The roti is a thin pancake made from whole wheat flour and nothing else and is eaten with dal and curries in India.
My childhood consisted of eating this Indian flatbread every day, as it was a staple, and I ate it every day even as an adult.
What is Roti?
Wholemeal wheat flour is used to make roti, a flatbread. The Hindi word for it is “atta”.
Besides parathas and puris, atta is also used to make other types of bread in India.
Rotis are one of the simplest breads that are made every day by Indian households. A simple mixture of water and wheat flour is used to make this dish.
Salt and oil are sometimes added, but my family always made it with these two ingredients.
Bread in its simplest form, as I mentioned before.
There are different names for it in different parts of the country, and sometimes it’s also cooked differently.
How to make Roti
1- Take 2 cups (270 grams) atta in a large bowl. Usually a round flat plate with shallow edges called paraat is used but I just had a round mixing bowl so that’s what I used.
You can add little oil if you like here, I did not add any.
2- Start adding water, little by little.
3- As you add water, mix with your hands and bring the dough together. I needed around 3/4 cup (180 ml) +1 tablespoon (15 ml) water here. You may need more or less water depending on the kind of flour.
4- Once the dough comes together, start kneading the dough. Knead with the knuckles of your finger, applying pressure.
5- Fold the dough using your palms and knead again applying pressure with your knuckles.
6- Keep kneading until the dough feels soft and pliable. If it feels hard/tight, add little water and knead again. If it feels too sticky/soft, add some dry flour and mix.
7- Once done, the dough should be smooth. Press the dough with your fingers, it should leave an impression.
8- Cover the dough with a damp cloth or paper towel for 20 to 30 minutes.
I placed my paper towel under tap water and then squeezed all the water from it and used that damp paper towel to cover the cloth.
9- After the dough has rested, give it a quick knead again.
10- Divide the dough into 12 equal parts, each weighing around 35 to 37 grams.
11- Start working with one ball, while keep the remaining dough balls covered with a damp cloth so that they don’t dry out. Take one of the balls and press it between your fingers to make it smooth.
Then roll it between your palms to make it round and smooth. There should be no cracks.
12- Press the round dough ball and flatten it slightly.
13- Now take around 1/4 cup atta in a plate for dusting the roti while rolling it. Dip the prepared dough ball into the dry flour and dust it from all sides.
14- Then start rolling the roti, using a rolling board and rolling pin.
15- Move the rolling pin lengthwise across the dough applying gentle pressure as you roll. If you are rolling it correctly, the dough will move in circular motion on its own and the roti will roll evenly. This comes with practice.
You can also roll and then take the dough and move it a little with your hands and roll again.
You will have to dip the roti in dry flour several time while rolling the roti. Anytime the dough starts sticking to the rolling pin, dip the roti into the atta from both sides and then continue rolling.
16- Roll it thin until you have a 5 to 6 inch diameter circular roti.
17- Heat the tawa (skillet) on medium-high heat. Make sure the tawa is hot enough before you place the roti on the tawa.
Dust excess flour off the rolled roti and place it on the hot tawa.
18- Let it cook for 15-30 seconds until you see some bubbles on top side. At this point flip the roti, you don’t want the first side to cook too much.
19- Now, let the other side cook more than the first side around 30 seconds more. Use a tong to see how much it has cooked from the second side now. If you see brown spots all over, means it has cooked enough.
20- Now, remove the roti from the tawa using a tong and place it directly on flame with the first side (which was little less cooked) directly on the flame.
The roti if rolled evenly will puff up, flip with a tong to cook the other side as well. The roti is done when it has brown spots, don’t burn it.
Apply ghee on the rotis immediately. Make all the roti/phulka similarly.
21- Roll the roti as usual and place it on the hot tawa.
22- Let it cook for 30 seconds until you see some bubbles on top. At this point flip the roti. You don’t want the first side to cook a lot.
23- Now, let the other cook side until it has nice brown spots (so it should cook more than the first side).
24- Now flip again (with the first side now at the bottom), press the roti with a paper cloth, any cotton cloth or spatula. It will puff up.
Flip again to cook the other side some more. Remove from tawa and brush with ghee.
The rotis are best enjoyed warm! Serve then with dal like dal tadka and simple Indian stir-fry like Bharwa Bhindi or palak paneer.
Nutrition
Calories: 68kcal, Carbohydrates: 14g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 1mg, Potassium: 73mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 1g, Calcium: 7mg, Iron: 1mg
