For quickness warm a few slices of whole-wheat pita bread in the toaster, cut small wedges of fresh tomato and a few sliced onions, then add one teaspoon of concentrated mint and a quarter level teaspoon of red chilli powder to a small carton of natural yoghurt, stir well adding small
amounts of milk if it’s too thick. There you have it, a nice healthy side
salad to go with your healthy curry. If you prefer rice, try and get Basmati long grain rice which has an
outstanding fragrance and texture and goes well with curry cooking.
Chapattis are basically chapatti flour and water, you can use plain and
whole wheat flour mixed together for a second option but chapatti flour is
a finely milled wholemeal flour which makes it is a lot lighter than
normal.
If you fancy making your own here’s basically what you do, it’s a messy
job and you’ll probably need a few attempts to get them right.
Mix the flour and water together in a bowl until quite thick and lump free.
Turn out on to a floured table and knead gently adding more flour until
you have a workable dough. Portion the dough into small balls and roll
them out into thin pancake type shapes.
Gently dry one out on a hotplate or dry frying pan turning it over after a
few seconds until the chapatti looks almost dry but still soft to touch, then
finish off by throwing it on a high open flame turning it over almost
immediately until the chapatti starts to fill with air and becomes slightly
spot charred on both sides. Wrap the finished chapatti in a towel to keep
moist then go on to the next one.
Naan bread is large fluffy flat bread made from white flour then cooked
on the grill. They are a good alternative or compliment to chapattis so if
you fancy making these you’ll find the recipe below.
Put 1½ lb (675 g) strong white plain flour in a warmed bowl make a well
in the middle and add 3 tablespoons of live natural yoghurt and gently
mix into the flour adding enough warm water to make into a firm dough.
Empty onto a floured table and knead into a workable dough then return it
to the bowl and leave it in a warm place for two hours. By this time your
dough should have doubled in size so return it to the table and knead it
back to its original size adding two teaspoons of finely chopped coriander
leaves or grated garlic.
Put some foil on the grill and turn the heat up high then divide the dough
into four even quarters and roll them out into thin round or oval shapes.
Place your bread on the grill and brush with a little olive oil then place the
grill on the half way grill position in the oven and cook until brown
patches appear. Turn your bread over and repeat the process.
