The Goan ghee chapati is a flatbread enriched with clarified butter.
📕 What is the Goan Ghee Chapati?
Plain chapati, aka roti, is an Indian flatbread prepared with simple whole wheat flour, salt, and water.
In Goa, ghee (clarified butter) is added to the dough to create moist flaky buttery layers, this is called a Goan ghee chapati.
Goa is a small state in India, it's a former Portuguese colony located on the West Coast of India.
In north India, the same flatbread with ghee is called paratha.
The Goan chapati is slightly different because clarified butter ghee is folded into the dough when rolled out, just like a puff pastry dough, and they don't call it a paratha in Goa.
The north Indian variation also doesn't fold the ghee into the dough, oil or ghee is added to the dough with the water and/or placed as a topping over the finished cooked Rotis.
Just FYI, I had countless food discussions about this in the last 10 years and I talked to many people. So, these are well-researched facts.
🍴 Uses
Chapati with ghee is often enjoyed as a breakfast item in Goa. It's eaten as is or with a reduced sorak curry.
The Goan chapati with ghee tastes like French croissants and has buttery soft layers like a classic croissant because the ghee is folded into the rolled-out dough.
🧅 Ingredients
To create soft chapati flatbread dough, you will need the following 4 main ingredients.
- whole wheat flour - known as Atta in India. It's a finely ground whole wheat flour. You need to use atta for this recipe. We tried to use whole wheat flour in Europe, and it would never turn out great. So use Indian atta flour only!
- salt
- water (lukewarm to activate the stretchy gluten)
- oil
- ghee - aka clarified butter
🍱 Storing
So, that chapatis remain hot after cooking, you need to store them well.
To do that, you can use a hot pot or some kind of insulated container of the chapati size.
That way, the chapati will remain soft and warm.
Another option is to wrap the chapati into aluminum foil so that they remain soft.
Leaving the chapati out is what makes them slowly tough.
🛒 Tools
- Mini Wood Rolling Pin
- Cast Iron Griddle - flat pan
- Hot Pot/Insulated container to store the Chapatis so that they remain soft and warm
Dear Reader, do you like to prepare bread dough and why?
📖 Recipe
Goan Ghee Chapati Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cup Indian Whole Wheat Flour or regular whole wheat flour
- pinch Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Oil
- ½ cup Water make sure to slowly add the water to the dough to adjust the amount of liquid needed
- Clarified Butter aka Clarified Butter
Instructions
- Start by mixing the Flour and the salt well, make a well and add the oil and water. Mix and work out the dough on a board. It should never be soft but rather harder! Let it rest covered with some flour. Best is over night or at least 30 minutes.
- Roll that ball out with little flour so that it doesn't stick and spread some ghee on the surface of the dough.
- Fold the dough top and bottom in.
- Fold it into a parcel.
- Roll the dough "Parcel" out again. The shape will be square.
- Dust it a bit so that the flour won't burn while cooking and add the raw rolled out dough to the preheated flat pan. Cook 1 side first for 10 seconds over high heat, then the other side.
- Turn around and this time spread little ghee onto the surface. Turn it again and spread on that side some ghee too. The chapati will blow up a bit but not that much as it does when cooked without ghee.
- Best enjoyed still warm.
Notes
- Some parts will get a bit dark and a cow freckles pattern will appear. That's normal, that's how it is prepared everywhere.
- In India people store the freshly cooked chapatis in a special chapati container so that it remains soft throughout the day. People usually take these to work to have with their food or in Bombay you have the Dhaba wallas caring those metal boxes with the warm chapatis and curries to the offices.
Nutrition
The Post, Chapati recipe, was first published on March 16th, 2012 and was enhanced and updated ever since.
can't wait to make this. looks delicious and simple! <3
I need to give this a try! I love homemade flatbread!
I love roti! Thanks for sharing the recipe. It looks delicious, and I didn't realize how simple it is to make!
How wonderful to have the recipe for flatbread. Thank you so much!
I still haven't made my own ghee. This recipe looks great using it. I love how you outlined all of the steps.
I can't wait to try making chapati!! You make it look super easy and it also looks so delicious! Great recipe!! I can just imagine myself dipping chapati in everything!!
Okay this looks amazing! Can't wait to give it a try - you make it look so delicious!
This looks wonderful. I want to make this to go with your beef meatball curry. I can get whole wheat flour here in Japan, but I wonder if Atta is super finely ground or different from overseas flour?? I don't have ghee, so I'll have to use butter.....
Hi Pamela,
Hm I don't know what the whole wheat flour is like in japan but most probably you should be good with using what you get there.
For the Ghee... you can make clarified butter easily at home by heating and melting the butter and skimming off any impurities and foam. What is left is clarified butter. 🙂
Hi Helen, these flat breads look awesome! I have made Jamaican roti before and it is very similar to your method of laminating each layer with a fat, it was delicious! I usually make naan yo go with Indian curry but I will try this next time.
Great recipe but i think this is indian parathan not chapati. But you recipe is really amazing
Hi there,
That',s the Goan chapati. In goa the ghee flat bread is known as chapathi locally, in other places one might call it a partha.
Well a perfect start from Indians who have just been initiated into cooking. because you know how it is in our households. One must absolutely know how to cook chapatis. 😀 Thank you for sharing Helene! 🙂
Helen I am really loving that you reposted this chapati recipe - thanks so much!
