3p Homemade Tortillas / Chappattis

Flour tortillas and Chapatti's are basically the same thing, although Chapatti's are traditionally made with more costly wholewheat flour.

Tortilla's are part of most Mexican meals including fajitas, burritos,quesadillas and enchiladas. The corn variety are a little trickier to make, but flour ones are super cheap and easy.

Chapatti's are a traditional Indian flat bread you may or may not have heard of. Basically they are an alternative to naan. Naan are quite time consuming to make, and no where near as tasty if not made in a tandoor (traditional oven).

Both of these are quite expensive items to buy in stores, averaging around £1-£2 for the equivalent amount. Considering how quick and easy these are to make, it hardly seems worth the expense.


These would be great with the 20p Korma soup, and look out for the Mexican chili recipe this evening. I'll refer back to this recipe in future for other Mexican dishes, and as an accompaniment to Indian.


30p batch of 10 large tortillas/chapattis - 3p each

1. In a large bowl sift together:

2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt


2. mix in the

4 tablespoons oil


3. quickly combine the

2/3 cups warm water

approximate amount - add a little more till a damp dough forms, you'll be adding more as you roll


4. Knead gently till a SOFT, smooth dough ball forms

5. Pinch the dough into 10 equally size pieces, roll (with some force) into smooth balls.

6. Roll out on a well floured surface using a rolling pin (or a wine bottle works too). you want to roll these out thinly, they should look a little see through, but not too much, 1.5-2mm

Flour well before stacking, and do not stack more than 3-4 in a pile or they will stick together. if this happens just remake into balls and re-roll.

I normally roll one with another is cooking, as it makes this whole process quicker, but don't try this till you are confident you won't burn them, or have someone else on hand to watch the pan.

7. Place a large frying pan on the largest hob, on a medium heat.

this allows for slow even cooking without over colouring.

8. Do not turn until they look puffy, 1-2 min. once turned only leave for another 30 sec or so.

9. Immediately place the next one in the pan, this prevents it from over heating

10. once cooked they can be safely stacked on top of one another, serve immediately or allow to cool uncovered (this prevents them from becoming overly moist)

Once cooled they will keep well flat in a Ziploc bag, or wrapped well in clingfilm for 2-3 days. don't put them in the fridge. they do however freeze well.

It's all about STARVING STUDENT SURVIVAL! - Mags, x



Nutritional information (per serving)

calories 222
Carbs        36
Fat 6
Protein       5

Shopping list

Tesco Baking Powder 170G £0.99   £0.04
Tesco Everyday Value Plain Flour 1.5Kg £0.52   £0.17
Tesco Pure Vegetable Oil 1 Litre £1.39   £0.09