Inside Indias Breadbasket

India’s breadbasket is as diverse as its people. Breads are served at almost every meal and are also popular snacks. Indians enjoy bread piping hot off the griddle (tawa) or out of the clay oven (tandoor), steamer or deep fryer. They are generally eaten plain, dipped into chutneys and curries, lathered with glistening ghee, or stuffed with a cornucopia of vegetables or fragrant spices.

In North India, wheat-based breads, such as soft, moist naans; thin, round chappatis; and airy puri, are prominent. Millet, sorghum, corn and chickpea breads are also common. In the South, rice- and lentil-based breads—dosais, appams, idlis, uttapams and pathiri—prevail.

Naans, leavened breads made with wheat flour and buttermilk or yogurt, are slapped onto the hot inner walls of the tan-door. They come plain, coated with a sprinkling of poppy or sesame seeds, or baked with a stuffing of tandoori chicken, chopped onion, coriander leaves, dates, nuts, raisins and/or potatoes.

Indian breads are sometimes called rotis, but the term most frequently means unleavened breads made with whole-wheat flour, including chappatis, phulkas and parathas. Other rotis are made from millet and corn.

Flaky, multilayered paratha is made with wheat flour, yogurt, sugar and ghee. An ancient Muslim staple, parathas are popular all over India, Southeast Asia (roti canai) and the Caribbean (paratha roti). They are eaten with curries, dals or pickles, or spread with butter or cheese. Parathas are also seasoned with garlic, onion, mint, chiles or fenugreek, or stuffed with cauliflower, spinach, cheese, eggs, peas or minced meat.

Puris are small, unleavened soft breads that are deep fried and puff up like a balloon. Puris also come stuffed with potatoes, lentils, spinach, cheese (paneer), fenugreek leaves or minced meat.

Roomali(“handkerchief” wheat bread), bhakri (made from sorghum, millet or rice), batia roti (salt bread), lucchi (Bengali fried bread) and pao (from Goa) are other regional breads.

In South India, rice is fermented with black lentils (urad dal), and made into: idlis, steamed, round, thick, dumpling-like breads; dosais, crepelike spongy breads; and uttappam, savory “pancake” breads topped with tomatoes, bell peppers, chiles, onions, ginger or coriander leaves. Traditionally a breakfast item, plate-filling dosais come plain with chutneys (mint, onion or coconut), sambhar, or aromatic mutton and fish curries, but are also flavored with curry leaves, chiles or onions and stuffed with potatoes, peas and other vegetables. Variations include rava dosai (semolina-based), masala dosai (filling of potatoes, fried onions and spices), egg dosai, ghee dosa, or ragi (millet) dosa. 

Appams, circular breads with soft, spongy, thick centers and crispy, lacy, thin edges made from rice, coconut milk and sugar are served with mutton and chicken stews. The Mapillas enjoy paratha, bathura (large, puffy, wheat bread), pathiri (rice-based), kameer (wheat with sesame seeds), puri and naan dipped into fragrant kurmas, and egg, chicken or meat curries.

Susheela Raghavan is president of Horizons Consulting Inc., DBA Taste of Malacca, a New Rochelle, NY–based supplier of innovative spice blends and food consulting firm that spots trends and develops ethnic and “new” American products for U.S. and global markets. She can be reached via e-mail at [email protected], or by visiting www.SusheelaConsulting.com. orwww.tasteofmalacca.com.