Chapati

Chapati or Chapathi (Hindi: चपाती, Tamil: சப்பாதி, Kannada: ಚಪಾತಿ, Malayalam: ചപ്പാത്തി, Urdu: چپاتی, Marathi: पोळी, Punjabi: ਛਪਤਿ IPA: [tʃəpɑt̪i]; Turkmen: Çapady) is an unleavened flatbread ( also known as roti) from the Indian subcontinent.^[1] Versions of it are found in Turkmenistan, in East African countries including Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and in West Africa in, among other countries, Ghana.

Cooking

Chapatis are made from a firm but pliable dough made from flour (whole grain durum wheat), 'aataa' in Urdu/Hindi/Punjabi and water. Some people also add salt and/or oil to the dough. Small portions of the dough are rolled out into discs much like a Mexican tortilla, using rolling pin. The rolled out dough is thrown on the preheated dry skillet and cooked on both sides. In some regions it is only part cooked on the skillet and then put directly on a high flame which makes it blow up like a balloon, the hot air cooks the chapati rapidly from the inside. In some parts of northern India and pakistan this is called a "phulka"or that which has been inflated.

Often, the top of a chapati is slathered with ghee (clarified butter) or butter. A piece of chapati is torn off and used to pick up the meat or vegetable dish(es) that make the meal. it is folded into a sort of loose cone and used as a scoop to eat the more liquid dishes at a meal like dal.

Chapati sizes (diameter and thickness) vary from region to region and kitchen to kitchen. In Gujarat, for example, the chapati is called a 'rotli' and can be as thin as tissue paper. Chapatis made in domestic kitchens are usually not larger than 15-18 cm in diameter since the 'tava' from which they are made comes in sizes that fit comfortably on a domestic stove top. Tavas were traditionally made of unglazed earthenware, but are now typically made from metal. There are also electric tavas manufactured in India. The shape of the rolling pin also varies from region to region. Some household simply use a kitchen work top as a sort of pastry board, but homes have round flat-topped 'boards' specifically for rolling out chapatis that may be made of wood or stone.

Flat unleavened breads in South Asia come in many forms, the chapati is only one of them. A roti, made of a dough not dissimilar to that used to make chapatis and cooked in an oven, is a 'tandoori roti'. The combination of wheat flour with one or more flours (eg. chickpea, maise, or millet) will produce a "missi roti". Rotis made with pearl millet (bajra) or maize (makka) or (jowar) flour usually carry the name of the flour, as in "bajra roti" or "makke ki roti". Flat breads like chapati and roti are traditionally a food of northern South Asia. The peninsular south, the east and northeast and the Kashmir valley are primarily rice-eating cultures. In southern India, there is often no distinction made between a 'chapati' and its layered fried version the 'paratha', although now the 'tandoori roti' is to be found in the smallest towns.

Nasi Ayam Hainan

Nasi ayam Hainan merupakan makanan Cina yang sering dikaitkan dengan makanan Malaysia atau Singapura, dan juga ditemui di negara berjiran Thailand, serta juga di wilayah Hainan, China. Nasi ayam Hainan yang dinamakan sedemikian kerana asal-usulnya dalam makanan Hainan dan pengamalannya oleh populasi orang Cina seberang laut bersuku Hainan dalam kawasan Nanyang, versi makanan ini yang didapati di Malaysia/Singapura menggabungkan unsur-unsur masakan Hainan dan Kantonis ditambah lagi dengan citarasa pemakanan di Asia Tenggara. Nasi ayam Hainan berasal dari China, maka asal-usulnya juga di sana.

Penyediaan

Nasi ayam.

