generously, flatten on your palm, and roll into circles
- Heat oil for deep frying just until smoking and add the rolled bhature one by one
- Fry until puffed up and golden specks appear on both sides
- Drain and set aside. Repeat until all the dough is used up
- Serve hot with Chana Masala
Step by Step Pictures to Make Batura
1. Mix the salt, soda, baking powder and flour well with fingertips.
2. Add curd little at a time and knead into a soft, slightly sticky dough
3. Transfer to a bowl and cover with cling wrap or a loose plate so the dough doesn’t dry out. Refrigerate for 6-8 hours.
4. The dough would have risen a fair bit. Punch it down and knead gently. Divide into lime-sized balls.
5. Dust generously with more flour and roll these out into thin circles.
Or, erm.. almost-circles in my case
6. Deep fry in hot oil
Until brown specks appear on the surface. The oil needs to be quite hot, almost smoking.
7. Drain and set aside. Repeat until all the dough is used up.
Serve immediately with Chole Masala or Vegetable Korma. Even Paneer Dishes go well with Batura.
One of my colleagues in India worked as a chef in Taj groups. He said adding mashed potatoes while kneading the dough will give super fluffy bhaturas. I ve tried and it came out well Nags. But that was long long ago. You can try and let me know if it worked for you when you make it next time. Loved the clicks
someone on twitter recommended the same to me. i believe it drinks more oil though but is an instant version of bhatura as opposed to this dough which needs fermenting before you can make the bhatura