Bhatura or Bhature is a thick leavened fried Indian bread made with yeast or without yeast. These soft and fluffy no yeast bhatura are made with whole wheat flour (atta) and curd (dahi).
Prep Time8 hourshrs15 minutesmins
Cook Time45 minutesmins
Total Time9 hourshrs
Course: Snacks
Cuisine: Indian Street Food, North Indian, Punjabi
In a bowl take the yogurt, sugar, baking powder and all purpose flour.
Mix well all the above 4 ingredients mentioned for overnight fermentation.
If the yogurt has whey in it, then don't need to add the ¼ cup water mentioned above.
If the yogurt is thick, then to thin the batter, add ¼ cup water.
Cover the bowl with a cloth and set it aside in a warm place overnight or for 8 to 9 hours to allow natural fermentation to take place.
The next day you will see tiny bubbles on the surface of the mixture. The mixture is ready for the next step when tiny bubbles appear on the surface.
Kneading dough for Bhatura
In another bowl, mix together the whole wheat flour (atta) with salt and rub the ghee or butter into it with your fingertips.
Into this bowl, add the fermenting mixture and the warm water.
Form a dough with these two mixtures.
Knead the dough for 5 to 10 minutes or until it is silky smooth.
Add a little flour if it is too wet. Gather the dough into a compact ball and cover it with a damp cloth. Again set it aside in a warm place for 2 hrs.
After 2 hours, knead the dough again.
Shape into 15 balls and roll them into 5 to 6-inch discs.
Frying Bhatura
Heat oil or ghee and deep fry the bhature in the same way as you would fry pooris. the oil has to be moderately hot. Use medium to medium-high flame while frying.
They will take a bit longer to fry than pooris. fry them till golden.
Drain them on kitchen paper napkins to remove the excess oil.
Continue to fry each bhature this way.
Serve the bhatura hot with chana masala and wedges of lemon and sliced onions.
Notes
Kneading: The dough has to be kneaded very well and should be soft and pliable. If the dough becomes sticky, then add some flour and continue to knead. Add water as required while kneading the dough. You can use a stand-mixer to knead the dough.
Frying: Fry the bhatura on medium to medium-high heat. Do not fry on a very high heat as then then the top gets browned too much and can be slightly undercooked from inside Also, do not fry on low heat as then they absorb too much oil.
Leavening Ingredients : As mentioned in the ingredients list you can use either ½ teaspoon baking powder or ¼ teaspoon baking soda.
Serving Suggestions: Serve bhatura with chana masala or chickpea curry.