A Pita by any name.......

For as long as I can remember, every summer vacation was spent at our hometown in Goa. As the school term came to a close, my mind would fill up with fancy plans of long days spent ambling in the sun, picking Bengal Berries / Christ’s Thorns, sweet little berries we knew as karondas.

These sweet berries weren’t all I looked forward to during the holidays. On my way home from Sunday mass, I also enjoyed stealing guavas from the tree that stood outside the village baker’s house (mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa).

Now, this baker, commonly called podair, would make his rounds of the village on a bicycle laden with freshly baked bread of all sorts. There were the regular loaves of bread called pav. Then, the kankonn, or the bangle, a hard, crunchy bread that looked like a bangle or bagel. What I liked best was the poi, also known by many as bhakri. A round flatbread that was hollow in the middle and could be pulled apart, eaten with curries or simply paired with hot, black tea. When in Goa, these bhakris were something I looked forward to. Especially those sold by Auntie Elsa, whose husband owned the grocery store in my mum’s village.

For Rs.20 (or was it 25?) she’d stuff a warm poi with shredded roast beef & some basic salad – that was it. Beef Bhakri. Delectable! Every summer vacation was incomplete without at least one of these super yummy treats. What made it even more desirable was the fact that Auntie Elsa prepared just a limited quantity each day & more often than not, they were sold out well before noon.

Sadly, this treat is no longer available as the little village shop has long undergone a face lift and is now a supermarket. But I still dream of the many times we walked home munching on these stuffed bhakris, savouring the flavours of the roast meat & veggies married together so beautifully. 

A couple of week ago, I decided to teach myself to make Pita Bread. Had been hearing it mentioned in a couple of cookbooks and travel channels, so purchased the ingredients and set about making the bread. By the time I was done and transferred the first, soft, puffed pita bread onto my plate, I was thrilled! Here on my plate was my very first, homemade bhakri. Pita Bread, Poi and Bhakri, I realised then, are one and the same. Oh great joy!

What do you think I did next? Yes, of course – the Beef Bhakri, although I used chicken instead. So, here it is then, my take on Auntie Elsa’s super delicious Beef Bhakri.

INGREDIENTS

For the bhakri:

1 cup warm water, ½ tsp yeast, 1 tbsp sugar, 2 ¾ cups flour, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp oil.

For the chicken:

(I had only one drumstick at hand)

½ tsp ginger-garlic paste, ½ tsp black pepper, 1 tsp lime juice, ¼ tsp chillie powder, 1 tbsp oil  & salt, to taste. ½ finely sliced onion, ½ tbsp oil, 1 dry red chillie & a pinch of sugar.

For the salad:

A small piece of cabbage, ¼ onion, ¼ tsp sugar, 1 tsp lime juice & salt & pepper, to taste.

METHOD

The bhakri:

First, to the lightly warm water, add the sugar and yeast. Stir & set aside for about a minute or two. Now add it to the rest of the ingredients and knead well till the dough is smooth and elastic. Divide into about 8 portions and roll out each of them into flat discs of a little less than ½ cm thickness. (These will be stuffed later, so I kept them thick enough to hold the stuffing without making a mess). Cover with a damp cloth and allow to proof for about an hour.

Heat a pan and dry roast each bhakri disc until it puffs up. This takes about 2 minutes.

Here’s how I check on it….

Plop the disc on the hot pan

When the colour changes lightly, flip it.

When little puff pockets appear, flip it again.

Now the whole disc puffs up & it’s done!

Keep the prepared bhakri wrapped in a clean kitchen towel. This will ensure they remain soft.

The Chicken:

Keeping aside the onion, dried red chillie & sugar, use the rest of the ingredients to marinate the chicken for at least an hour (a larger quantity is best kept overnight.)

Heat the oil and temper with the dried red chillie. Add the onion and the sugar. Sauté until the onion is almost caramelised. Keep it aside. 
Fry  the marinated chicken well until the chicken is crispy on the outside and cooked through.

Shred it & keep aside.

The salad:

Just very thinly slice/grate the veggies & toss in the salt, sugar, lime & pepper.

LET’S ASSEMBLE IT.

Tear open a bhakri pocket at one edge. Put about 2 tbsp of the roasted chicken. Roughly spread it around a bit. Next, toss in some of the caramelised onions & about a spoonful of the salad. Spread that around too.
Adding a little tomato ketchup enhances the flavour, sadly I have run out of ketchup. 

Done!

My version of Auntie Elsa’s Beef Bhakri ….the Chicken Bhakri!

Bon Appetit!