Indian Breads are those prepared from batter prepared using powdered grains with water in appropriate proportions. They could be steamed, baked, fried or grilled. There are different kinds of Indian bread preparations and each standing evident for the state and culture of the people suiting their agro-climatic zones. They could spicy, sweet or sour preparations made from fermented or unfermented batter.
Briefed below are a gist of various kinds of Indian breads prepared at Indian homes and food services that are broadly classified into flatbreads and crepes:
Appam (Kerala): This is a delicacy from South India prepared with rice batter in a special tava over steam using fermented rice batter and coconut milk. The most common side dish for this preparation are sweetened coconut milk and goat leg soup (paya) preparation. This is a typical desi pancake from India for breakfast or dinner.
Idiyappam is an extension of the same batter that is prepared with rice flour dough moulded into strings, steamed and served with a range of side dishes from lentils to chicken gravy.
Nei appam (Tamil Nadu): These are also prepared using rice batter with jaggery that could either be steamed or fried. This is a food of Goddess served in many temples as “Prasadham”. They are usually cooked in ghee when served to Goddess and thus the name nei appam. This is more common food found in TamilNadu.
Kuzhi Paniyaram: This a delicacy in Tamil Nadu made during special occasions in the rural parts of the state by steaming a batter made from black lentils and rice. They are served either sweet or spicy with jaggery or sauted green chillies and onions.They are made on special pans and stir fried in gingely oil or ghee. There are many varieites that could be made with this dish like adding fruits and pepper and vegetables.
Idli: These are traditional breakfast of South India that are prepared for regular and daily consumption for breakfast or dinner from the fermented batter of black lentils and rice. The batter is steam cooked into cakes of two to three inches and served hot with colourful chutneys and lentil soup (sambar). Other vraiotions of this food are sambar idli (soaked and served in sambar), mini idlis (soaked in sambar, rasam or buttermilk), tatte idli (Karnataka), sannas (Goan variation), rava idli and muday idli (Mangalorean variety). They are also served with dry spice powder mixed with gingely oil.
Bakarkhani: Baqerkhani or bakar khan roti are thick and flat spicy bread made with a batter of flour, semolina, sugar, molasses soaked in saffron, poppy or nigella seeds, salt and ghee. They have a hard crust that could be eaten like a biscuit. The food is usually cooked in Kashmir and some parts of India near Bangladesh.
Bhatoora: This is a fluffy, deep-fried leavened bred made in North India and is usually served with channa or chole making the infamous, Chole bhature combination. The bhature is made of knead made from white flour, yoghurt, ghee or oil and baking powder or yeast and allowed to raise. The flattened dough is cooked in hot oil and deep fried to form the fluffy, light browned and chewy bread.
Kulcha: This is an alternate form of the dough baked on direct heat in earthen clay oven until they are golden brown without oil. This is a typical Punjabi recipe that is eaten by both Punjabis of India and Pakistan. They are served with butter and chole or channa cooked spicy hot. Amristar is famous for these kind of breads and they are served in the Golden Temple.
Chapati: These are unleavened flatbread prepared in many countries like India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan that are prepared with wheat flour dough knead with slat, oil and milk. They are cooked on both the sides of the pan. In South India people usually apply oil or ghee at the time of cooking while in North India oil or ghee or butter is applied at the time of serving. Chapati is served with a number of side dishes ranging from spicy and hot pickle to lentils or curd or raita to spicy vegetarian and non-vegetarian gravy preparations.
Roti: Roti is a typical resemblance of flatbread made like chapati but the difference lies in the flour, stone-ground whole meal flour and therefore the dough will be much coarser. They are cooked on flat or slightly concave iron tawa using unleavened dough. They are normally eaten with curries and vegetable gravy. These rotis are the ones that are used to make the modern wraps with tasty and healthy stuffing.
Tandoori Roti: Tandoori roti is a popular unleavened bread made from whole wheat flour on clay oven or tandoor and is possible to cook them over pressure pan. They are served with spicy and gravy dishes of meat and vegetables.
Dosa: These are fermented crepe prepared from batter of black lentils and rice. This is a delicacy of South India and is no les popular in other neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal, Singapore and Malaysia. Dosa went under transformation with time – softer and thicker (kaldosai) to thinner and crispier dosa (paper dosa) of this new world. Dosa is served with side dishes similar to idly, sambar and chutney. There are nearly 200 variations in dosa and many parts of Tamil Nadu host Dosa Festival as a treat to winter.
Uttapam: These are also crepe preparation made from the same batter prepared for dosa but the thicker pancake is crispier on the outer surface and softer in the inner layers like idli. The crepe is usually coked on one side and is topped with a range of toppings like onions, pepper, green chillies, mixed vegetables and sometimes even meat.
Luchi: This is a flatbread native to Odisha, Bengal and Assam that are deep-fried flat bread made of white flour. They are very small in size and served usually with dum aloo or aloo matter. These breads though crispy are never brown in colour. When stuffed, luchi are called kochuri.
Puri are made with whole wheat flour and turns brown on deep-fry.
Phulka: This is a soft flatbread preparation cooked over dry heat with dough made with a mixture of soya flour and wheat flour and served hot with vegetable curries. For the making of phulka on direct flame or heat they have a special griddle made on which the flattened dough could be placed. The bread is turned over using tongs.
Naan: This is a oven-baked leavened flat bread that is typically made in South Asia which is prepared from white flour with salt, yeast and yogurt. The preparation is soft though elastic and is cooked in a number of forms using butter or ghee and flavoured. They are served with dal (lentil soup), vegetable curries and non-vegetarian curries.
Thepla (Gujarati): These are spicy flattened semi - soft bread with the main proportion of flour being made from whole wheat flour mixed with spices and curd, and cooked over a tawa or griddle using little oil. They are served with chunda or sweet mango pickle.
Paratha: This is a typical Punjabi bread and is the most popular unleavened flat bread eaten in Punjab. The bread is also called parantha and could be prepared in differing shapes. They are prepared using whole wheat flour kneaded with hot oil, raised and cooked over tava or direct heat to puff into layers without oil or ghee. The oil or ghee is usually applied to hot paratha that is served immediately with dal, raita, vegetable curries or non-vegetarian gravies. Parathas could be cooked with fillings or stuffing and cooked to make a number of varieties.
Parotta: Better known as Barotta is a flattened multi - layered unleavened bread made of white flour with egg oil or ghee and water. The bread is beaten to a number of times and usually served with vegetable kuruma or chicken or beef or mutton stew. Parotta comes in a number of variations and diced variations are chilli and kothu parotta.
Puran Poli: Known in different names is popularly known in Tamil as boli and is a sweet flatbread of India that is prepared in the states of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat and Goa. The stuffing for the poli is made of grated coconut mixed with jaggery and roasted condiments like nutmeg or cardamom. This is usually golden yellow in colour and is cooked with ghee on a hot griddle. The range of stuffing could also include lentils and nuts.
Pathiri (Kerala): This is a pancake made mostly by Muslims in Kerala using rice flour dough and baked on oadu pans. They are later served with coconut milk that increases the flavour and retains the softness of the dish. Pathiri varieties will include ghee battered, fried pathiri and fish or meat stuffed pathiri. They are regular delicacy of the month of Ramdan.
Dondiyala-Khakhra: These are left over rotis that are turned into crispy khakhras by grilling on dying charcoal fire using tongs and served with hot pickles and vegetables. They carry a smoky and sweet flavour of burnt roti. These khakhras are served hot with pickles and vegetables.
Is there any better evidence that anyone can tie up the diverse culture of India with food?
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