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Spicy Chapatis

Originally Posted By: Pika

This recipe is a modification of the recipe given by Linda Yaffe in her book Backpack Gourmet. I recommend her book as an excellent source of recipes for our sport.

Spicy Chapatis

Combine the following dry ingredients in a bowl:

1 tbs sesame seeds
1 tbs chopped sunflower seeds and 1 tbs ground flax seeds and/or
2 tbs rolled oats chopped in blender
1 tsp poppy seeds (optional)
1 tsp dried pepper flakes; the kind you get with pizza are OK though I use local chiles which are hotter. Avoid habeñeros unless you have an asbestos tongue. You may wish to start with less chile if you have a sensitive mouth .
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached white flour

Cut in 2 1/2 tbs of butter

Add 3/4+ cup of warm water and knead the dough. Form dough into 1 1/2" balls, cover with damp cloth and let sit for 2-3 hours. Alternative; let kneaded dough sit in covered bowl for 2-3 hours then form into dough balls.

Press or roll the dough balls into tortilla size (6" to 7") rounds. For this step I use a tortilla press because it makes a uniformly thick flatbread for better packing. You can get inexpensive tortilla presses at most Mexican groceries or on line. Dust the press with flour before pressing each chapati or they will stick. You may need to adjust the size of the dough ball according to the tortilla press you use; it is better to use dough balls a bit small rather than a bit large.

Cook the rounds on a dry griddle untill lightly browned, let cool and freeze until needed.

I usually make two batches of chapatis; one for the trail and one for munching on around the house so I will have some left for the trail.

Each chapati has about 100 calories and they go well with hummus and bean dip.