Search
Close this search box.
Fried Coconut Chili Flatbread

Fried Coconut and Chili Flatbreads

Renée Robinson

Fried Bread Laced with Coconut, Chilies, and Shallots is a Very Good Thing.

I love all kinds of flatbreads and have made many different versions. This time around I wanted one made with dried unsweetened coconut, green chiles and shallots. And I wanted it to be a fairly puffy, so I knew I needed to use yeast. Not finding a recipe for it, I came up with my own.

I used both yogurt and coconut milk for this. I like what a little yogurt does for the texture of flatbreads, and I wanted to reinforce the coconut flavor. 

I was able to get my hands on some really nice green finger chilies and used plenty of them – a heaping cup of finely sliced chilies. 

Chilies Sliced for Flatbread

I had no idea how the dried coconut was going to work here. I knew it would soak up some liquid, but didn’t have a clue as to how much liquid would actually be needed. I just had to wing it and hope for the best.

After mixing everything up in my stand mixer, I let it rise and could tell it was going to work. The dough was very easy to work with. I gathered it into 8 balls, rolled them out and stacked them on lightly floured squares of parchment. 

I cooked the first one in a dry skillet, but wasn’t terribly thrilled with the result. Because of all the added ingredients, the crust wasn’t crisping up well. That’s when I decided to turn these into fried flatbreads. I heated up some vegetable oil in the skillet and gave one a try. 

Green Chili

Oh, man, these were even better than I’d imagined. That was it. Fried flatbreads it was and what a beautiful texture they turned out to be. All crispy goodness on the outside and nicely puffed, soft and chewy on the inside. We ate these along with a coconut milk fish curry and I could not have enjoyed them more. 

Fried Coconut and Chili Flatbreads

Recipe by Renée Robinson
Servings

8

servings

These Fried Yeast Flatbreads contain yogurt, coconut milk, dried coconut, chilies, and shallots. Crispy on the outside and wonderfully tender and chewy on the inside.

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup whole milk plain Greek yogurt, room temperature

  • 1/2 cup coconut milk (The kind that comes in a can and is used in Thai, Indian, etc. food.)

  • 1/2 cup warm water

  • 1/4 cup olive oil

  • 1 heaping cup thinly sliced thin skinned green chillies

  • 1 large shallot, minced

  • 369 grams (approximately 3 1/4 cups) all purpose flour, plus more for rolling

  • 63 grams (1 1/3 cups)dried unsweetened coconut

  • 1 tablespoon instant yeast

  • 3/4 teaspoon table salt

  • Vegetable oil - enough to reach a half inch depth in large skillet

Directions

  • Whisk together yogurt, coconut milk, water, and olive oil. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, unsweetened coconut, yeast, and salt. Add the yogurt mixture and with the dough hook mix on low speed for 3 minutes. Add the chilies and shallots and continue to mix for another 2 minutes or so, until it is well combined.
  • Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.
  • Cut out 8 pieces of parchment paper into 9 inch squares.
  • Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Roll out each ball into an 8 inch round, placing each round onto a lightly floured parchment square. Stack the squares as you go.
  • Heat up a half inch of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil ripples, it should be at the right temperature. You can test this by pinching off a small piece of the dough and placing it in the oil. It should sizzle and brown within 1 minute.
  • Fry each flatbread for 1 1/2 minutes on the first side, flipping and cooking it on the second side for 1 minute. Bubbles should appear on the flatbread and it should be browned and crisped. Remove to a paper towel lined rack and continue cooking the rest of the flatbreads, adjusting the heat as necessary. Let cool and Enjoy!

2 Responses

  1. I made these to go with Milk Street’s potato and tomato curry. The flatbreads are delicious, flavorful, and substantive, with the coconut providing heft and the green chilis adding a trace of heat. I used only a bit of oil for frying and would probably cut it next time altogether. I let these rise overnight in my refrigerator, which may have toned down the moisture a bit. Would make again!

    1. I’m so happy you enjoyed these, Lauren! I really loved them, too. I like the idea of allowing them to rise overnight. Thank you!

Leave a Reply to Renée Robinson Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The maximum upload file size: 512 MB. You can upload: image. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop file here

Facebook Comments

Facebook Activitry