Lentil Love: Chapatti Challenge in the Time of Lent

A freezer raid turns up a batch of stew—and bread gets flattened

Throughout the year, our kitchen is a flurry of activity on Saturdays and Sundays, as we prepare and freeze batches of soups and stews to dine on at some later time. There are days when even rabid cooks like myself and my better half just need to defrost, heat up and dig in.

We also have a bean and lentil fetish that just won't quit. Our pantry is lined with glass jars of everything from green lentils and black-eye peas to Zuni Gold beans and favas picked and dried right out of the home garden. Digging though the freezer recently, I spied a plastic container of curried lentil stew that we had put away in mid-February. Voila. Dinner. But what to serve with it?

It seemed appropriate to serve it with chapatti, an Indian flatbread—but that meant I'd have to do some cooking. Twist my arm. The trick with chapatti, like all flatbreads, is patience and not overworking the dough. You can use traditional atta, a fine durum flour synonymous with chapatti, or a fine-ground semolina flour, available at specialty markets in Santa Fe such as Talin Market (in the Luna complex on Cerrillos Road). The ingredient list is short, but there are a few important steps regarding covering the dough and cooking the flatbread that must not be overlooked. Try to serve the chapatti within a half an hour, before it dries out too much.

Mini Chapatti
(makes six 5-inch flatbreads)

  • 1 cup durum atta (durum flour) or fine-ground semolina flour
  • ½ cup warm water (plus a little more, if needed to help bind the dough)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup melted ghee (clarified butter) or olive oil, room temperature

In a large bowl, mix flour with salt until well-combined. Add ½ cup warm water to the flour in two batches, stirring the mixture at the same time with either your (clean) free hand or a wooden spatula. Knead the dough inside the bowl until a ball forms (be patient, it'll look crumbly for a while), and then knead on a lightly floured surface for at least 10 minutes, or until very smooth. Place dough back into the bowl, cover with a clean cloth at room temperature and let rest for 20 minutes. Rub a little ghee or olive oil on your hands and then knead the dough for another five minutes, until smooth and silky. Using your hands, roll the dough ball into an even log about 1½ inches wide. Cut into six equal pieces. Working quickly, roll dough pieces into 5-inch circles, placing them under a towel as you work. Preheat a dry griddle or cast iron skillet to medium-high heat. Cook the chapatti on one side until you see the top bubble up. Using a clean towel, press down on the dough circle to make sure the heat is evenly distributed. Flip the circle when it begins to blister and brown on the bottom, like a tortilla. Cook the other side until blistering and browning also occurs. Place just-cooked chapattis in a deep container (like a soup pot) and wrap with a clean towel to keep warm. Serve within 30 minutes.

Easy-Peasy Curried Lentil Stew
(serves 2-4)

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • half a large yellow onion, peeled and chopped

  • 1 large carrot (about ¾ cup), peeled and chopped
  • 
2 stalks celery, chopped

  • ¾ cup finely diced fresh tomato

  • 2 tablespoons minced ginger

  • 2 tablespoons garam masala or your favorite prepared curry powder

  • half-pound of lentils (brown and green work best), rinsed
  • 4 cups vegetable stock or chicken-flavored vegetable stock, plus more, if needed

  • salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Sauté onion, carrot, celery, tomato and ginger until aromatic and the onions become translucent, about five minutes. Meanwhile, toast the curry powder or garam masala over medium-low heat in a dry pan, stirring constantly, until aromatic, about four minutes (be careful not to burn). Place toasted curry powder into the sautéed vegetables, add vegetable or chicken stock and lentils, stir, and bring to a boil. Immediately at the boil, reduce pot to a simmer and stew until lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. Season to taste, let rest for 10 minutes, reheat and serve.

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