Puffy Indian Deep Fried Bread is called Bhatura which is served along with a spicy, traditional Amritsari Chole (Chickpeas Curry). Chole Bhatura is an delicious vegetarian meal that you can usually find in north Indian roadside eateries called dhabas, or at Indian restaurants. The recipe for Bhatura that I cooked – 

Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • Maida (Refined Flour) – 3 cups.
  • Rava or Sooji (Semolina) – Half cup.
  • Salt to taste.
  • Dahi (Curd or Yoghurt) – as much required to knead the Bhatura dough.  Dough should be soft.
  • Ajwain (Carom) seeds – 1 tsp.  Coarsely crushed.
  • Kaali Miri (Black Pepper) – 2 tsp.  Coarsely crushed.
  • Cooking Oil – as much required for deep frying the bhatura.

Method:

  • Prepare the Bhatura dough atleast four hours before frying it so that the dough ferments and swells.
  • Take a large mixing bowl or utensil.  Add maida, rava, salt to taste, crushed ajwain seeds, crushed pepper, 2 tbs of cooking oil to the mixing bowl.  Mix them well using your fingers.
  • Add little by little Dahi (Curd or Yoghurt) to the maida flour mixture and start kneading the Bhatura dough.  Stop adding Dahi once the Bhatura dough become soft.  Brush little cooking oil on the kneaded dough and cover it with a moist cotton cloth for 4 to 6 hours for fermentation.  Bhatura dough is ready.
  • After 4 to 6 hours, make small orange sized balls of all the Bhatura dough and keep them aside.
  • Take a Rolling Pin (Belan) and Rolling Board (Chakla).
  • Apply some dry maida on the Rolling Board.  Place the orange sized ball of Bhatura dough and start rolling gently using Rolling Pin.  Roll it into a thin round shape.
  • Take a deep Kadai or Frying Utensil.  Add as much cooking oil as required for deep frying Bhaturas.  Heat up the Oil.
  • Once the Oil in the Kadai is heated up, reduce the flame to medium or just below high flame. 
  • Carefully lift the rolled Bhatura dough from Rolling Board and very carefully place this rolled dough in to the hot oil.
  • Deep Fry the Bhatura from both sides until it becomes light golden brown and puffs up.
  • Remove the fried Bhatura from Oil and place it on a Sieve kept on top of a Bowl. Excess oil from Bhatura will be drained into the bowl through the Sieve.
  • Repeat the above 6 steps for all the orange shaped Bhatura balls.
  • Delicious Bhatura (Indian Deep Fried Puffed Bread) is ready to be served with Amritsari Chole.
  • Happy Eating.Amritsari Chole Recipe: