Phulka (Roti)

Phulka, Fulka, Phulki, Roti are only some of the names given to this wonderful Indian unleavened bread. We at Show Me The Curry will refer to it as ‘Phulka’ – a staple in most Indian households and enjoyed on an everyday basis. The look my kids get on their faces when the Phulka balloons up and the ‘Wow’ each and every time are the small pleasures in life!

Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 15 min
Makes: 8-10 phulkas

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Chapati Flour – 1.5 cups
Warm Water – 2/3rd cup
Chapati Flour – for dusting

Method:

1. Pour the Chapatti flour in a big open mixing bowl.
2. Pour the Warm Water a little at a time and start kneading.
3. Knead till the dry flour is all absorbed and it forms a nice dough.
4. Use a couple of drops of Oil and rub on the dough so it does not form a crust.
5. Cover and allow the dough to rest for about 15 minutes.
6. After 15 minutes, uncover and pinch a bit of the dough, about the size of a golf ball.
7. Form a round ball and flatten between the palm of your hands.
8. Roll it in the dry flour and dust off all excess flour.
9. Put it on the rolling surface and start rolling with a rolling pin.
10. Dip in the dry flour as needed to avoid sticking to the surface.
11. Make round phulkas.
12. Meanwhile, heat the Tawa/Skillet on medium heat.
13. Once it is nice and hot, lay the phulka on the Tawa.
14. Allow it to cook and flip once you see bubbles appear.
15. Allow it to cook for another minute.
16. Increase the flame to the maximum.
17. With the help of tongs, pick up the Phulka and place the flip side on the flame.
18. Allow it to balloon up and flip again.
19. Once you see a few brown spots appear on the Phulka, take it off.
20. Smear some ghee or butter and it’s ready to serve hot.

Tips:

1. The dough can be made in a food processor as well.
2. These are best served hot, but if you are going to be serving them a little later, invest in a hot case.

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What is the easiest method to make perfect roti or phulka, soft rotis, how to make rotli balloon up.

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0 thoughts on “Phulka (Roti)

  1. I am looking for whole multigrain chapathi flour.
    I like Sujatha.But is it healthy.I wonder if:
    1)The grains are whole grain.
    2)What is propotion of each type of grain.
    3)If it has maida.

    Which is the best chapathi flour which has all types of grains (whole grains I mean).

  2. can we use a roti maker to make phulkas. that is heat both sides and then put in the gas to make phulkas. waiting for your expert opinion. thanks and best regards, jaya. also your recipes are superb.

    1. Hi Jaya,
      Unfortunately, we have not had any luck at all with Roti-makers or tortilla makers so have no input at all 🙁
      But if you do try pl. send us your feedback as we are sure it will help a lot of folks…

    1. Hi Taryn,

      The size of the roti will depend on how big the dough ball is that you start with. If your rotis are too small, just break off a bigger chunk of dough.

  3. Dear Hetal and Anuja,

    I have an odd phulka question. Mine come out great in every way except diameter. I cannot seem to get the circle bigger than about 6″. I follow your recipe quantities to the letter. Should I be pulling the dough more when I tear off the portion sizes?

    Thank you 🙂

  4. Hi..

    I want to know how to prepare them the day before or just a few hours before the guests arrive and store it in refrigerator and serve them hot later.

    Please provide me some tips to stack phulkas.

    Thanks!

  5. Hi,
    Is it advisable to use a tortilla press just to roll the rotis & then continue the normal process of cooking on the tawa? Plz let me know !
    Thanks,
    Neha

    1. Hi Neha,

      I have never tried a tortilla press to make rotis so am not really sure. Sorry to be of no help 🙁 Maybe one of our other viewers can share their experience.

  6. Hi lady’s

    thank you for the recepie. I need some help/advice…while making the roti i saw a very little bug-thing same colour as the ata-flour! Do i throw away the whoe ata-flour or is this “normal”? Please help!

    1. Hi Fauzia,

      If you saw one bug, there are probably more. Also, because they are the same color as the atta, you may not even notice them. I would close my eyes and throw it away. When you buy fresh atta, you can divide it into gallon size freezer type ziploc bags (just because they are stronger) and keep it in the fridge.

