Recipe: Chapati

Chapati is an unlevened (no yeast or baking powder) flat bread and a staple food among the people of East Africa. Chapati is normally served with other foods like sukuma wiki and other vegetables. Tear off pieces of a chapati and use it to pick up other foods. Chapati is a bread and a utensil, much like ugali. Make chipati for yourself with this recipe:

• 2 cups white flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• oil
• water

Mix dry ingredients well. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the flour mixture and mix in with your hands until flour feels a little bit like sand. Add enough water to form an elastic dough. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts. Roll out 1 ball into a circle and spread 1/2 teaspoon oil over it. Roll the circle up, like a jelly roll, then roll it up again. It should resemble a snail shell. Do the same for the other three balls. Let the dough sit 20 minutes to 8 hours, depending on when you make them. Roll out into circles 10 to 12 inches in diameter. Melt a bit of shortening in a frying pan and wait until it is hot to cook the chapati. Cook rapidly and watch them bubble up. Makes 4 chapatis.

Fancy your chapati up by spreading some butter or margarine on the warm chapati and sprinkling some cinnamon sugar on it for breakfast.