Chapatti widely known as roti is considered a prominent staple food of South Asian countries, especially India. Chapatti is a round-shaped thin flatbread cooked on a griddle. The genre of food exhibits a prominent alliance with Indian identity and culture. Chapatti is a flatbread made without the use of any spices giving it a bland foundation. It is made from the staple food “whole wheat flour”. Chapatti is considered to be the most dominating palatable food in Indian culture. Chapatti finds its true historical roots in the Sanskrit literature of southern India 6000 years back. The dominance of agriculture has also given significance to the chapatti in India. This essay reflects the importance of chapatti as a traditional staple food of India encapsulation its origin, health benefits, cultural importance, and wheat crop quality in making of chapatti.
The traditional staple food chapatti not only reflects cultural identity but also possesses healthy components in the genre of food. It is considered to be an excellent source of soluble fiber which assists in lowering cholesterol levels. It is considered to be a hub of beneficial nutrients and mineral salts. A well-prepared chapatti contains vitamins B, E, and minerals like copper, zinc, iodine, manganese, silicon, potassium, and calcium.
India is the 2nd biggest producer of wheat in the world. The massive production of the wheat crop projects the importance of chapatti as a traditional staple food. Colleen Taylor Sen (food historian in India) emphasizes the importance of roti, by viewing chapatti as a traditional component to a full-fledged meal. The concept of “chapatti” and “roti” fall on the same paradigm of flatbread. Perhaps, the only difference between these two types of flatbreads is the difference in name. According to Parimala’s research, “Chapatti is an unleavened, circular-baked product prepared from whole-wheat flour (commonly known as Atta), which is the staple food of a majority of India” (Parimala 11). Chapatti is used as a fulfilling side dish in the prepared meals of India. The rising popularity and demand of “Chapati” has propelled scientific research in this paradigm. K.G Dubey provides extensive research on Indian cuisine according to their specific regions. The prime focus of Dubey’s research is the important staple food in India. Dubey elaborates on all four regions; South, North, East & West in the light of different cooking styles. However, the most prominent feature which connects all four cuisines of India is chapatti. It is a staple food that connects all the four cuisine styles of India. Chapatti acts as a significant proponent binding the food culture of all four regions of Indian cuisine (Dubey 26).
There are very few systematic researches conducted on the importance of chapatti. S. Kumar and his fellow authors present a systematic study on 34 genotypes of wheat crop in relation to their chapatti-making properties. He studies thirty-four genotypes of wheat crops to evaluate the quality of chapatti (Kumar 3). The qualitative properties of chapatti are highly affected by the quality of the wheat grain. Chakki or hand-milled wheat flour is preferred over the automatic roller mill wheat flour. The hand-milled wheat flour is preferred because chapattis made from hand-milled wheat flour have a soft texture, sweetness, and are palatable. In contemporary Indian society, the concept of good chapatti derives researchers to carry out extensive research on wheat quality depending upon the type of season and rich geographical locations. Throughout the history of Indian culture, chapatti possesses unchanging importance in their staple food. The growing popularity of chapatti throughout the world demands scientific research and technological development in the genre of staple foods.
Works Cited
Dubey, Krishna Gopal. The Indian Cuisine. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd., 2010.
Kumar, Satish, et al. “Evaluation of wheat genotypes for farinographic characteristics in relation to their chapati-making properties.” Journal of Wheat Research 5.1.
Parimala, K. R., and M. L. Sudha. “Wheat-based traditional flat breads of India.” Critical reviews in food science and nutrition 55.1 (2015): 67-81.
Sen, Colleen Taylor. Food culture in India. Greenwood publishing group, 2004.
