Chapati is a very filling flatbread and paired with vegetable or meat curries. Although this Penang hawker food is an Indian diet, this savoury food is hugely popular with other races too. It is usually taken for breakfast or dinner.
Chapati is an unleavened flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent. In Hindi “Chapat” means slab, which describes the traditional way to preparing this thin dough goodness and how chapati got its name. Today it’s a staple food that is immediately appealing.
The eateries in Penang churn out chapatis with different textures, ranging from the soft to the chewy ones. The chapati is made fresh daily with the same concept of rolling and enlarging the dough.
Chapatis are made of whole-wheat flour mixed into dough with water, oil and optional salt in a mixing utensil. Small portions of the dough are pinched off and formed into round balls that are pressed between the two palms to form discs which are then dipped into flour and rolled out using a wooden roller on a board. The rolled-out dough is then thrown on the preheated dry flat pan and cooked on both sides.
This soft flatbread that takes the shape of a disk, has the liberality to be paired with endless choices of dishes. The flat disc of chapati is best eaten with the vegetable dhal curry. The best way is to tear of a small piece of the chapati and dip it in the curry.
Get your chapati in these stall in George Town,
Ali Chapati @ Lebuh Pasar (3pm-10pm)
MAJ @ Ah Quee Stree (8am-3pm)
Roadside stall @ Queen Street (7pm-10pm)