Basic Rotis Or Chappatis Recipes

ROTI-CHAPATI-FLAT-INDIAN-BREAD

Steps:

• Mix flour, salt, and water to make soft dough, adding water as needed. Knead the dough for about one minute on a lightly greased surface to make it smooth and pliable. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and set aside at least ten minutes..
• Divide the dough into four equal parts. Make smooth balls and press flat. Before rolling the roti press both sides of the ball on a dry floured surface to make them easy to roll.
• Roll to form a six-inch-diameter circle. Use just enough dry flour to roll the roti, as too much flour will make them dry. If the dough sticks to the rolling pin or rolling surface, lightly dust the rotis with dry flour.
• Heat an iron or heavy skillet on medium high heat. To test, sprinkle a few drops of water on the skillet. If the water sizzles right away, the skillet is ready. Place the one roti into the skillet. When the roti start to change color and start puffing flip it over. There will be some golden brown spots.
• Flip again after a few seconds. Using a flat spatula, press lightly on the puffed parts of the roti. This will help the roti puff up. Flip the roti again, until it has light golden-brown spots on both sides.
• Repeat the same process for remaining roties. Butter the roti, the side that is facing the skillet.
• Place the rotis in a container lined with a paper towel. Cover the container after each roti.

INDIAN CHAPATI BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir together the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour and salt. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the olive oil and enough water to make a soft dough that is elastic but not sticky. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is smooth. Divide into 10 parts, or less if you want bigger breads. Roll each piece into a ball. Let rest for a few minutes.
• Heat a skillet over medium heat until hot, and grease lightly. On a lightly floured surface, use a floured rolling pin to roll out the balls of dough until very thin like a tortilla. When the pan starts smoking, put a chapati on it. Cook until the underside has brown spots, about 30 seconds, then flip and cook on the other side. Continue with remaining dough.

ROTI RECIPE | CHAPATI RECIPE | PHULKA RECIPE

Steps:

• Take whole wheat flour (atta) in a bowl. Sift the flour with salt if you have flour which has a lot of bran. Add a bit of water, oil or ghee and start mixing.
• Adding water to the dough in parts, begin to knead the dough.
• Continue to knead the dough. Keep on adding water as required.
• Knead the dough till it becomes pliable, smooth and soft. The final dough consistency should not be very sticky or loose or hard.
• Now make small to medium balls of the dough. Roll the balls in the palms of your hands to smoothen it.
• Flatten the ball. Sprinkle some whole wheat flour to the dough ball. Alternatively, you can also dust the rolling board with flour.
• Turn on the gas stove and put the tawa to make it hot.
• While tawa is getting hot, start rolling the dough ball into a flat round circle.
• Once the tawa is sufficiently hot then put the roti on a hot tawa/griddle.
• First cook one side. It should be less than half cooked or about one-fourth cooked.
• Turn and cook the other side. This should be a little bit more cooked than the first side. Brown spots should be visible.
• Now hold the roti with a tong and keep the first side which was cooked, directly on fire. The roti will start to puff.
• Turn and keep the other side on fire. The roti will puff more. Avoid burning the rotis and also don't overdo it as roti will not be soft and will become crisp and hard like papadums.
• Remove and apply ghee or oil on the phulka. Applying ghee or oil keep them soft for a long time. Phulka made with this method is ideally served hot.
• If you cannot serve them hot, then you can keep them in a container that keeps food warm like a casserole or in a roti basket. You can also wrap them up in a kitchen towel or napkin.
• Place the rolled roti dough on a hot tawa or skillet. Keep the heat to medium-high or high. Within some seconds you will see air pockets forming on the raw chapati dough
• Roast for about 30 seconds or so and you will see the air-pockets increase on the surface.
• Keep in mind that the timing will change or vary with the kind of skillet you are using, the chapati thickness and the intensity of the flame.
• Flip with spatula or tongs and roast the second side for about a minute.
• Flip again and you will see the second side cooked more than the first side with visible brown spots.
• With a clean folded cotton kitchen napkin or a spatula, begin to press the partially cooked roti on all sides and center. Pressing it evenly all over helps to puff up the roti.
• Keep on pressing all over, especially the flat portions, so that the entire roti gets puffed up well.
• If you prefer you can flip again and cook the second side too for some seconds if its looks under cooked.
• Transfer the soft and puffed roti in a roti-basket and spread some oil or ghee on top.
• Keep the rolled roti dough on a hot tawa or skillet. Cook on medium-high to high heat for about 30 seconds or so until you see some air pockets all over.
• Flip the chapati and spread some oil all over while the second side is getting roasted. Cook the second side for about 45 seconds to 1 minute.
• Flip again with a spatula. You will see that the second side is well roasted with some blisters and brown spots.
• Spread some oil on this cooked side. Roast the first side again for about 20 to 30 seconds.
• Remove and transfer to a chapati container or box. Keep covered. Make chapati with the rest of the dough in this manner.
• Serve roti or phulka or chapati with any Indian meal. Accompany it with vegetable or paneer curries, stir-fried or sautéed vegetables (sabji) or lentils (dals).
• Store any leftover dough in an air-tight container for just about 1 to 2 days. If the dough has darkened or has a weird smell, then throw it away.
• Store the flatbreads in a roti box or in a covered container for a few hours. Always cover with a tight lid, so that the flatbreads remain soft. Brushing or spreading with some oil or ghee on the roti, keeps them softer.

