This was one post which I thought was not needed. With present day lifestyle rotis / chapatis have become a staple diet for many people . Earlier Rotis were staple to Northern Indian food as Rice was for South Indians,but off late its staple across most house holds..Requests from a lot of my friends came in asking how to make soft rotis and also about the puffing up.So I thought I should be posting the recipe for my friends.
Phulka Rotis are the oil free version of chapathi or Indian Flat bread where the dough after rolling is first lightly toasted on a griddle / tawa and then cooked on an open flame which helps in Puffing up of the roti. The moisture trapped inside the rolled Out dough tries to escape and enables the cooking from inside.
This puffing is known as "PHULNA " in Hindi and hence the name "Phulka Roti"
Resting Time for Dough : 20 mins
Cooking Time : 2 mins per roti
Serves : Makes about 8-10 rotis
Cooking Time : 2 mins per roti
Serves : Makes about 8-10 rotis
Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour + 1/4 cup dry flour for dusting3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp oil
1 cup water
Rolling Pin & Strong base for rolling the rotis
Method
Kneading the Dough- Mix the salt and wheat flour in a mixing bowl.
- Knead the dough by adding water little by little and continuing kneading until all the dry flour is used up and dough like mixture is formed.
- Now slowly keep kneading and stretching the dough with your palms until you find the dough to be a little light and soft in texture.
- If you find the dough dry and hard to stretch,just wet your palms with a little water and start kneading.
- This step of stretching and kneading the dough is very important as the GLUTEN present in the wheat flour will react and provide with the elasticity while rolling the rotis.
- As you keep kneading the dough,you can see that the texture of the dough transforms slowly and once it is done it will be a nice shiny soft ball of dough.
- Once the dough is ready,smear oil in your palms and coat the dough all over and keep it covered in cling wrap,muslin cloth or an air tight container for 15 -20 mins.
- This step again helps in providing the elasticity and softness.
Making Rotis
- Pinch out lemon sized balls from the dough
- Dust the balls with a little dry flour and start rolling it out into a round shape.
- Ensure that the edges are not thick and the round is evenly rolled out.
- Place the roti on a hot tawa and cook until light brown spots appear on lower side.
- Flip over and cook on the second side until brown spots appear.
- Now take the roti with the help of tongs and put on open flame .Now you can see the roti puffing up.
- In case you are working on an electric hot plate,then you get a grill on which you can place the rotis for puffing.
- Take it off the flame and serve hot with a little ghee smeared over it. (Skip for Vegan diet).
- Always store the rotis in a hot pack /casserole soon after making them.
It is important to prevent the rotis become soggy and keep it dry and soft until you serve . Check the video below for tips & tricks .
Notes:
- Too much dry flour for dusting tends to burn when cooking on tawa,so keep the usage as little as possible.
- Initially the shape may be a little weird but do not worry ,with practice you can master it.
- The puffing happens when the moisture gets released from the rotis,do not leave the roti on the tawa for a long time,then the rotis won't puff up.
- Keep the rotis covered in a foil or a thin muslin cloth to retain the softness.