Indian Flatbreads

I admit, Indian bakery does not hold much, if any, recognition in world of culinary arts. As much of a sweet tooth I have, I would not be caught dead with a chocolate cake, or any cake for that matter, that I pay for anywhere in India. However, when it comes to flatbread, I claim without bias, that India beats Spain, Italy, and France all together on any ordinary Sunday. The reason you may be inclined to disagree is no-thanks to Indian restaurants in the west that pass a sorry excuse of poorly baked, pasty ovals for mass-market Naan with a high profit margin. In reality, I have counted over 26 well-recognized flatbreads using different taste, texture, regional ingredients, and flavor profile that will have you say ‘pow’! Here I present a few common ones, along with some not-mine video-recipes of how to make them. Let’s dig in…

My inspiration for writing this blog is largely to educate the amazing group of folks who are attending Yoga for Life’s India Yoga Retreat this winter, as we travel and savor North and South Indian destinations. They will get an authentic taste of the most amazing Indian culinary treats!

Broadly, Indian flatbreads can be divided along the following axis:

• Category A: baked, pan fried, or deep fried

• Category B: made with wheat flour, non-wheat grains, or specific lentil flour such as besan (i.e., chickpea/gram)

• Category C: stuffed or unstuffed with delicious … stuff

• Category D: unfolded before cooking, or folded before its baked or fried, or folded after cooking (very regional)

• Category E: unflavored, flavored spicy, or flavored sweet