Roti (or chapati) is a staple in the Desi household and it’s like a tortilla or flatbread in other cultures. Since it’s relatively quick and second nature for most of the moms, they can be made fresh every day. We eat it with vegetables, dal, gravies, or even yogurt. I’ve used them for fajita lunch wraps before too!
Enough for: 2-3 people. Prep Time: 15 minutes. Cook Time: 15 minutes.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup all-purpose wheat flour
- 1/2 cup water
- oil (optional, as needed)
- extra flour for coating the dough
- rolling pin
- ghee
The Process:
1. Mix the 1 cup of all-purpose wheat flour and 1/2 cup water to make a smooth dough. Make sure there are no lumps in the dough. Use oil if the dough is sticking to your palms.
2. Cover the dough with a wet paper towel roll and set aside for 10-15 minutes. Separate into 5 or 6 smooth spheres. Six pieces made smaller rotis, five will make more normal size rotis.
3. Start by coating one of the sectioned dough in the extra flour. You might want to spread the flour out in a container or plate for easy access. Roll the dough out, being careful that the dough doesn’t stick to the rolling pin or the surface.
4. Keep rolling out the dough, making it as thin as possible but also making sure that the dough is uniform all throughout. The inner part and outer part should be the same thickness more or less. A technique is to roll out the outer edges gently, taking one half of the circle at a time.
5. Make sure the tava or non-stick pan is hot enough- the stove setting will generally be medium to high. Place the rolled out dough on the tava or non-stick pan and wait until there are a few “bubbles” or holes showing up. Once that happens, flip the roti and let it sit for a little bit longer on this side.
6. Once the roti has been done on both sides on the pan, it’s time to put it on the direct heat! Be careful in this step that the roti does not burn. Let it come up into a sphere shape as shown in the pictures below. That’s when you know you’ve done it right. If it doesn’t come up like this, it’s still okay but just make sure you leave it on the heat for enough time.
Generously spread some ghee and enjoy hot!!
