Avocado is known as butterfruit in India. In Hindi it's known as makhanphal. In Telugu it is called venna mudda. In Kannada, bennehannu.
The avocado has many health benefits:
- It's rich in protein, containing 18 amino acids.
- It boosts good cholesterol, also known as HDL.
- Its unique combination of vitamins C and E, carotenoids, selenium, zinc, phytosterols and omega-3 fatty acids helps guard against inflammation.
- And finally, consumption of avocado in daily diets lowers the risk of heart disease.
When choosing an avocado, avoid overripe ones and remember that the portion of the fruit closest to the skin is rich in nutrients.
The following recipe offers an unconventional use of avocados.
Chapati is an Indian flattened round bread also known as roti. It's a common staple food in South Asia as well as amongst South Asian settlers throughout the world. Small portions of chapati dough are rolled out into DVD-sized discs, much like a tortilla, using a rolling pin. The sizes (diameter and thickness) vary from kitchen to kitchen. The rolled-out dough is thrown onto a preheated dry skillet and cooked on both sides. In some regions it is only partly 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 — this is called a phulka. Often, the top of a chapati is slathered with butter or ghee (clarified butter). A piece of chapati is torn off and used to pick up the meat or vegetable dishes that make the meal. It is folded into a sort of loose cone and used as a scoop to eat the more liquid, stew-like dishes at a meal like butter chicken, panner tike masala and gravy-like curries.
Avocado-Whole Wheat Chapatis (Indian Flat Bread)
Recipe by Padmaja Vasireddy
Makes 30 medium chapatis
Ingredients
4 1/2 cups of whole wheat chapati flour
3 medium-sized avocados
Salt to taste
Water
Instructions
- Mix flour with mashed avocados, salt, and water to make dough.
- Let the dough sit for 10 minutes.
- Divide the dough into equal balls, dust it with dry flour and press. Use a rolling pin to make the dough into DVD-sized discs.
- Place the roti on the skillet and continue to flip it until it changes to a light brown color.
- Drizzle the roti with olive oil (optional).
- Devour the nutty, soft and tasty avocado chapatis/rotis.
Nutritional info per serving (2 medium 6- to 8-inch chapatis): Calories 156.4; Total fat .6 g; sodium 12 mg; saturated fat .32 g; total carbs 27.72 g; dietary fiber 5.8 g; protein 5 g.
