Mon 15 Jun 2009

Rotli (Roti) Indian Bread Recipe

Posted by hetal under Breads
[31] Comments

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Rotli or Roti is yet another type of unleavened Indian bread that can be enjoyed with any vegetable or curry. Rotli, as they are known in Gujarat, India, are rolled very thin making them light and soft. They are cooked in two different steps — first on a tawa (or skillet) and then finished off on the open flame making them balloon up. Try these wonderfully soft and fluffy rotlis, or rotis but be sure to make plenty — they go fast!

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Flour (Chapati Flour) – 2 cups
Salt – 1/2 tsp (optional)
Oil – 4 tsp
Warm Water – 3/4 cup
All-purpose flour – for rolling and dusting

Method:

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix Chapati Flour and Salt well.
2. Add Oil and mix until all lumps are gone.
3. Add Warm Water a little at a time to form a medium soft dough ball. Do not overwork the dough.
4. Add few drops of Oil and coat the dough ball. Cover and let it rest for 15 minutes.
5. Heat Tawa or skillet on medium heat.
6. Knead the dough once and divide into golf ball size balls.
7. Dip one ball into the All-purpose flour to coat and roll it out into a thin disc. Keep dipping the rotli into the dry flour to prevent it from sticking to the rolling surface.
8. Shake or rub off excess flour from the rotli and place it onto the hot tawa.
9. Flip to the other side once you see bubbles appear on the surface. Allow it to cook for 10-15 seconds.
10. Increase the stove heat to High, gently pick the rotli up with tongs, remove the tawa off of the flame, flip the rotli over and place onto an open flame.
11. The rotli should balloon up. Flip it over and cook on the other side.
12. Place the cooked rotli into an insulated container and smear it with Ghee or clarified butter and repeat the process for the remaining dough.

Makes approx 12 rotlis.

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Last 10 posts in Breads

Garlic Bread - October 29th, 2009
Naan - October 19th, 2009
Phulka (Roti) - July 30th, 2009
Homemade Pizza Crust (Dough) - April 6th, 2009
Tofu Paratha - March 30th, 2009
Paneer Paratha - Stuffed Bread - October 30th, 2008
Muli Paratha - Radish Stuffed Indian Bread - October 23rd, 2008
Chapatti Dough in Bulk - September 18th, 2008
Banana Nut Bread - Whole Wheat Bread Recipe - July 14th, 2008
Masala Egg Paratha - June 1st, 2008

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31 Responses to “Rotli (Roti) Indian Bread Recipe”

kanchana gopinatth Says:
June 15th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
hai

I saw ur video on roti can u please tell me how to do on electric stove since we dont have Gas stove.

[Reply]
hetal Reply:
June 15th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Hi Kanchana,

Some of the larger Indian grocery stores sell a wire mesh with a handle (almost like a tawa made of mesh) or a metal plate with holes in it that has a handle. You can put this over your electric stove and place the half cooked roti on it to puff up.

[Reply]
Satya Reply:
June 15th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Kanchana – When you use the wire mesh make sure the stove is on highest setting… to puff up the roti you need to have the rods real hot – it will be rubbery if you tried over medium setting. What I did was leave one stove on high and the other on medium where you have the tava.
I learnt it the hard way

[Reply]
Riya Reply:
June 15th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
Hey Kanchana,

You can also puff up the rotis in the microwave oven. Place the half cooked roti on the glass tray and cook it for 8-10 secs. The microwave timings may vary from oven to oven. Try out!
Priya Says:
June 15th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
Hi didi’s,

Can u tell me which brand of atta you prefer using for this roti.
I remember u telling Laxmi brand for chapati.
Kindly reply since this would help many indians living here in US.

Thanks in advance,

Priya

[Reply]
hetal Reply:
June 15th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
Hi Priya,

We use Laxmi brand atta for both chapati and roti.

[Reply]
Priya Reply:
June 16th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Thanks Hetal didi for ur prompt reply.

[Reply]
salam Says:
June 15th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
hi, you super ladies
I can’t find the right words to describe you. You are dedicated, honest and hard working I appreciate all your efforts .Hope you gain the best in life and I pray I can achieve something good as I love Indian cuisine

[Reply]
hetal Reply:
June 15th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
Thank you…you are too kind!

[Reply]
Beena Says:
June 16th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Dear Hetal and Anuja,
My mother was very particular about how we rolled and cooked rotli, paratha, thepla etc…….. Here is the trick she taught us:
After we are done rolling the rotli we need to put rotli on tawi so that the top part on the patlo (Orsiyo) goes down on tawa then we cook rotli as usual. That way up side that we rolled becomes the right side of the rotli!!.
You need pay a little attention on how you transfer rotli from patlo to tawa and you will know what I mean………….
Regards

[Reply]
hetal Reply:
June 17th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Hi Beena,

Great point! Thanks for mentioning it.

[Reply]
Mamta Says:
June 17th, 2009 at 11:17 pm
Hi,
Why do you use all-purpose flour for rolling and not the same whole wheat flour.

