A single cuisine that makes bread on a griddle, against the wall of a clay oven, in deep fat and in steam is not being decorative. Each method produces a structure the others cannot.
The griddle produces a dry, pliable bread
A flat iron plate transfers heat by direct contact, cooking one surface at a time while the other loses moisture to the air.
That combination sets the starch without trapping much steam inside, giving a bread that is thin, flexible and suited to being torn and used as a utensil.
Because the heat is one-sided, the bread is turned repeatedly, and a final moment of direct flame can puff it by flashing the remaining internal moisture to steam.
Clay oven walls give heat from two directions at once
Bread pressed against the hot wall of a clay oven receives conducted heat on one face and strong radiant heat on the other simultaneously.
The surfaces set almost immediately while the interior is still full of moisture, and the trapped steam then inflates the bread from within.
The result is a bread with a soft, open interior and a blistered exterior, which cannot be reproduced on a griddle because a griddle only heats one side at a time.
Deep frying cooks from every side simultaneously
Submerging dough in hot fat heats every surface at once, and the outer layer sets into a sealed shell within seconds.
Water inside converts to steam with nowhere to escape, so the bread inflates into a hollow sphere and holds that shape as the crust firms.
Fried breads therefore stay soft longer than griddled ones, since the sealed crust slows moisture loss, which is why they suit travel and occasions.
Steaming and fermenting create a different category
Batters left to ferment develop gas from microbial activity, and steaming sets that structure gently without ever drying the surface.
The absence of browning means these preparations taste of the fermentation itself rather than of crust, which is a completely different flavour direction.
They also use ground rice and pulses rather than wheat, so the structure is held by starch and pulse protein rather than by gluten.
Fuel and flour determined the local method
Clay ovens hold heat for hours and suit a shared or commercial setting, whereas a griddle over a small fire suits a household cooking a few breads at a time.
Wheat with strong gluten tolerates the stretching that oven and fried breads require, while millet and sorghum doughs have no gluten and must be patted thin and griddled.
The method is therefore downstream of what grows locally and what fuel is available, which is why bread styles map so closely onto regions.