ROTI RECIPE - HOW TO MAKE ROTI/CHAPATI

Steps:

• 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.
• Start adding water, little by little. 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.
• Once the dough comes together, start kneading the dough. Knead with the knuckles of your finger, applying pressure.
• Fold the dough using your palms and knead again applying pressure with your knuckles.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.
• Once done, the dough should be smooth. Press the dough with your fingers, it should leave an impression.
• 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.
• After the dough has rested, give it a quick knead again.Divide the dough into 12 equal parts, each weighing around 35 to 37 grams.
• 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. Press the round dough ball and flatten it slightly.
• 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.
• Then start rolling the roti, using a rolling board and rolling pin.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 a little and then take the roti and move it a little with your hands and roll again. Roll it thin until you have a 5 to 6 inch diameter circular roti.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.
• 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.
• 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.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.
• 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. Serve warm.
• here's how you can make chapati (or roti whatever you call it) on tawa without putting it directly on flame to puff.Roll the roti as usual and place it on the hot tawa. 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.
• Now, let the other side cook until it has nice brown spots (so it should cook more than the first side). 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.

BASIC ROTIS OR CHAPPATIS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, add the flour, making a small depression in the centre.
• Pour 1/4 cup water into the flour and start mixing with the flour until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
• Add remaining water as required, until the flour comes together to form a dough.
• If the mixture is too dry and falls apart, add some more water; if it is too sticky and sticks to your fingers, dust it with some more flour.
• Now knead the dough well for about 5 to 10 minutes; the more you knead it, the softer your rotis will be.
• Cover and keep aside for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Heat a heavy skillet on a low flame.
• Meanwhile, divide the dough into 6 lemon-sized balls and roll into 7-inch circles on a generously floured board using a rolling pin, adding sprinklings of flour to keep the roti from sticking to the rolling pin.
• Once the skillet is sufficiently hot, place one roti on it and increase the flame to medium-high.
• After about 20 seconds, turn the roti and cook on the other side.
• When small-medium bubbles start to appear on the surface of the roti (about 1 minute), remove it from the skillet, remove the skillet from the flame and turn the roti over directly on the flame.
• It should puff up completely; you might need some practice with it.
• Once it puffs up, remove it from the flame and serve hot with any vegetable side!
• Oh, and repeat the cooking procedure for all 6 balls.

CHAPATI RECIPE

Steps:

• Combine all the ingredients. Continue kneading for 5 minutes until it is soft and pliable.
• Divide the dough into portions between 40g to 45g each.
• Apply some oil on the top of the dough. Cover it with a damp cloth and let it relax for fifteen to twenty minutes.
• Flour the work surface heavily.
• Flatten the dough with your palm. Dip the dough into some flour and shake off the excess.
• Roll out the dough with the rolling pin to a circle of 15cm/6inches in diameter. (Please refer to the video for demonstration).
• Set the stove to medium-high to heat the tawa.
• Place the chapati on the tawa. When some larger bubbles appear, turn it over to the other side and cook for another half a minute.
• When some brown spots are starting to form at the bottom, flip it over again so that the side with the brown spots is on top.
• Tap to deflate the air to avoid the chapati's contact point with the tawa from burning due to high heat.
• Flip the chapati a few times until you get the desired color and remove it from the tawa.
• Apply a light coating of ghee on the top side.

