Roti (Chapati)ਰੋਟੀ
⏱ Prep 10m🍳 Cook 20m🍽 Serves 10🌿 Vegan
Video: Metemgee (YouTube)
Roti is the daily bread of the Punjabi kitchen — soft, pliable, and ready in minutes. Every household has its own rhythm for kneading and rolling, but the result is always the same: a warm flatbread that turns a simple dal or sabzi into a complete meal. In the diaspora, from East London to Trinidad to Toronto, the roti has become a unifying symbol of South Asian home cooking.
📍 Make it in Plano
This recipe is the same everywhere — but where you buy the ingredients and eat the dish is local to you.
Finding Desi spots near Plano…
Ingredients
- ▪Atta (whole wheat flour)2 cups
- ▪Salt½ tsp
- ▪Warm water¾ cup (adjust as needed)
- ▪Neutral oil or ghee — for the dough1 tsp
- ▪Maida or extra atta — for rolling2 tbsp
- ▪Ghee — for brushing rotis off the tawa1–2 tsp
🌍 Cooking abroad? Substitutions
- Atta is available at every South Asian grocery, but you can use a 50/50 blend of whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour in a pinch — the roti will be slightly less nutty but still very good.
- A cast-iron tawa is ideal. A heavy non-stick pan or a regular skillet works too; avoid thin pans that create hot spots.
- If you don't have a gas flame for the final puff, press the roti firmly with a folded dry cloth on the tawa — it puffs up from the steam trapped inside.
Method
- 1Combine atta, salt, and oil in a large bowl. Add warm water gradually, mixing as you go, until a soft, smooth dough forms. It should not stick to your hands.
- 2Knead the dough for 8–10 minutes until it is supple and slightly elastic. Cover with a damp cloth and rest for at least 20–30 minutes — this is what makes the roti soft.
- 3Divide the dough into 10–12 equal balls, roughly the size of a golf ball. Keep the ones you are not using covered.
- 4Dust a work surface lightly with flour. Using a rolling pin, roll each ball into a thin, even circle about 6–7 inches in diameter. Roll from the centre outward, rotating after each stroke.
- 5Heat a cast-iron tawa or flat griddle over medium-high heat until a drop of water sizzles on it immediately. Place a roti on the dry tawa.
- 6Cook for about 45 seconds until small bubbles form on the surface and the underside shows light golden spots. Flip and cook the other side for another 30–40 seconds.
- 7For the final puff, lift the roti directly onto an open flame (or press gently with a folded cloth on the tawa). The roti will balloon up — that is a good sign. Remove and brush with ghee immediately.
- 8Stack cooked rotis in a clean cloth or a chapati box to keep them soft while you finish the batch.
A Desi.Net original recipe · part of our Indian Cuisine library. Confirm details and adjust to taste.