Indian flat bread/rotis are made without yeast and yet it is soft and pliable. Making soft chapati/roti is no rocket science. All you need is practice. Once you practice, making rotis is a breeze. I have divided the recipe into 6 easy steps and have made it as simple as possible. Today we will learn how to make roti/chapati/Indian flat bread at home following this easy recipe.
How to make Soft Rotis/Chapati – Indian flat bread
Six Steps towards making Soft Rotis/chapati
How to make Soft Rotis/Chapati
Prep Time : 10 mins
Cook Time : 20 mins
Yields: 5-6 rotis
Recipe Category: Breakfast-Dinner
Recipe Cuisine: North Indian
Author:Padhu Sankar
Yields: 5-6 rotis
Recipe Category: Breakfast-Dinner
Recipe Cuisine: North Indian
Author:Padhu Sankar
Ingredients needed
Whole Wheat flour – 1 cup
Salt – a pinch
Oil – 1 tsp
wheat flour or rice flour – as needed for dusting
Board and rolling pin
Tawa/skillet
Ghee (optional)
Method
Step 1
Take 1 cup of flour, add a pinch of salt and a tsp of oil. Then mix ½ cup of warm water gradually little at a time and knead it into a dough. You may need a little more or less water depending on the flour you are using.
Step 2
Knead it into a soft dough as shown in the picture above. Use the heel of your hands to knead the dough. The dough should not stick to your hands after kneading. Grease your hands with a little oil before kneading if required. The more you knead the more softer the rotis.
Step 3
Make 6 equal sized balls. Keep some wheat flour ready for dusting.
Step 4
Roll out each ball into a circle/round shape dusting a little wheat flour. With practice you can easily do this. So do not worry if you cannot get a perfect round shape in the beginning.
Step 5
Heat a tawa and place a rolled out dough on it. Let it cook for a few minutes. Wait until you will see small bubbles forming on the surface.
Step 6
Once you see bubbles forming, flip it over to the other side and cook, pressing it with a small towel/napkin. The roti will puff up.
Remove from the tawa, apply a little ghee (optional) and serve with any side dish of your choice. Repeat the same process for the rest of the dough balls.
Enjoy Rotis with any side dish of your choice. Check more than 150 Side dishes for rotis and parathas.
Storage of rotis and roti dough– If you are not serving/consuming the rotis immediately, wrap it in a soft cotton cloth and store it in an airtight container. It will remain soft for hours.
You can make roti dough and store it in the refrigerator for 2 days. Apply a little oil on the surface of the dough and store in an air tight container. Oil is applied to prevent the dough from drying. Bring it to room temperature before making rotis.
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Really a useful one if one doesnt know how to make it….I love roti and urs look so perfect..
useful one
Very useful post dear..
Delicious Soft rotis, useful post Padhu. Love to have with Dal Makhani!
Nice Step by Step explanation….
Padduji! Came to know da secret dat to knead atta wit warm water……superb…
Thanks for the step by step procedure Padhu!
Very interesting and useful dear..Looks very soft..will try ur version next time and let u know..:)
Yum, looks so soft and perfect 🙂
Hello Aunty,
This is indeed a very useful recipe for beginners.When I started cooking I always used to ask my Mom or friends "How much water do you add for 1 cup of wheat?".I somehow struggled and learnt it.
Kudos to your effort for beautifully demonstrating step by step with pics.
Suhasini
I am a baker and never thought that a bread would be perfect without using yeast
i will make it someday.. wish me luck for my first indian cuisine.. my husband loves roti 🙂
will pair it with butter chicken (i found one recipe only, hopes it turns good!! : )
Akka I made it today for my lunch as my rice is not sufficient today.I got everythng until balls but I dont get a round shape akka and also little hard while on d tawa.what to do akka
I really enjoy your blogs.. I like it that they are simple yet appealing which gives working women like me the determination to cook after i reach home 🙂
Anuradha
My rotie don't puff up with a clothe why us it so
Unknown -Your rotis did not puff up. It might be anyone of the reason below-
1. While rolling the rotis, it should be even on all over. It should not be thin one side and thick the other side. If it is even all over, your rotis will puff up.
2. If there is not enough heat, then also the rotis will not puff up.
3. The dough should be knead well. It should not stick to your hands but should be soft and pliable.
Hope this helps you for now. Soon I will be posting how to make soft rotis on direct flame in detail.
hello padhu,
love ur blog …love to visit it agin n again esp. for ideas for serving the kids …
i was wondering if you could tell me how to roll the chappatis n store for future use so tht we can just take out from fridge n heat them on tawa? and also how long can these be stored like this?…also do we need to heat them a lil on the tawa before storing .
another doubt i have is when required which vegetables can be cut in advance and stored and how to store them so tht they can be used instantly.
am gonnaa survive my bachlr lyff fr nxt a year 😀
Thanks for this wonderfull blog. feel lyk my mom is near wen i cuk 🙂 veryyy usefull 😀
You helped me make my first ever roti thank you !!!!!!
Superb
Loved your blog ! Thanks for those detailed description which guides like a mom 🙂 I made my first ever roti with ur blog ..
Kudos to your work !!
Shall I keep the dough outside for 1 hour before rolling ?
really like yr instructions for making soft roti.
Padhu u r awesome … I love your blog ..it's really helpful
Padhu can you please tell me in what flame should the chapatis be made? And for how long? I keep it in medium and try for 1 minute but it ends up being hard. Please guide me on the flame and number of flips or time needed to cook each chapati.
The flame should be on high for chapati. If it becomes too hot, you can reduce it to medium. Once the temperature comes down, you can raise it to high. For making rotis -Once you get bubbles, flip it over to the other side and press it will a cloth. It will puff. Remove it and apply ghee if preferred.
How long should we knead the dough ??
The dough should not stick to your hands. It will take around 10 minutes.
Padhu sankar…detail ah enga amma en pakathula irundhu solli kudukura dhu pola iruku…i hv tried many of receipes and my in laws and husband loves it..love u a lot… God bless you..
Santhi Nagarajan