I did warn you that I’m a little crazy when it comes to planning food for our beach week. This is the first year I decided to make an Indian dinner – a new level of crazy as it involved bringing 11 spices to the beach. It was a wonderful dinner and everyone was happy to be eating homemade Indian food.
The chicken tikka masala, spinach potato croquettes, daal, and roasted potatoes with cumin seed were delicious, but the grilled flatbread was the icing on the cake, so to speak. It is an easy recipe and you’ll love the way it makes even a simple curry special.
1 T yeast
1/4 warm water
1 T nigella seed, black sesame seed or charnushka
1 t salt
2 c flour
some canola or olive oil
Combine yogurt, yeast and water and stir to dissolve. Let stand for 5-10 minutes until a few bubbles form.
Add seeds, salt and flour and mix well until the mixture comes together. Let stand for 15 minutes to allow the flour to absorb the liquids. Dump the dough out on the counter and knead gently until it is smooth.
Place the dough in an oiled bowl and let it rise for 30 minutes. (I make the dough in the morning and put it in an oiled ziplock bag in the fridge, removing it about an hour before grilling.)
Cut the dough into 8 pieces and roll out each piece until about 1/4″ thick. The shapes will be uneven and rough. Place each flatbread on oiled parchment and oil the top of the dough. Roll out all eight pieces before you start the grilling. I put oiled parchment on a cookie sheet, set the breads on the paper, oil it, and then stack another piece of parchment on top when I run out of room. This will allow you to carry all the breads out to the grill.
Make sure your grill or grill pan is super hot, and then grill each piece of bread for approximately 1 min. per side, or until cooked through. It’s going to bubble up and get gorgeous grill marks. This is not a cracker-y crisp bread, so don’t overcook.
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