Here is the recipe!

Chapati, what’s that?

Article written by Emma Hirsch, 6th grader

Time to bring back chapatis from the 1980’s! You may be wondering, what the heck are those? Well all your questions are about to be answered.

This is a chapati. You can have beef, egg, vegetable, chicken, anything and everything you want on your chapatis

For those of you who are confused about what this is, it is similar to tacos. Warm crusty bread surrounding whatever you want on the inside. These can be eaten warm or cold, during the day or during the night. Chaptis are eaten by Shabanu, Phulan, Mami, Dadi and the rest of their family. You guys probably don’t know who those people are! Recently I read a fantastic book about a 12 year old girl named Shabanu. Fighting for her life, and getting her job done. She has an older sister and two parents. She has many camels and she forms bonds with each of them, until… well you have to read the book to find out. Shabanu by Suzanne Fisher Staples. I recommend reading it. Chapatis are very popular in the book I mentioned. I have some quotes from the book so you belive me how popular they are!

Page 68, “Dadi hands me a cup of tea and a chapati. I haven’t eaten since yesterday and am hungry.” See, they are always a good snack!

Page 53, “Dadi gestures me away, so I go to search for the bowl and pan to make chapatis”

You may be curious whose job is it to make the chapatis. Well that’s usually the women in the family such as Mama, Phulan, Auntie, or Shabanu. Chapatis are very important for this family because they are nomadic- A person or group that always travels, never stays in one place- So they can’t carry a lot of ingredients around wherever they go. This recipe is simple and easy, and not a lot of ingredients. This was an easy food for the family because it was easy for them to make. If you haven’t already you have to try chapatis, they are amazing!

For more information about chapatis read the book Shabanu by Suzanne Fisher Staples.