4.5/5 rating (20 votes)

Patoora or Bhatura

Leavened Fried Bread

Heat Mild
Serves 4
Dietary Info VEGETARIAN
Prep 1 hr 10 mins
Cook 10 mins

A lovely leavened white bread, flavoured with fresh coriander and deep fried to give a beautifully soft, light, airy bread. Perfect for dipping into rich sauces.

Hari says
I have many fond memories of my mum cooking patoora, it was a bit of an event in our house. She would make up the dough the night before (and I could go into a whole story about how she refined her recipe for this but I will spare you), then she would cook the chickpea curry (sholay or chole) to go with them and then start rolling them out. Traditional patoora or bhatura bread would be left to ferment overnight with live yoghurt being the rising agent. But this is the quick version using yeast instead. If you want you can add a cup of yoghurt to the mixture when making the dough then please do, you will need less water to bind the dough together.

They have a wonderful soft and light texture and are so easy to eat. As a child my siblings and I would sit waiting as mum fried these little breads and tossed them into the basket on the table. We could easily just keep going until she ran out of dough and still argue over the last one. Good times!

Ingredients
Method

The Dough

250g self raising flour, sifted
1 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 or 2 tbsp warm water
Pinch of salt
Large pinch of coriander, chopped
Warm water

To Cook

2 tbsp oil (to roll)
Vegetable oil to deep fry

Method

Making the Dough

Into a small bowl add the yeast, sugar and warm water (ensure the water is not too hot). Leave this to activate. Once it becomes frothy it's ready.
Place the sifted flour, oil, coriander and frothy yeast to a roomy bowl (the dough will expand) and mix together using your fingers.
Once mixed through start to add a little warm water at a time to make the dough. Knead the dough to firm it up, keep folding as you go. The dough should be soft but not sloppy.
Once the dough is ready put a little oil on your hand and wipe over the top of the dough to stop it drying out
Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel or cling film and leave at room temperature (not too cold) for 4-6 hours

To Cook

Heat oil in a wok (karahi)
Use a little oil and roll out a small disc about about the size of a side plate - make sure it's not too thin so it gets nice and fluffy.
Check the oil is hot by dropping a tiny bit of dough in, this should sizzle and rise straight away.
When the oil is ready, gently slide one patoora into the oil and move it around gently with a slotted spoon. Once cooked it will begin to float - you don’t want these to become golden and crisp. They should be creamy in colour and very light and fluffy in texture.
Remove from the oil and set on some kitchen paper.

Nutritional information

Typical values*	per Serving
Calories	274
Fat (g)	8
of which saturates (g)	1
Carbohydrates (g)	45
of which sugars (g)	2
Fibre (g)	2
Protein (g)	6
Salt (mg)	36

*Based upon calculated values, supplied by myfitnesspal.com. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated.