Punjabi Bhatura
Sixteen rounds of soft potato dough, and every one of them balloons golden the second it meets hot oil.
Ingredients
Tap an ingredient to check it off as you prep.
Cooking steps
Boil the potatoes, drain, and mash them very fine while still warm.
In a large bowl, combine the flour and 1 tablespoon of oil. Rub the oil into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles coarse crumbs, you can also do this in a stand mixer.
Stir the lukewarm water and yeast together until the yeast is fully dissolved. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the yogurt, mashed potatoes, semolina, sugar, salt, nigella seeds, and the yeast mixture. Knead everything together until the dough comes into a mass, it will be sticky. Add more water if needed to bring it together.
Lightly oil your palms and knead the dough for about 10 minutes until smooth and shiny, adding a little more flour if it remains too sticky.
Cover the bowl with a loose lid and leave the dough to rest for about 1 hour, or until it has doubled in volume. Once risen, punch it down, knead gently, and divide into 16 equal portions.
Using a rolling pin, roll each portion into a 5-inch circle; cover with a damp cloth and keep aside until you are ready to fry.
Meanwhile, preheat oil in a deep frying pan or kadai to about 190°C.
When the oil is ready and hot, gently slip one bread round into the oil and fry, turning once, until puffed, cooked through, and lightly browned, about 40 to 50 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
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Secrets to a bhatura that puffs
- Oil at 190C, not a degree cooler. Cool oil is why bhatura sits flat and sulks.
- A bhatura that refuses to puff was almost always rolled unevenly. Take the 5 inch circle to one thickness, edge to edge, with no thin patch and no thick middle.
- The 10 minutes of kneading feel long, and they are the whole trick. Oil your palms and keep going until the dough turns smooth and shiny. That stretch is what lets it balloon.
- One at a time into the kadai, 40 to 50 seconds each, straight onto the plate with chole. Our chole recipe is in this same set.
- Baking soda instead of yeast: For the no-wait version, drop the yeast and use a pinch of baking soda with extra curd. You skip the hour of rising, and you also give up the soft bready chew. It comes out crisper, closer to a big poori.
- Part atta for maida: Replace up to a quarter of the maida with atta. The bhatura tastes nuttier and browns faster, but the puff turns shy, so roll a touch thinner to help it along.
- Store the dough, not the bhatura. It softens and deflates within minutes of leaving the oil, so fry only what is going on the table right now.
- Once the dough has doubled, punch it down and keep it covered in the fridge. It will be ready when you are.
- Let chilled dough come back to room temperature before rolling. Cold dough fights the pin and rolls unevenly, which is the fastest route to a flat bhatura.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make bhatura without yeast?
This recipe is built around yeast, so you would be making a different bread if you left it out. The yeast plus the hour long rise is what gives you that big puff. I would stay with the yeast here.
How long does the dough really need to rest?
At least an hour, and what you are actually watching for is the dough doubling in volume, not the clock. If it has not doubled, give it longer. Shaping an under risen dough is the quiet reason a lot of bhatura stays flat.
How thin should I roll the bhatura?
Aim for a 5 inch circle with an even thickness all the way across. Too thin and it can tear and let the steam escape, too thick and the inside stays heavy instead of lifting. Even beats thin.
Why is my bhatura not puffing?
Almost always the oil. It needs to be at about 190C, and cooler oil means the bhatura poaches instead of ballooning. The other culprit is uneven rolling, so keep the whole 5 inch circle the same thickness.
Why is my bhatura soaking up so much oil?
Same reason it is not puffing. Oil below 190C soaks into the dough instead of pushing steam through it. Bring the oil back up to temperature between batches, fry for 40 to 50 seconds, and drain on paper towels.
