Bhakri, lachcha, poli, puri: The staple breads of Indian cuisine and what they pair best with

Both leavened and unleavened breads – some indigenous, others introduced through the influence of historical rulers – feature in Indian cuisine.

In his A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food, KT Achaya mentions a fascinating fact: cave paintings depict the act of dough being shaped and ancient, tava-like cooking utensils made of clay and metal have been discovered at Harappan sites dating back about 2000 years. Isn’t it fascinating that the everyday phulka or chapatti we eat in India today goes back so many hundreds of years?

Roti is the generic name by which Indian breads are identified across the country as well as around the world. The forms in which it is available vary slightly, with most being made of wheat flour and some prepared from indigenous millets and gluten-free flours. The methods of cooking them also differ marginally. Some breads are stuffed, others roasted on a tava and a few baked in a tandoor or puffed directly on coal embers. The roti acquires a new format and a different name with every couple of hundred kilometres that you travel through the country. In essence, however, it remains the same. In fact, the roti in its various avatars would be a wonderful subject of...

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