Chapatis

In Kenya I've tasted the most delicious chapatis. The ingredients in chaptis are few but I've never tried to make them. Today I tried today using this recipe from Allrecipes.com My chapatis didn't look anything like what I thought they should look like and it took awhile to get the hang of the correct heat for the pan without setting off my fire alarm from smoke, *laugh.

The dough is rolled into balls and ready to be rolled into chapati circles.

These chapatis were fine and look more like the one's I've had in vegetarian restaurants here. I need to continue to make these to 'perfect' them.  I also need to make sure the heat source is right so they bubble up like they are supposed to. Some of my chapati pieces bubbled up and others did not.

One recipe I reviewed didn't oil the pan first. I tried that approach and it didn't work. It only smoked. Perhaps I had the heat too high.  I found lightly greasing the pan worked much better. I also preferred my cast iron skillet to my metal pan for this recipe.  I also checked on line and found some native chapati makers from Uganda and Kenya. They used much more oil in the pan than I saw in the recipe and one used no oil at all. So I guess I will experiment as I know all stoves are different. Unfortunately my burners are either too hot or not hot enough so I probably need to use the oil until I get my burners fixed. Not sure how to do that. Perhaps I need a new fuse in the stove that controls the burner.

Next time I will also use more whole wheat flour next time as today I was low on this ingredient. I will also play around with increasing the recipe next time so I can make larger chapatis.

This one is puffing up properly.

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 cup hot water or as needed
  

  Directions

  1. In a large bowl, stir together the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour and salt. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the olive oil and enough water to make a soft dough that is elastic but not sticky. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is smooth. Divide into 10 parts, or less if you want bigger breads. Roll each piece into a ball. Let rest for a few minutes.
  2. Heat a skillet over medium heat until hot, and grease lightly. On a lightly floured surface, use a floured rolling pin to roll out the balls of dough until very thin like a tortilla. When the pan starts smoking, put a chapati on it. Cook until the underside has brown spots, about 30 seconds, then flip and cook on the other side. Continue with remaining dough. 

  

  Ready for dinner.

  So overall the taste was fine. It's just the appearance that needs work. Have you ever tried to make chapatis? If yes, what are your tips?
  

What I Found Along the Waterfront

Lots of activity on the water. If you click on the photo you will see all the sail boats in the upper right corner.

I like how the tree leaves frame this photo. Look at all the big tankers on the horizon.

This is the planetarium where you can learn all about the stars and planets. This April 28th is International Astronomy Day.

It has been years since I've gone to the Planetarium. There are all kinds of educational programs for children and adults alike to inform and education about the stars and the solar system. I also understand that they have had laser light shows set to popular music for many years. I think I would have enjoyed one of those shows but they are no longer available as the planetarium has moved on to high definition video for their shows.  What I remember most about my long ago visit was the 360 degree view of the night sky which are made possible through the planetarium's state-of-the-art Zeiss projector.

You can view this short video and you will be introduced to "Harry" one of three German made Zeiss projectors made for Canadian cities. Harry is the only surviving projector of the three.

Some residents enjoy boats like this for going out on the water. You will see a lot of them in use when the fireworks displays happen on the waterfront during Celebration of Lights.

The countries participating in this year's annual Celebration of Lights, a fireworks competition, are Vietnam, Brazil and Italy. Vietnam will show it's fireworks display on July 28th, Brazil on August 1st and Italy on August 4th. 

The displays always draw a huge crowd on the water and on the beaches and the shows are always exciting. It is difficult to go down to the beach because parking is at a premium so you really have to walk a far distance once you park or you must take transit.

I hope you will take a moment to leave your comments and to visit other scenes from around the world at Scenic Sunday.