Atreyee Poddar
Indian breads are having a moment. India's culinary map teaches us that bread here is never just bread. Beyond the buttery naan and the dramatic roomali roti lies a world of lesser-known flatbreads and leavened delights that deserve far more attention.
Sunday mornings in Kolkata wouldn't be complete without a bowl of hot aloor dom and a dish of puffed-up radhaballabis. Refined flour is used to make radhaballabi, which is filled with urad dal that has been subtly flavoured. After rolling out the dough, it is deep-fried until it is perfectly golden.
Any Gujarati family can tell you that a box of neatly placed theplas is essential to any road trip, train travel, or international relocation. Thepla, which is made with whole wheat flour and heavily seasoned with fenugreek leaves, turmeric, chilli, and cumin, keeps fresh for days and can be eaten on its own or with yoghurt or pickles.
Missi roti, made from wheat and gram flour, is a strong, earthy flatbread. This bread is fried on a griddle after being seasoned with onions, green chillies, coriander, and spices. Its rich texture and nutty flavour complement heavy curries and dollops of white butter.
Generations of people have survived in one of the world's harshest inhabited areas on Ladakh's thick, spherical bread known as khambir. It is usually made from whole wheat flour and leavened with fermented dough or yeast. It is typically served alongside regional stews, apricot jam, and butter tea.
Mangalore buns are neither typical buns nor baked. Instead, these light, deep-fried pastries from coastal Karnataka are made from a dough of mashed ripe bananas, flour, sugar, and yoghurt. For breakfast, they are usually served with coconut chutney and sambar.