Bhatura is a fluffy, puffed, and deep-fried Indian bread that is famously served with golden brown chickpea curry (Punjabi Chole) in India. Learn to make it at home using my easy recipe.
Start by adding 2 cups all purpose flour (maida), 2 tablespoon fine semolina (sooji), 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon baking soda and ½ teaspoon baking powder in a bowl. Mix everything well using your fingers.
Add ¼ cup vegetable oil and ¼ cup sour yogurt and mix well using your finger tips. The mixture should be crumbly.
Add water and mix to make a very soft dough. Keep adding the water little by little. Do not add a lot at one go otherwise, the dough can become very very sticky. The quantity of water will depend upon the quality of flour used.
Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and keep it aside on the kitchen counter for 2-3 hours or for best result overnight.
Once the dough has rested well, knead it very well for 6-8 minutes until it is soft and smooth. You can use a stand mixer to knead the dough. Knead it on medium speed for 5-6 minutes. Now divide the dough into 8-10 equal size balls.
Take one ball and roll to make a 6-7 inch round or oval. The edges of the Bhatura should be a little thicker than the center. Apply a little warm oil while rolling. The Bhatura will shrink in size and become slightly thicker once you lift it from the rolling board, so keep that in mind.
Heat oil for frying in a pan. To check if the oil is nicely heated, drop a small dough ball in the hot oil. It should rise up immediately. Once the oil is very hot, slide the Bhatura in the hot oil and fry until it is browned from the bottom side. Now gently flip it and fry from the other side as well. Keep pressing the Bhatura gently with a perforated ladle while frying. Fry from one side only once. Do not keep flipping the Bhatura in the oil.
If the Bhatura is not puffing, it means the temperature of the oil is less. So increase and heat and let the oil heat up nicely.
Once done, remove it on a tissue lined plate. Fry all the Bhatura in the same manner.
Notes
Adding little fine semolina in the dough makes the Bhutura crispier. You can skip adding it if you don't have it.The consistency of the dough should be soft. It should literally stick to your fingers while kneading.Once all the ingredients are mixed together, make sure you knead the dough for at least 6-8 minutes. This will bring the break the gluten and make the dough elastic. If you have a stand mixer, then use it to knead the dough. Knead at medium speed for 6-8 minutes.Resting the dough is also very important to get the right texture. Resting makes the dough elastic and easy to handle. Once the dough is rested well, knead it again for 1-2 minutes.While rolling the Bhatura, do not use dry flour as it will spoil the oil in which they will be fried. Use little hot oil to roll them. Also instead of lifting the Bhatura and rolling it, move the rolling board.The thickness of the rolled Bhatura should be approximately 3 mm. It is rolled thicker than poori and the edges are thicker than the center.Heat the oil properly before you start frying. If fried in less hot oil, it will not fluff and will become soggy. You can test the oil by dropping a small piece of dough in it. If it immediately puffs up and comes to the top, then the oil is ready to fry.Keep the size of the Bhatura that fits the Kadai you are frying them in. If your Kadai is small, then make them small in size. They should have enough space to puff up.Do not drop the Bhatura in the Kadai. Instead, slide them from the side gently in hot oil.