This kind of reminded me of Sri Lankan pancakes. I am talking about the shape actually :-). I should really try this out. It looks very tasty Thanks for sharing.
Helene, I make every kind of bread (I'm a breadaholic!) but I have yet to make chapatis (though they are similar to my flour tortillas). Must make a batch next time I make chicken tikka masala.
Hi Jean, yes I think chapatis are like flour tortillas. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
This Reminds me of Chinese pancake. I made them few time, lots of work but worth it. Got to try chapati too. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Sandra!
I have never seen a Chinese pancake, that's new to me. For sure these kind of things take lots of work. You have to imagine that people here make that everyday for breakfast in the morning and for the day in advance.
I just don't believe my eyes that you are making parathas. They are so nicely made and cooked.
Living in the ME, there is something like that here, although it's called something different. Great recipe and cool pictures!
I use exactly the same ingredients to make my chappatis but I've never rolled them like that - great tutorial and something I will definitely try.
I love chapati, look forward to trying this now.
Chapati, and Naan, are to Indians what tortillas are to Mexicans. We both eat and use our breads the same way. As much as I love Indian breads, and I have yet to make any. Thanks for sharing your recipe, I'm going to give it a try. The recipe is quite similar to our flour tortillas 🙂
WOW!!!
You did great job with this paratha here!!! ( we call it paratha as applying ghee/fat makes layers... the word paratha is actually from parat in hindi which means layers...)
Beautiful!!
This is comfort food at its best. Love the paratha.. (ghee chappati)
Oh Helene, you are so right! Nothing can stop us from making this! I absolutely LOVE roti! Wrapped in curried chicken or used to scoop is heavenly.
I have had these once at a restaurant and they were very tasty. No doubt your homemade ones here taste amazing. Great tutorial also, you do make it look easy! Cool you have done a guest post, popping over there now!
Ack! Homemade roti! I love it 🙂 Roti is one of the first 'Caribbean' dishes I ate when I moved to Cayman...little did I know it was really Indian and the Trinidadians had just dressed it up their way. Great post! And well done guest blogging over at Chef Dennis'!
Mmmm I've been wanting to make chapatis for a long time and you've given me the inspiration! Thanks for your step by step instructions! I've bookmarked this to try soon 🙂
I love Indian flat breads! My favourite when I go to an Indian restaurant (I never take rice, I prefer to concentrate on garlic bread...).
Your chapati not only looks delicious, but also not that difficult thanks to the step-by-step photos. Thank you for the great recipe! I have been cooking a bit more Indian food recently, so I might try your recipe soon.
I have wanted to make roti bread for a long time. It just seems beyond me but your instructions give me courage! 🙂
Wow, I love chapatis - I don't think I ever had home-made ones before, or indeed knew of anyone who did home-made ones. You make it seem much too easy Helene. I find Indian cooking some of the easiest to master. No matter what I do I can almost never get it right. You make me want to try these though - Maybe if I follow your instructions attentively enough... 😀
I love homemade rotis! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
That's similar to the plain Chinese pancakes and the scallion pancake. Very helpful tutorial.
Now that makes a lot of sense...all that Ghee in the bread dough...no wonder it's so good. I am disappointed, though, it's not as healthy as I was lead to believe. But it does propose itself to a splurge every now and then.
Eva you can make the roti without ghee too, in fact its more common in india without ghee.
Oh yum! It's very much like a Mexican tortilla, isn't it? I'm sure making it is trickier than it seems, but I make a pretty good chicken curry that my hubby likes, and this would be nice to add!
I thought the same that day when I saw my first torilla in my life. lol
I think my kids would love this for breakfast too! And me too...
Hi Helene, your chapati look delicious and very well done. I have not try making chapati, so far only naan and prathas. Thanks for your step by step photos. Your chapati presentation looks lovely.
Have a nice weekend.
Roti bread is so fantastic and I couldn't imagine eating an Indian curry without roti bread. How delicious! Your recipe looks great xx
Indian breads are the best! I can't believe how easy it is to make them. Maybe I'll give it a go soon, especially seeing as the weather is starting to cool down a little bit in my part of the world which means that it's the perfect time to start making curries again! (and of course, accompanying them with chapati :))
My Indian neighbor makes chapati from scratch and I've seen from the beginning to the end. It's so much fun and delicious when we make from scratch isn't it? My husband just left for India this afternoon. He'll be enjoying all the spicy Indian food (as I can't eat spicy, you know. :-)). Have a great weekend!
you know what, I actually made ghee yesterday! (: and then this shows up. perfect.
I have never made chapati before, but they look wonderful! I am such a huge fan of Indian flatbreads.
Your flatbread looks amazing, Helene! And I loved your guest post.
PS...I discovered that I have children your age!!! Makes me feel old 😉
I didnt intend to make u feel old!! You have surely gained wisdom in your life which I have not. 😉
I've yet to encounter an Indian bread that I don't absolutely adore...and roti is no exception! Thanks for the recipe...love that I can make it at home now!
I've been meaning to try my hand at roti. Yours looks delicious!
These look wonderful (and I really enjoyed your post over on Chef Dennis).
Thank you so much for such a delicious Guest Post Helene, I love it!
What a delicious looking bread - I adore chapati all day everyday 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
lovely and great idea to have this for breakfast with jam - truly multicultural eating 🙂
you know I was horrible at making chapati or roti and only recently i learned it 🙂 I love these kind of folded layered paratha 🙂