  7. Hi Hetail & Anuja,

    I have been trying to make soft phulkas/roties for some months now. I have an electric stove and I use a mesh to make the phulkas puff up. Even though they puff up very well, my phulkas are very hard and taste raw… 🙁 I usually make the aataa in bulk and store it in the fridge.However, I do not add oil to it. I take it out a couple of hours before making the roties such that it is not tight but still when I make the roties, they come out hard n raw… not sure where I am going wrong…. 🙁

    1. Btw, I use Ashirwaad aata…. also, usually my aata is slightly on the loose side. Could that be the reason?
      Any guidance that you could provide will be great!
      Best Regards,

    2. Hi Aarzoo,

      I have not tried Aashirwaad brand atta but that should not be the reason. Btw, we use Laxmi brand atta. One trick to keeping the rotis soft is to keep them in an insulated container until you are ready to eat. This phulka recipe does not have oil in the dough so the phulkas must be eaten immediately after being made. If you plan on eating them after a bit, try our Rotli recipe (with oil in the dough). Here it is: https://34.233.61.50/breads/rotli-roti-indian-bread-recipe.html

      Regarding the raw taste, try to cook the roti a bit more before trying to puff it. The intense heat from the electric element may be cooking it too fast before it has time to actually cook the dough.

    1. Hi Raj,

      There is no easy answer… to make them round, its practice, practice and more practice 🙂 To get them even, my mom always taught me to feel the roti with my hand as I am rolling it. You will instantly feel where it is too thick or thin and then you can fix it.

      1. Thanks for the reply. I have another question if you don’t mind.

        When rolling the roti are you suppose to move the belan slightly round as you go up and down? Or do you only move the belan up and down and the roti should automatically move around by itself?

        1. Hi Raj,

          Everyone has a different way of rolling. I make sure there is enough dry flour on the dough so that it does not stick to the surface at all. I move my hands in a clockwise motion as I am going up and down. This way, the roti increases in size in a round shape and not a square shape.

      1. Thanks so much for responding and thanks for doing such a wonderful job. I have a recipe which I would like to share. where can I send?

  8. Hey Hi Hetal & Anuja

    i wanted to know how to make frozen phulka or roti should i just store them in freezer or add something in dough or should keep in aluminum foil plz help me

    1. Hi Soniya,

      If you want to freeze the roti, try our recipe for Rotli (it has oil in the dough). You can roll out the rotis and keep a small piece of parchment paper or wax paper in between each roti. Place the whole stack in a freezer style ziploc bag and freeze.

    1. Hi Jeena,

      Yes, we always use slightly warm water for kneading any kind of dough. The texture comes out better.

  9. Hi,

    I recently purchased a magic bullet and one of the recipes in the booklet that came with it is of a flapjack which asks for milk, egg and pancake mix in required proportions to be blend. My question is that if I can make pancake dough with my magic bullet, can I make atta too?

  10. Hey Hetal and Anuja,
    I have been watching your cooking recipes from quiet long. Tried phulka last week and believe me all my phulkas ballooned up. They were really soft and so nice to eat. I am making them regularly now. My husband loved the phulkas too. Thank you so much!

  11. Hi Anuja and Hetal,
    I learned cooking by watching your show. I also enjoyed bloopers on youtube :-). One question, now a days we get so many choices of wheat flour. Which brand is good for taste and which one is healthier?

    1. Hi Abhijit,
      Are you asking about Chapati Atta? Well, if you are – then the answer – we use Laxmi brand and really like it. I have used Sujata Multigrain Atta once and liked the flavor and the fact that it was healthier but no one in my family liked the color of the Chapatis 🙁 Now when possible I combine it with Laxmi and everyone is happy. The bad news is that Sujata Multigrain is hard to come by…
      Hope that helps!

  12. What a great site! My husband I are living in China right now and missing some of our favorite Indian restaurants back in Seattle. I decided to head out today to see what ingredients I could find in our rural town. While very limited, I will be trying a curry and this phulka for dinner tonight–my fist ever attempt at Indian cuisine. The videos are wonderful and so easy to follow.

    Thanks so much for sharing your recipes and knowledge with the world!

  13. Hi Laddies,

    Could news my roti turned out perfect =) I let the dough chill over night and its seems to work well. Its most probably the atta brand. What would be nice to eat with roti and do you have a video on Bhakri? thanks again for your help and suggestion and keep up the good work =)

  14. Can anyone suggest the best atta brand in US to get soft phulkas, rotis, parathas? Ive tried many but not sure which one is really good. Any suggestions?

