Roti

Roti is a simple and wholesome Indian flat-bread made with just wheat flour, salt, and a small amount of oil. It is a fundamental dish in most Indian house-holds. No meal is complete without either rice (in the South) or roti (regions other than South). Although this is such a staple, I had to learn over many years and many attempts to make palatable and decent rotis. This sure comes with practice, and the secret of its success lies in two things - the quality of the wheat flour and the quality of the kneaded dough. So, try to buy an Indian brand wheat flour / aata. If you have a kitchen gadget that kneads dough, please use it. The dough prepared from kitchen-aid stand mixers come out great and saves a lot of arm fatigue. For those of us that don't own such gadgets, just muster up all your anger and frustration and direct it onto the dough - stretch, pull, wring, punch, squeeze. You will feel much better after the exercise, and you will be rewarded with a comforting, wholesome bread! 

And your arm will get used to the exercise.

Ingredients (serves 2-4):

1. 2 cups whole wheat flour / aata
2. 1 teaspoon salt
3. 1/2 tablespoon olive oil / sesame oil (optional)
4. water / whey / yogurt / buttermilk as needed, at room temperature (usually 1/2 the volume of liquid for 1 part of the flour; So 1 cup of liquid for 2 cups)
5. a few teaspoons of clarified butter or coconut oil (optional)
6. 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable oil or olive oil

picture 2: three step process to cook puffy rotis without any oil; 1. Shows side A; 2. Shows side B; 3 and 4 show side A being puffed.

Preparation:

1. In a flat, wide rimmed plate (or a wide bowl), mix wheat flour / aata and salt. Drizzle sesame oil (if you like) and mix. 
2. Slowly start adding some whey (left over from drained paneer/ricotta or homemade yogurt), or diluted yogurt or buttermilk and knead the dough. Do not dump all the liquid at once, but don't skimp on liquid as well. Liquid is essential to form a soft dough. Slowly add as needed and knead. I add some whey/diluted yogurt at first and then towards the end of kneading, I sprinkle some water and bring the dough together. The wide/flat base of the plate helps to properly knead the dough by stretching it with the heel of your palm. In my experience, the protein in the whey/yogurt/buttermilk makes the rotis quite soft even if they are had the next day. Just make sure the liquid used is at room temperature or is slightly warm. Cold liquid dries out the dough. If you are wary of using whey/yogurt/buttermilk,  just use water.
3. Knead the dough well until it is smooth and pliable without any cracks. The dough should feel very soft - if you press it gently it should leave indentations that don't spring back. If the dough is sticky, just sprinkle some more flour and knead. If it is dry, sprinkle some water and knead. The more you knead, the better. After the dough comes together,  knead for at least 5-10 more minutes by stretching and pulling the dough.This helps to develop the gluten in the flour, which in turn makes the rotis soft. A great work out for the arm muscles.
4. Now, rest the dough for about 20-30 minutes. Drizzle half a teaspoon of oil on top of the kneaded dough, cover it with a damp cloth/paper towel and cover with a lid. You want to give some time for the gluten to develop while making sure the dough stays soft and moist.
5. Heat a flat skillet on medium heat. I recommend using a cast-iron skillet, if possible. It retains heat much better and evenly cooks the rotis. 
6. While the skillet is heating, take out the rested-dough and knead again for a minute. Pinch out about a small lime-sized ball of the dough (or of a size you prefer) and roll it into an even and thin circle. Sprinkle some wheat flour on the dough being rolled out, if it sticks to the board. Do not over flour the dough, because the excess flour sticking to the rotis will burn and make it a little dry when cooked.
7. When the skillet is hot (but not too hot), transfer the roti onto it and follow this 3 step process by referring to picture 2 above. If using a cast-iron skillet, reduce the heat to low (I keep it at heat level 2-3 out of 10 once the skillet is hot, else it burns the outside of the rotis):
1. Do not move around the roti. Just wait for it to bubble up ever so slightly (refer to step 1 in the above picture). 
2. Flip the roti. The flipped side (we will call it side B) should be barely cooked and should look like the picture in step 2 of the picture above. Wait for a few seconds until you see this side bubble up slightly from under. 
3. Flip the roti. Now the flipped side (we will call it side A) should be cooked - or almost cooked with brown spots. Refer to step 3 in the picture above. 
1. If you have a gas/open flame stove, just transfer the roti (without flipping it; make sure the barely cooked side, side B is at the bottom) from the skillet to the open flame and watch the roti puff up in a matter of seconds. Remove immediately before roti burns or catches into fire. Be very cautious.
2. Like me, if you don't have an open flame stove, then  worry not. With a small kitchen towel or a paper napkin, gently and carefully press down on the roti (starting specifically from the corners) and move it around until it puffs up as shown in step 4 in the picture. If there are any uncooked spots on side A, press down on it so that it comes into direct contact with the skillet and cooks. The roti will not puff up if it has any tears or if you press down too hard. Just press and guide the trapped air between the roti so that it puffs up. This should cook the bottom side, side B. Check if all parts of the roti are cooked and remove from skillet.
8. This step is optional. Smear a very little amount of ghee or coconut oil on top of the roti so that it stays soft for a longer period of time.  Raw coconut oil is being praised for its health benefits, so I usually use a very little amount (less than 1/4 teaspoon) to just moisten the roti. Repeat the process to make the remaining rotis.

If the roti doesn't puff up at all, or doesn't puff every single time (especially if you don't have an open flame stove), don't worry. Just make sure to cook it well on both sides and keep practicing. What matters is how palatable the texture is. Not all puffed rotis are softer and better than un-puffed ones. My rotis come in different sizes and shapes, and while they puff up most times, sometimes they don't, especially if they suspect I am having a bad day. The most important step is to knead the dough well. So knead, knead, and knead some more, and you should be good!

Serve rotis with any side dish of your choice!