Thanks,
Mamta

[Reply]
hetal Reply:
June 18th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Hi Mamta,

Since all-purpose flour is milled to a finer texture than regular whole wheat flour, it allows you to roll the roti very thin and does not leave a gritty feel.

[Reply]
Anuradha Says:
June 18th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Hi,
Can we do the dough in the food processor like we do for other Chapatis?

[Reply]
hetal Reply:
June 18th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
You can make the dough in the food processor, but it tends to overwork the dough. With rotli, the less you knead the dough, the softer they are.

[Reply]
Anuradha Says:
June 18th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Hi,
I tried this..The dough n all looked perfect but I somehow just cant get them to puff or be soft.Mine are like Pappad.. Esp they dont puff up from the centre..Is it coz they are not thin enough?

[Reply]
hetal Reply:
June 18th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
The main reason they will not puff is the way you roll them. If they are rolled evenly, they will puff even if they are thick. If your rotli did not rise in the middle, it may be that it was rolled too thin in the middle and the edges were thick. While rolling, run your fingers over the surface of the rotli and you will be able to feel where the thick and thin parts are.

[Reply]
lavi Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 5:57 am
Hi girls!!
Can you please post the recipe for NAAN!!

[Reply]
Shobana Says:
June 25th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Hey hetal/anuja

i just loved the way you showed to make roti… mine is actually electrical coil…. so wen i tried to make rotis iam getting the marks of the cooil…. is there any alternate way for making rotis in electrical coil…..

[Reply]
hetal Reply:
June 25th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Some of the larger Indian grocery stores sell a wire mesh with a handle (almost like a tawa made of mesh) or a metal plate with holes in it that has a handle. You can put this over your electric stove and place the half cooked roti on it to puff up.

[Reply]
Shobana Says:
June 25th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Guys

Thanks a lot for the prompt replies… let me try getting now…

Keep up the good work… i swear i would be helpless without your website…

Cheers
Shobana

[Reply]
Sushma Says:
July 6th, 2009 at 11:51 pm
Hi Hetal,
Where did you buy your tongs and insulating dish.
thanks,
sushma

[Reply]
anuja Reply:
July 7th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
The tongs are available at most of the stores that carry kitchen items including stores like Target, Walmart, Kohls etc.

The insulated container for the roltlis is available at our kitchen store:
http://showmethecurry.com/catalog/index.php/cPath/29?osCsid=4hoda80rvie14f6m4q51cq43a3

Hope that helps!

[Reply]
Judy Says:
July 17th, 2009 at 4:11 am
Hi Anuja and Hetal,
I have the same problem as some others. My stove is electric. I found a round mesh screen with a handle at Walmart. They are normally used as splatter screens for pots and pans, but they work great to put the roti on and then you can either put it directly onto the electric coil after cooking on the tava, or you can hold it a tiny bit above almost touching. Believe it or not, I finally got roti to puff up!!! They are very inexpensive screens from Walmart. Thanks again so much for all your great videos.

[Reply]
hetal Reply:
July 17th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Hi Judy,

Thanks so much for letting us and other viewers know your feedback on the splatter screens. Many people have been asking and now they will know where to get them.

Cheers!

[Reply]
sandy Says:
August 3rd, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Thanks a lot for all your recipes. It makes so much sense to watch videos and getting those little little tips. I am a vegatarian full-time working mom
who doesnt have enough time in the morning to make chappti for lunch so forcefully surviving on Veggie-Delight Subway Sandwich. Please give me tip how to make chapatis in the night which remain soft and good for next day lunch.

[Reply]
hetal Reply:
August 4th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Hi Sandy,

If you use our chapati (paratha) recipe or this Rotli recipe, they will stay soft the next day as well. The rotli tend to be softer. We keep them in an insulated container. There is no need to refrigerate if you will be using them up by the next day.

[Reply]
Eyveneena Says:
October 20th, 2009 at 3:56 am
Hi,

I followed your directions for flat bread (sorry I do not remember the proper name) and I was so happy to make these for my family. They turned out very soft and usable for rice. I was trying to relocate that video to share on my blog and I watched this one and now I have to try this one.

Thank You
Eyveneena

[Reply]
hetal Reply:
October 20th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Hi Eyveneena,

The flat bread video you tried was probably “Paratha (chapati)”. Here is the link:

http://showmethecurry.com/breads/chapatti.html

[Reply]
Geeta Says:
November 5th, 2009 at 7:03 am
Hello Ladies,

You are doing a fabulous job and my family is loving all the dishes I’ve tried so far. We are not whole wheat flour lovers so can I substitute all purpose flour instead and keep the rest of the recipe same?

Thank you!!!

[Reply]
hetal Reply:
November 5th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
Hi Geeta,

If you use the whole wheat chapati atta (flour) from the Indian grocery store, it tastes pretty good – different than the whole wheat flour at American grocery stores. If you use all-purpose flour, the roti will be very chewy.

[Reply]