Chapatis or fulka rotlis, rotis or Indian bread

Chappatis or fulka rotlis, rotis or Indian bread are made from wheat flour and eaten with most Indian curries.  Different Regions of India have their own unique style of making chappatis.  In Kenya, the locals make them big and quite thick and often fry them but call them roti. I like to make small and thinly rolled out chappatis.

 

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of  chappati flour
  • half cup flour – to use when rolling out the chappatis
  • 2 teaspoons of olive oil (you can use any oil)
  • butter or ghee to spread on the chappati (vegans can use any plant based spread)

Method:

1.  Sieve  the flour and make a dip in the middle.
2.  Add the oil in the dip.
3.  Using warm water, mix the flour well.  Make sure that you pour the water in small amounts so that the dough doesn’t get too soft. Spread some oil in your palms and knead  until the dough feels pliable – almost like “play dough”.  Cover the dough and let it rest for half an hour.

4.  Divide the flour into 12 – 13 small balls.

5.   Dust each ball using the dry flour and roll out the Chapatis or fulka rotlis, rotis or Indian bread.  You can use any rolling pin and a work top if you do not have a pastry stand. Grip the rolling pin gently placing the palms of your hands on the at the edges of the rolling pin.  Dust some dry flour on the worktop let the chapati almost roll itself.  Try and resist pressing too hard in the centre of the chapati.  The same pressure should be on the whole Chapatis or fulka rotlis, rotis or Indian bread.

6.  Cook it on medium heat using a griddle or dry frying pan. As soon as you can see little bubbles appear on its surface turn it over onto the other side. Press the chappatti gently; with dry kitchen paper. The air in the chappati will start to rise when you press the chappati with the kitchen paper. Keep turning the chappati until it rises or you get little dark spots.

7.  Remove  the chappati and keep it on a plate.  Make sure that the plate is covered with a kitchen paper . The hot chappati causes condensation and the kitchen paper keeps the chappati dry.  Spread some butter or ghee ( or any vegan butter) on the chappati  and continue making the rest, stacking them like pancakes.
8.  Serve it with a curry.

 

If you fancy a variation of rotis you may wish to try the following:

If you have any left over chappatis, you can make one of the following:

  1. Laddos
  2. Vaghareli rotli

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Mina Joshi

I am a busy working mum who aims to make quick and healthy authentic vegetarian and vegan dishes for my family. I am also a face to face and online cookery teacher, recipe developer, restaurant and product reviewer. I share all recipes with step by step instructions.

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