QUICK BASIC CHAPATIS/ROTIS

Steps:

• Heat iron skillet or no-stick skillet on medium flame.
• Sift flour and salt into bowl. (If no sifter, fluff with fork.).
• With a wooden spoon, stir in oil, if using, and 1/4 C water, continue to slowly add water until enough water to form a ball.****.
• Turn onto floured surface. Knead for 20 strokes or until dough is elastic. Use only enough flour to keep dough from sticking.
• Divide dough into 4 golf-ball sized balls.
• Roll each in flour.
• With a rolling pin, roll out one ball into about an 8" thin circle. Keep a pile of flour beside you and dust the dough often but only enough to keep it from sticking.
• When skillet is hot enough to immediately sizzle dry a drop of water, put chapati on.
• When bubbles form on top of chapati (1-3 minutes), look at bottom. If it has a few brown spots, flip it over.
• The second side takes much less time, and when it has a few brown spots, remove the pan from the fire and toss chapati directly on the burner (With a gas stove--leave roti in pan and pan on burner, use spatula to massage roti and it will puff up -- Manjula shows how on YouTube). In a few seconds, it will puff up like a balloon. If it doesn't, the dough was not kneaded/rested long enough or there was too much flour worked inches.
• Remove from heat to plate. (Some people slap the air out first.).
• Brush with oil, if desired, to keep soft.
• Cover with towel to keep warm.
• Repeat with next ball. The second and later chapatis always seem to cook faster than the first.
• Serve warm.
• By your third batch, you'll be fast enough to roll out the next one while one is cooking!
• *chapati flour available at Indian food markets, chapati flour does not need to rest to come out properly, other flours do need to rest.
• **chapati flour substitute: 1/2 C whole wheat plus 1/2 C enriched white flour or 3/4 C, 1/4 C respectively (my favorite). Or 1 C all purpose white flour. If using this, after kneading, lest rest for 30 minutes in a warm place--or up to an hour if in cool place, until when you press your finger into it, it feels elasticky and springs back a little. Refrigerate now or continue with dividing into balls, etc.
• ***you can also make it up as much as 5 days ahead of time and store refrigerated in a ball wrapped in plastic. It's best to remove it from the fridge an hour or 2 before using, but if not, it'll just be a little more difficult to roll out.
• ****For flatbread beginners: If you get too much water, just add some flour. If you're new to this, as soon as all the flour is gathered in little balls go ahead and put it on a pile of flour on your work surface and if necessary work water into it a little at a time. It will not hurt the dough no matter how much you work with it -- it will only make it better because it activates the gluten which is what makes the layers you should see after cooking the chapati if you tear it apart -- if you do not see these after cooking, the dough was not worked long enough. Other than burning them, these are foolproof enough to always be edible!

WEST INDIAN-STYLE ROTI (FLATBREAD)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Place flour(s) in a bowl. Mix in 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil.
• Add the warm water slowly, stirring as you go, until the dough starts to come together. Keep stirring, adding more water in small amounts, until the dough forms a ball.
• Turn the dough out onto the counter and knead for a few minutes, adding a little flour if it is too sticky. The dough should be soft but not sticky enough to adhere to your hands or the counter.
• Let the dough rest for 10 minutes, covered with a damp cloth.
• Roll out the dough into a large circle, about 1/4 inch thick. Spread the remaining 1 teaspoon vegetable oil over the surface of the dough. Roll the dough up into a long roll.
• Slice the log of dough into 8 to 10 pieces. Roll out each piece, cut-side down, into a 6-inch circle. Let the circles rest, covered with a damp cloth, for 5 minutes.
• Heat a flat, heavy griddle or skillet (a cast-iron skillet or crepe pan works well) over medium-low heat.
• Roll the first circle of dough out as thin as possible (to about an 8- to 9-inch circle).
• Add about 1 teaspoon oil to the skillet and add a circle of dough. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, until the bread puffs up and turns light brown on the underside. Slide the roti to the side of the pan and quickly flip to brown the other side, cooking for about 1 to 2 minutes more.
• Remove from the pan and place roti in a colander to cool. Cover roti with a damp towel while you cook the rest; this will help keep them from becoming hard. Add more oil to the skillet as needed.
• Brush the finished roti with melted butter before serving, if desired. Serve and enjoy.