Indian Flatbreads
As someone who’s grown up in an Indian household eating subzis and curries all my life, I to this day have a hard time explaining the differences between Indian flatbreads. I know the pairings: aloo (potato) puri, chole (chickpeas) bhature, anda (egg) parantha, but what differentiates these flatbreads, and more importantly, why are these pairings so concrete? What confuses me most is why do all my non-Indian friends only know what naan is, even though I probably only have naan at home once or twice a year? Lets find out…
1. Roti
Roti is your staple Indian flatbread, something I’ll eat 3-4 times a week at home. This unleavened bread, meaning made without yeast, is as common as Indian flatbreads get: curries, meat, vegetables, you know it, roti can hold it. It’s an everyday bread, healthier than the rest given that it’s made with whole wheat flour. The prominence my non-Indian friends give to naan should really be given to roti - while virtually nobody makes naan at home, roti is ubiquitous in all Indian households. For comparison, roti is your everyday sandwich bread, and naan is your indulgent ciabatta or brioche.
2. Paratha
My favorite. There’s no better feeling than waking up on a Sunday morning to the smell of parantha and anda, or Indian flatbread #2 and egg. Paratha, which literally means cooked dough, is an upgraded roti. Also unleavened, it’s the most diverse bread in Indian cuisine. Parathas can be stuffed, most commonly with potatoes, cauliflower, or radish. However, more and more you’ll find paneer, or cheese stuffed parathas, which are definitely seen as more of a fusion between Indian cuisine and American taste. They can also be layered, folded, and rolled over and over again as if preparing a croissant, creating a buttery, flaky exterior, perfect as a standalone meal. One thing to note - if there’s an Indian flatbread at breakfast, 99.9% of the time it’ll be a paratha, unless eating chole bhature (see below). And 100% of the time, if done right, there’ll be a solid helping of butter coating this delicious, chewy flatbread.
3. Puri
Puri is another flatbread that starts off as a roti. Also unleavened, also whole wheat flour. The difference? Deep-fry that dough until it puffs up into a golden, crispy, delicate flatbread. Paired often with thari aloo, or potatoes with curry, puri’s can hold the heaviest of ingredients given that they’re deep-fried. Dipping fresh puris, made one after another from my grandmother that loves to spoil me, into spicy curry with oily hands - that’s a childhood memory I’ll never forget.
4. Naan
Ah, the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Naan. Naan is similar to roti, in the sense that it’s the base off of which other flatbreads are built. However, the main difference between naan and the previous 3 breads mentioned is that naan is leavened, meaning yeast is added to the flour. Traditionally, naan is made in a clay oven, or a tandoor, which is why it isn’t a common flatbread found at home. These days, you can find all types of naan at your local bazaar I mean Trader Joes: garlic, chili cheese, mint naan, paneer naan, the list goes on and on. It’s typically thicker and chewier than other flatbreads given the yeast, making it the perfect bread to pair with your heavy curry-based dishes like butter chicken, dhal makhani, etc.
5. Bhatura
A bhatura is mash-up between naan and puri. Like naan, bhatura is leavened bread. But much like a puri, it’s deep-fried. What differentiates a bhatura and a puri is the flour used: where puris use whole wheat flour, bhatura uses a more refined all-purpose flour. Yogurt is often added to the dough of bhature (plural) to get a sweet/tangy taste. However, what’s most unique about bhatura is that it is almost always paired with chole (chickpeas), often for a very heavy breakfast, one that puts you right back to sleep. No other meats, curries, or vegetables. However, the converse doesn’t hold - you can definitely find chole without bhature.
It’s a pretty one-sided relationship…
6. Kulcha
Last on our list is the less popular but equally delicious kulcha. Like naan, kulcha is cooked in a tandoor and is also leavened, typically with baking powder. Like bhatura, it’s made from all-purpose white flour, not whole wheat. However, for me, I often draw parallels between kulchas and parathas, primarily because they’re both typically stuffed. Fill your kulcha dough with potatoes and throw it into the oven, or bake it plain, and enjoy it with ghee (clarified butter), dahi (yogurt), and achaar (spiced pickled vegetables).
I hope you all enjoyed and learned something from this post, desi and non-desi friends alike. Feel free to share your thoughts and feedback! I’d love to hear them.