  15. When you cater to a wide audience, it is difficult to please everyone. I enjoy your site and your recipes and thank you for sharing them. A lot of folks just wont share their recipes. You are kind enough to do so, and from those of us who appreciate the two of you a BIG THANK YOU.

  16. sweet sanjaya my phulkas burn really fast and some of them dont really puff up that good. guess need a little more practice

  17. Please continue to post some basic recipes too which makes day to day cooking easier. your recipes are interesting.

  18. HI dear sisters…
    today i maked phulka…its not balloon up full like urs,:( but some spotts only cm like dat…..i follow al like u..butphulka is v soft…n tasty but only no salty taste..i want to knw y ur not using salt for this…then it will taste more knw..pls reply me..

  19. hi…..
    i liked the way ur phulka puffed up… i bought a mesh with handle from indian store…. it is little thicker than the splatter screen …. will phulka turn out good on it… please reply soon…. as i really want to try and learn to make phulkas

    thanks …

    1. Hi Nusrat,

      If the mesh is from the Indian store, it is probably meant to be used for rotis — so it should work. Basically, you have to increase the heat to make the rotis puff up.

  20. Hi Hetal and Anjua . I have a small request . Please can u show us how to make rice roti. I tried one time and had to throw all the dough in the dustbin. I was very unhappy. I know u are very busy. No hurry u can take your own time. I have electric stove not a fire one is that a problem just wondering if i can make rice rotis on electric stove. Love u both bye. Please do reply.

  21. Hi – I’ve just seen the demonstration of a method of cooking naan on a mesh in direct heat on a stove top.
    Can you please tell me what the mesh is called so I can buy one ?

    G.

  22. hi Hetal and Anuja

    though i dont post here regularly but i am fan of your receipes. I am looking for indian foods (Chapati, cooked rice etc) which does not have folic acid or folates? it is important for me not to eat this for quite a while. for the last few days i have been eating only dairy products plus apple. i am already starving.

    any help for me is greatly appreciated.

  23. I was wondering is there any reason that oil is not added with the atta when making the dough. I noticed that you add oil when making the chapati dough but not the phulka. Finally your videos are great i am a student and it saves me time and money and your videos have thought me to make healthy and good food. Thanks a lot

    1. Hi Bala,

      We’re glad you’re enjoying our videos! We have two versions of roti — Rotli and Phulka. Rotli is a gujarati version that has oil in the dough. It is great for when you have to eat the roti a bit later…it remains soft. Phulka is more of a north Indian style roti that does not have oil. It must be eaten right away. Different regions make things differently so we are providing options. Here is the link for Rotli – https://34.233.61.50/breads/rotli-roti-indian-bread-recipe.html

  24. 1. How long does it take to initially knead the
    dough? From the video, it looks like you have to
    work at it for a while.

    2. Thanks so much for this much needed, basic
    recipe.

    3. =)

    1. Hi Ami,

      It really only takes about 1-2 minutes to knead roti dough. You really don’t want to over work it and release a lot of gluten. It’ll make the roti chewy.

  25. Hello Hetal & Anuja,
    success with making phulka is SWEET!!!! EVERY ONE of them puffed up !!! :-)) Tht is indeed a sweet Diwali begining!
    I had a question though:
    1.Can I make the dough and referigerate it so that I dont have to knead twice in one day ?

    2.If yes, then how do I store it(do i need to put it in plastic wrap ) and how early do I need to take it out of the referigerator before making the phlkas?

    Thanks and best wishes,
    Shalmali

    1. Hi Shalmali,

      Sweet Diwali, indeed! To top it off, here is a video to demonstrate on how to make and freeze atta in bulk:
      https://34.233.61.50/breads/chapatti-dough-in-bulk.html

      As far as storing in the fridge goes, the answer is yes, you can. The atta stays good for a couple of days. We suggest you pull it out of the fridge a couple of hours before to bring it down to room temp. before using it. For a couple of days the atta will stay good in an air-tight container.
      Happy Diwali!

