Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Chapo

As part of my Kikuyu training Grace has taught me how to make chapattis. Chapattis are a staple food in Kenya and are served with most meals like bread. They'll even chop it up into little pieces and put them in your fried eggs which is really quite a treat. They are similar to a tortilla but much heavier and greasier. They are a cheap, simple way to fill your belly so we love them here! I've posted step by step instructions as given to me by my friend Grace so you can make them at home. (No, she was not more specific than this.)

Step 1. Put water and flour in a bowl and add grated carrot for an extra treat.
 Step 2. Knead the duff (dough) with your hands until it's ready.
Step 3. Roll the duff into balls and roll them out on a stool with a rolling pin. Grace can roll these quickly into perfect little circles but mine had some pretty irregular shapes.
Step 4. Melt some cooking fat into liquid and pour onto an iron plate heated over a fire. Put the chapos on to cook and flip them when ready. Grace has a clever flipping system where she can cook 3 at a time but I don't think I'll try to explain it here.

 Step 5. Get someone else to wash the dishes :)
 Cooking chapattis is a lot of work and they tend to be cooked in large quantities so I usually eat them at other people's homes or buy them in hotels but it was fun to learn how just in case I have a chapatti emergency someday.

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