Roti: Simple. Cheap. Versatile. Good (definitely good). Roti is a traditional Indian flatbread that is cooked on a griddle, or on grate over open fire. It can be used to scoop up (rip-and-dip) dal (lentils), curry, you name it; spread over; used as a wrap. We’ve used it to make chips for dipping, anything you’d use tortilla for, and rather flimsy pizzas that we just ended up folding or rolling into greasy, cheesy goodness…but we digress. The prep-work takes a measly 15-20 minutes, and the actual frying 5 minutes. Roti is cheap to make, and you can do virtually anything with it—you will not regret learning how to make it.
Recipe
1.5 cups flour
1/2 cup hot water (you may need to add more)
1-2 TB ghee (or melted butter, or oil)
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix (we like to mix with our hands—we find it works much faster, and the fat content will keep the dough from sticking to your fingers). Knead for a minute or two, and then let it rest for about 10 minutes to let the dough relax so you can roll it out (might not even need that long the kneading is so short). Fill a regular dinner bowl with flour and take out your rolling pin…
After the 10 minutes, partition the dough into roughly ping-pong-sized balls. Flour your work surface (counter or large cutting board—we wouldn’t suggest rolling it out on glass, however), and flatten then dough balls into discs between your palms. Drop the one you will be rolling out into the bowl of flour and cover both sides. Retrieve the dough and roll it out into a circle (how circlee you make it is up to you). If you care about making it perfectly round, be sure to rotate the dough 45º for each pass with the rolling pin. Should the dough stick to either your work surface or the roller pin, use flour until it stops sticking. So long as they are lightly floured, you can stack the rolled-out dough without risk of them sticking.
Get the appropriately-sized non-stick pan and put it on high heat. Prepare a dinner plate and a towel and leave near the pan. Once hot enough (sprinkled water will dance across the surface),
place the roti on the pan and wait for it to puff up. This could be as significant as puffing up like a whoopee cushion, or as insignificant as a few bubbles here and there—either is fine. Once fully puffed, or once the bubbles formation starts to slow down (think popcorn in the microwave), flip it. The other side will only take seconds (10 or less). Toss the roti onto the plate and cover with the towel—roti dries out quickly, and the towel keeps the moisture in. Repeat until all are cooked. Optionally, spread a light layer of melted butter or ghee over each roti. Spread one with a bit of butter and honey for a quick snack for the chef 😉
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