  26. Dear Hetal & Anuja,
    Is to Ok to cook directly on gas stove? I heard that it is not good for health. I used to make Nann using the cooker over direct heat but my friends told me that not to use it directly.
    When i saw your phulka receipe, i noticed that u are cooking directly on gas. Please reply.

    Thanks!
    geetha.

    1. Hi Geetha,

      Most people say you should not cook over an open flame because the food may get overly charred — this charred substance is said to be carcinogenic. As long as you don’t burn the phulka, it should be fine.

  27. Pinal,Sorry if i hurt u. I just expressed my opinion. Well, i really didnt take it personal. Just felt bad since im a person who is like very grateful to these two wonderful ladies since they have improved my life so much…i really cannot explain in words. If at all we get to meet each other in any other social site , i would tell u.
    No hard feelings…
    And take care.
    Priya

    1. Hi Priya,

      No, you didn’t hurt me, but I felt I needed to also express my side of things. I actually understand where you are coming from. I am not a newbie in cooking but I am not a pro either. Also, I have been a newbie in many other things and understand it’s not always easy learning something new and how gratifying it is when it becomes a success.

      I am also very grateful to them as I am also learning new wonderful recipes or a quicker way of making some of my old favorite dishes.

      Best of luck to you.

  28. Dear Hetal & Anuja

    I made phulkas yesterday and each one of them ballooned up so good. What a jot to see it puffing up. I was so excited about my perfect phulkas and my family was really surprised that I could ( being a south Indian) make their favorite dish flawless. Thank you so much for your wonderful way of demonstrating it. You girls gave me the courage to make it possible otherwise I wouldn’t have even thought of making it. THANK YOU!!! YOU REALLY ARE AWESOME.

    P.S. Can you pl. come up with kids lunch box (vegetarian) ideas, they really don’t like to take our Indian food especially the dishes made with rice.

    Thanks in advance

    Love
    Krithika

    1. Hi Krithika,

      Thanks so much for your lovely feedback. It always makes us so happy to hear some success stories. We’ll keep the lunch box ideas in mind. Thanks again!

    1. We have used a rolling board that was purchased in India. Some of the larger Indian grocery stores may carry a similar product. Other options for rolling are a marble lazy susan or Sil Pat silicone baking sheet.

  29. Thanks Judy, will give it a try this weekend. I wish Hetal and Anuja can show a video demo for the procedure sometime in the future.

  30. Hi, I have an electric stove as well, and I use a mesh screen with a handle called a splatter screen. You can get it in the kitchen gadget section of Walmart and it’s very inexpensive. Mine came with two screens one smaller one large. If you use a second “eye” on the stove, you simply turn it on high, and when you remove the phulka from the tawa put it on your mesh screen and hold it almost on the electric coil. It may take a few seconds more to puff up but works surprisingly well. I normally was only getting one out of ten to puff up. Now most of them puff up! Hope this helps.

  31. I envy people who have gas flame stoves.Can you please suggest how I can get the same effect of puffing up phulkas/rotis when using an electric coil stove. Thanx.

    1. Use mesh. you get it in many indian stores. they call it ‘jaali’. i hv got awesome results with that. i even use it for roasting papad.

      1. Hii I have read your comment and a small doubt ….I live in us and in our apartment there is no gas burner instead of that we have electric coil stove …while I make pulkas am using mess which u had mentioned above my polkas are raising but ther are still hard I didn’t have this problem when I use gas stove in india they use to be very soft all the time ….but here in US they are getting hard why this happening is this because of electric stove and I use whole grain flour which is not as smooth as atta it is little bit hard in texture …do. Need to change folur r the problem is with the electric stove

        Pls give me a good suggestion for getting soft polkas

        1. Hi Eshwari,

          The keys to making good rotis, phulkas, parathas are even rolling and hot tawa. The even rolling comes with practice and the hot tawa – you have to be patience.
          When you put the roti/phulka on the mesh, increase the heat to max. and hold up the mesh just a bit so you do not get the coil burn marks on the phulka.
          Try these tricks and see if it helps.

  32. Hi,

    Can you please make onion kulcha, I had this one time in a restaurant and they were heavenly. Also, you list must be very long because I still haven’t seen any of my requests that were made months ago. Which also make me wonder, are all your recipes made only from requests???

    I just can’t imagine people requesting some of the recipes that are shown. I know you try to cover every aspect of Indian culture from all over India, however I feel some of the recipes are very disappointing.

