How to make Savory Indian Flat Bread: Chapatis/Roti

A BIG thank you to my mom sharing for this super easy recipe for Chapatis or Roti. They are both unleavened whole wheat flour bread that are rolled flat and pan fried on a flat griddle or pan. Roti or Chapatis are so similar that the terms are used interchangeably. They are made without oil/ghee while Parathas (similar to chapatis) use oil/ghee. The recipe below is for chapatis. I personally like to use oil, so the recipe below doesn’t have ghee in it.

Click here for a live demo on how to make Chicken Kebabs and Chapatis. Skip to 17:50 for the Chapatis.

Makes 4-6 Chapatis depending on the size of the ball. Double the recipe to make more!

Ingredients

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour, plus more for kneading & rolling out the dough

¼ tsp salt

¾ cup lukewarm water

2 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil

Rolling pin and flat surface (Chapathiu Peta) to roll out dough

Recipe

1. Dry mix salt and flour into a bowl.
2. Add water little less than ¼ cup at a time to dry ingredients. Mix flour and water together till flour sticks together and forms dough. Add 2 tablespoons of oil. When pouring the last ¼ cup of water, pour sparingly so dough doesn’t get too sticky. Add more water if dough is too dry and add more dough if dough is too wet and sticks to your hand. Keep kneading dough till its soft and pliable. It should leave an impression when you press down on it without sticking to your hand.  
3. Form dough into palm sized balls.
4. Sprinkle flour on surface/or Indian tawa that you use to roll out dough. Flatten dough ball into a round shape in your hand and use rolling pin to roll it out till it is slightly bigger than your palm.
5. Sprinkle oil drops with spoon onto rolled out dough and use back of spoon to lightly spread oil on top of rolled out dough surface that is facing you.
6. Fold sides of dough into center in a rectangle or round shape. Apply sprinkle of flour onto surface and use rolling pin to roll out dough till it’s thin. This helps create layers in your chapati.
7. Set non-stick pan on stove to medium heat. Dust off excess flour on chapatis and place it on the pan. Let cook till it slightly darkens in color and small air bubbles start to form on surface of chapati (~ 30-45 seconds).
8. Flip over chapatis with spatula, you should see small brown spots on the surface. Repeat same process i.e. wait for small air bubbles to form for the other side.
9. Apply drops of oil on chapatis, flip over and do the same. Gently press on sides of chapati with spatula and it should puff up if it’s rolled evenly.
10. Chapati is cooked when you see brown spots on both sides. Carefully place cooked chapatis on plate and let cool for a few minutes before eating.

Tips

• If you don’t want to roll out all dough at one time. Put it in a plastic baggie and place in fridge for up to 3 days or freeze them for about a week. To thaw them, bring them up to room temperature on its own. Knead dough again. If it’s too sticky, add more flour and knead it till its soft and pliable.
• You can also store cooked chapatis in fridge. I usually stack them together on aluminum foil and put that in a plastic gallon bag. To reheat them, heat them up in a pan on the stove or sprinkle them with drops of water and microwave them for 15-20 seconds.