Daging ayam disediakan melalui kaedah tradisional Hainan iaitu merebus seluruh seekor ayam dalam pati tulang ayam atau khinzir, mengguna semula air rebusan berbanyak kali dan hanya mengisi semula dengan air jika perlu, segalanya menurut citarasa orang Cina terhadap penghasilan "pati asal". Pati ini tidak digunakan untuk penyediaan nasi, yang sebaliknya melibatkan pati ayam yang dihasilkan khusunya untuk tujuan tersebut, maka hasilnya nasi yang berminyak dan berperisa yang kadang-kadang digelar "nasi minyak". Sesetengah tukang masak membubuh santan kelapa ke dalam nasi, meniru gaya penyediaan nasi lemak.

Orang Hainan lebih gemar ayam yang matang dan gempal untuk memaksimumkan amaun minyak yang diekstrak, maka terhasilnya sajian yang lebih kuat rasanya. Lama-kelamaan, sajian ini mula menerapkan unsur-unsur gaya pemasakan Kantonis seperti menggunakan ayam yang lebih muda untuk daging yang lebih lembut. Dalam satu variasi yang lain, ayam dicelup dalam ais setelah dimasak untuk menghasilkan kulit selicin jeli, iaitu Báijī (白鸡) atau "ayam putih", berbanding dengan Lǔjī (卤鸡, "ayam pati") yang lebih tradisional, juga dikenali sebagai Shāojī (烧鸡) atau "ayam panggang". Di Singapura, di mana arus pemodenan menyukarkan pengekalan dan penyimpanan pati asal jangka masa panjang, daging dimasak melalui perebusan dalam air berperisa bawang putih dan halia, kemudian pati yang dihasilkan diguna dalam penyediaan nasi dan juga dalam sup yang mengiringinya.

Sajian ini sering dihidangkan beserta sebilangan cecahan, termasuk sos cili dan serbuk halia. Di Hainan juga sering dihidangkan sos ketiga yang beramuankan sos tiram bercampur dengan bawang putih, manakala kicap pekat lebih diutamakan di Malaysia/Singapura. Versi Malaysian/Singapura bagi cili pula lebih pedas, mencerminkan pengaruh Asia Tenggara, dan boleh juga melibatkan campuran cili dengan bawang putih. Kebanyakan hidangan nasi ayam ini disajikan dengan hirisan timun, iaitu bayangan bagi citarasa orang Cina yang gemar kepelbagaian untuk sajian yang lebih lengkap.

Nasi lemak is a dish sold in Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and Southern Thailand. In Kuala Lumpur, it is called the national dish, a national heritage of Malaysia. The version sold in the east coast of Malaysia, Terengganu and Kelantan is called Nasi Dagang although both dishes can usually be found sold side by side for breakfast. There is a similar dish in Indonesia called nasi uduk.
With roots in Malay culture, its name is a Malay word that literally means 'rice in cream'. The name is derived from the cooking process whereby rice is soaked in coconut cream and then the mixture steamed. Sometimes knotted screwpine (pandan) leaves are thrown into the rice while steaming to give it more fragrance. Spices such as ginger (common in Malay cuisine) and occasionally herbs like lemon grass may be added for additional fragrance.
Traditionally, this comes as a platter of food wrapped in banana leaf, with cucumber slices, small dried anchovies (ikan bilis), roasted peanuts, hard boiled egg, and hot spicy sauce (sambal) at its core. As a more substantial meal, nasi lemak can also come with a variety of other accompaniments such as chicken, cuttlefish, cockle, stir fried water convolvulus (kangkong), pickled vegetables (achar), beef rendang (beef stewed in coconut milk and spices) or paru (beef lungs). Traditionally most of these accompaniments are spicy in nature.
Nasi Lemak is widely eaten in Malaysia, even as a dish served in Malaysian schools. Nasi lemak is a common breakfast dish, sold early in the morning at roadside stalls in Malaysia, where it is often sold packed in newspaper, brown paper or banana leaf. However, there are restaurants which serve it on a plate as noon or evening meals, making it possible for the dish to be eaten all day. Nasi lemak panas which means hot nasi lemak is another name given to nasi lemak served with hot cooked rice.