Chole or Chana Masala, a spicy garbanzo bean curry that is popularly found on most Indian restaurant menus, is almost always paired with Bhatura or Bhature. The bhatura recipe is a little different than the standard poori (puri) recipe in that the dough is made with a leavening agent like yeast or baking soda. In this video, we will show you a yeast free (no yeast) bhatura recipe as well as one with it…you decide which one you prefer!
Prep Time: 10 mins plus 1 hour dough resting time
Cook Time: 15 mins
Makes 4-5 Bhature
Ingredients: (Recipe with Yeast)
All Purpose Flour (Maida) – 1 cup, sifted
Salt – 1/4 tsp
Oil – 1 tsp
Sugar – 1/2 tsp
Rapid Rise Yeast – 1/2 tsp (if using dry active yeast, dissolve it with the sugar in the warm water and let it foam up before adding to the flour)
Yogurt – 1/4 cup (use thick yogurt)
Warm Water – approx 2 Tbsp (give or take 1 tsp)
Method:
1. Add All Purpose Flour and Salt to a large bowl. Mix.
2. Add Oil and incorporate it well into the flour.
3. Add Sugar and Rapid Rise Yeast and mix.
4. Add Yogurt and Warm Water (slowly) to form a soft dough. Knead for 4-5 minutes until smooth and elastic.
5. Drizzle a few drop of oil to coat the dough, cover with a damp paper or cloth towel and let it rest in a warm place for 1 hour.
6. Heat Oil for deep frying.
7. Knead dough once again and divide into 4-5 equal portions.
8. Lightly coat rolling surface with oil and roll out dough into a approx 5-6 inch round (note: dough tends to stretch back so make round bigger than needed).
9. Carefully slide bhatura into the hot oil and gently keep pressing down with a slotted spoon until it puffs up. (approx 30 secs to 1 min)
10. Flip Bhatura to other side and gently press into the oil. Cook for 30 secs to 1 minutes, until golden brown, and remove onto a paper towel lined plate.
11. Continue with remaining Bhature.
12. Serve Hot with Chole or Chana Masala
Ingredients (Recipe without Yeast):
All Purpose Flour (Maida) – 1 cup
Baking Soda – 1/2 tsp
Salt – 1/4 tsp
Oil – 1 tsp
Sugar – 1/2 tsp
Yogurt – 1/4 cup
Warm Water – approx 2 Tbsp
Method:
1. Sift together All Purpose Flour, Baking Soda and Salt into a large bowl.
2. Add Oil and incorporate well into flour.
3. Add Sugar, Yogurt, Warm Water (slowly) and knead to form a soft dough. Knead for 4-5 minutes until soft and elastic.
4. Drizzle a few drop of oil to coat the dough, cover with a damp paper or cloth towel and let it rest in a warm place for 1 hour.
5. Heat Oil for deep frying.
6. Knead dough once again and divide into 4-5 equal portions.
7. Lightly coat rolling surface with oil and roll out dough into a approx 5-6 inch round (note: dough tends to stretch back so make round bigger than needed).
8. Carefully slide bhatura into the hot oil and gently keep pressing down with a slotted spoon until it puffs up. (approx 30 secs to 1 min)
9. Flip Bhatura to other side and gently press into the oil. Cook for 30 secs to 1 minutes, until golden brown, and remove onto a paper towel lined plate.
10. Continue with remaining Bhature.
11. Serve Hot with Chole or Chana Masala
Hi hetal and anuja,
Your recipes are really good and looks very appetizing.
The presentation is wonderful and makes cooking interesting. I have a question, I have added cold yogurt will my dough raise, is it good to have that.
hi Hetal and Anuja
Please le me know if I can make this dough the night before and refrigerate it.
should I keep the dough in fridge after fermenting it outside for a while? or can i keep the dough inside immediately after making the dough?
Hi Hetal & Anuja,
Is there anyway that I can have baked bhaturas instead of fried ones???
Hi Jazz,
Please see our Naan recipe. It is baked and tastes awesome with chole.
Mmmm…so good…again! I made the yeast version (sorry, Anuja!) and it was very yummy. I also like that these are not oily at all. One question – have you ever added suji to the mix? I’m trying to figure out how to get the bhaturas even closer to what they are like in dhabas. Thoughts?
Nonetheless – wonderful recipe!
Hi Mona,
We have not tried sooji but it would make the texture a little crispy on the top. Let us know if you try it.
Hi..very good demonstration ..by now i have tried many times it came out very well all the times.. how much yeast is needed for one kilo maida..and how many bhature will be with one kilo maida..kindly reply at the earlist..thanks a lot to both..regards
thanks.
hi
how much ml is 1 cup as some place it equals 200ml and some 240ml.
Hi Pooja,
A standard US measuring cup equals approx 240 ml.
Hi ladies,
So I doubled the recipe to make twice as many bhaturas. I made the one with baking soda. I followed the instructions, but when I rolled them out and tried to fry them, they were all flat, none of them fluffed up like a balloon. I tried adjusting the temperature as well as the thickness of my puris, but no luck. What could this be a cause of?
I did leave my dough to rest in the oven longer than 1 hour-could that be the reason?
Hi Heena,
Sorry to hear that. Sometimes, when you let the dough rest too long, it becomes more loose and harder to roll. That could be the reason but I wouldn’t be able to say that that was the only cause.
Hello Hetal and Anuja!
I’m a recent convert to Indian food and came across this video on youtube. I just want to say thank you for the great video. All the recipes for Indian dishes I’ve seen in the past have all intimidated me so much due to the long ingredient lists. But your videos break them all down and they seem doable, even to a Vietnamese-American like me!
I actually made lamb saag today, using one of your recipe but tweaking it a bit to add lamb instead of paneer. I’ve tried it already and it is delicious, much better than the local restaurants. And as I’m typing this, my bhatura (both recipes) should be ready to be rolled then fried!
Thank you so much for your wonderful website and how you have empowered someone like me to give Indian cooking a try!
Sincerely,
Thuy H.
P.S. Can bhatura dough keep in the fridge?
Hi Thuy,
Thanks so much for your feedback. We are so glad to introduce Indian cuisine to non-Indians. Yes, bhatura dough can be kept in the fridge for about 2 days.
Hii had made quite q few bhaturas and then frozen some. Just wanted to know how can i reheat them without them becoming hard.the last time i heated them in the microwave and they became like papad.
Hi MJ,
Maybe you can try to wrap them in a damp paper towel and microwave them lightly (not over do it).
Dear Hetal And Anuja,
I just wanted to say you two are awesome, all your recipes that I’ve tried so far- nankhatai, dal tadka, jasmine rice, cereal chivda, both the okra sabzis, jalfreezi, masaledar aloo, all in the last two weeks, have turned out very well. I really like your videos. Thanks for all the effort you two put into this. I plan on making chole bhature tomorrow, will let you know how they turn out.
Keep being awesome!
Regards,
Jasmine
Hi,
Could you please post onion/aloo kulcha receipes..looking forward for the receipe.
Thank you