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There’s a special place for bread in Indian Thali. Being a source of dietary fibre and carbohydrates, bread completes a meal by filling it with nutritious goodness. From leavened to unleavened, there are several forms of Indian bread cooked through baking, frying, steaming, or being baked in a tandoor.
The different making processes add a unique flavour to the bread, and they work as a vessel to hold up curries and soups. There's a perfect bread for each curry that complements the flavours and takes it to a whole new level. For instance, soft and fluffy naan or roti is ideal for mopping up rich gravied curries like butter chicken or paneer tikka masala. The chewiness of paratha makes it a perfect accompaniment to hearty lentil-based curries such as dal makhani. In contrast, crispy puris are best served with lighter, drier curries like chole or aloo gobi.
Know more about the seven essential Indian breads and level up your bread game by knowing the right bread pairings for your curries.
7 Essential Indian Breads To Know About
1) Roti
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Typically made with wheat flour, roti is a staple of every household in India. Roti is commonly compared with chapati and phulka, but the characteristics are almost the same with only slight differences. Roti is said to be made on a griddle only, and phulka is when this roti is puffed directly on flame. Roti becomes chapati when a little oil is brushed on both sides. Roti is commonly paired with gravies and wet sabzis.
2) Puri
Puris are the little fried circles of dough that get puffed up when cooking. It is considered as a festive meal and is most often paired with chole, methi aloo ki sabzi and other dry gravies. Since the puri is deep-fried in oil, its fat content adds richness to dry gravies. Wheat flour is commonly used to make puris in Indian households.
Also Read: 7 Best North Indian Breads You Must Try
3) Naan
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Everyone in the US is head over heels for Naan. This popular bread is made with leavened dough of all-purpose flour or mixed with wheat flour. Naan is typically cooked in a tandoor oven, but through conventional hacks, you can also cook it on a pan by sticking it to the pan and hovering it over flame after the bread is cooked. It is perfect to pair with creamy curries and can also be a wrap for salads.
4) Paratha
Paratha is a layered flat bread made with unleavened wheat flour. For making paratha, the dough balls are rolled, layered with ghee or oil, folded, and rolled again before being cooked on a griddle. The layers create a crispy and soft texture and are folded in many variations in different regions.
5) Bhakri
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Bhakri is a Maharashtrian flat bread made with unleavened dough of coarse grain flour like sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra), or finger millet (ragi). The dough is rolled into thin discs and cooked on a griddle from both sides. It is commonly paired with jhunka or chickpea flour-based curry and is also served with vegetables and other curries.
6) Kulcha
Kulcha is made by leavened dough and it is a popular bread in Punjab and Delhi region. It is made with all-purpose flour and cooked in a tandoor, but it's different from naan. Kulcha is usually thicker than naan and unlike naan which is brushed with ghee and sprinkled with nigella seeds, kulcha is often brushed with butter and cilantro mixture. The thick bread can resemble pita bread and is slit open to hold curries within.
7) Bhatura
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Bhatura can appear to look like a bigger version of a small puris. It is made with fermented all-purpose flour dough, yoghurt, and semolina. For making bhatura, the dough is rolled into a huge flat disk and fried till it's puffed up entirely. This results in a soft interior and a crispy exterior. Bhatura is a famous street food delicacy of North India and is commonly eaten with chole gravy.
These essential breads from India are everything you need to pair your meals with. Use them as a wrap or stuff them with fillings, these classic breads work as an ideal vessel for many possibilities.