    I am a huge fan of your site and I am always eager to know what you’re going to show next and some recipes are not up to par with the talent both of you have shown.

    I still have lots of love for both of you.

    1. Pinal,
      Most of the stuff we show are requests. We have been getting requests from the day we started the website and put off some of the basic stuff thinking everyone knows it! But for some one just starting out, these recipes are life savers.
      We understand your frustration and don’t want to ignore ‘anyone’ . Please bear with us and we are limited as far as time (both of us are Full Time Moms) and hopefully we’ll get yo your requests as well.
      Thanks for your support and understanding.

      1. Thanks Anuja for the feedback. My comments were not based on the simplicity of the recipes, but more so on the dish(es) itself. I can understand that every region has a dish that is popular to that region, but to me some dishes looked very unappetizing and there fore couldn’t imagine someone requesting it.

        None the less, if they are requests than I understand that you are catering to your fan base. 🙂

    2. I agree with Pinal and Seena…
      Lately you have very basic recipes(I am sure a lot of beginners are looking for those) – earlier you had some fab and extraordinary recipes that were hit at parties and at home… waiting for some of those kinds eagerly!!
      We understand you are 24 *7 moms which to me is the toughest job on earth!! But you had set a standard in your fan club and guess what we are asking is to stay put at that!! 🙂 🙂 🙂

      1. Dear Pinal and Satya,

        You may be correct at ur end and trust me Hetal Anuja are right from their side. I really dont know which recipe you mentioned that looked unappetizing but trust me making roti,phulkas,parathas may look really easy but they need practice practice and practice!!! I being a house wife, could make only a year after i came to US.
        Standard…hmm..Even making tea is a big issue for newbees! This site is for everyone and not only for already talented cooks. Also,do u think there are many out there who provide charity service like hetal and anuja. They dont expect a penny from us..rather…go and spend on grocery and teach us stuff! They broadcast for free..though they may have advertised for their DVD,aprons etc..but at the same time they haven forced us to buy them. Have they.
        Look ladies..dont get angry..jus like..im their follower..and i just told my point.
        Please..its really tough to maintain a family and do this stuff!
        If u think u have some wonderful recipes which u think may improve and keep up their standard…do share them. I have already shared from my side.
        Im sorry if i hurt..it was purely unintentional.

        Priya

        1. Thanks Priya for also adding your opinion like I did mine. I too have a family and have a career oriented full time job and cook every day. I am too a new wife in a new home of my own. I actually like it when they provide recipes on rotis, paratha, etc….I just happen to make my comments under this recipe. I have been making rotis and many other basic recipes since I was 10 yrs of age, BUT that still doesn’t undermine some of the things I have learned from them even when it comes to making such simple recipes.

          Again, my comments were not about the simple recipes but about certain dishes and I have already explained that in my previous comment. And, actually there are many, I mean MANY websites that provide recipes and similar services they do, but I also think that they are the BEST out there.

          I am not dogging them or there hard work, so don’t take it so personally – they are not. I am also a follower of them, but I shared MY OPINION which is allowed in America.

  33. Disclaimer: I am not criticizing you guys.

    Hi,
    I have been watching your videos way back and hats off to you guys.You have been really doing a very good job.

    Since last 1-2 months the choice of your recipes have not been up to the mark to your own set standards.

    Please take it as a positive feedback and no hard feelings …

    One of your followers…..

  34. hi anuja & hetal
    I just love ur phulka balloon up. Its fantastic. but for me its very rare that 10 of 1 phulka balloons up. I’ve got a electric stove/heater, and after 3-4 phulkas it start like burning,thn i’ve to slow down it for sometime.so dnt have a option to place it on fire. Can u show without putting it on fire?

    1. Noor,
      With electric stove – use two stoves one… One for the tawa and the other one for ballooning up (put a mesh on this one and leave it on high).. The problem with electric vs gas is electric cools and heats up really slowly and if you wait that long your roti will dry out or burn up!
      Also one big reason for your roti to not balloon up is if your tawa is too hot or too cold… leave the tawa stove on med high.
      I would highly recommend investing in a food processor.. I have had great rotis even with durum atta when i knead it in a food processor! It is so much better than manually kneading it and faster!

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