Roti or Phulka is a healthy unleavened flat bread made out of wheat flour that can be enjoyed with any curry. The wheat flour is filled with fibre and is rich in proteins. This unleavened flatbread is soft, light, wholesome and easy to wrap around any morsel of food. The Rotis or Phulkas are rolled out in a circle and cooked on a hot griddle.
The choice of grain varieties for making Indian bread doesn’t stop at wheat flour. Flour types ranging from maize-makki, lentils-daal, millet-bajra, sorghum-jowar, rice etc. are a few used for creating a vast array of Indian breads, hailing from different regions of the country. I will try to experiment and share as many varieties as possible in future posts.
Roti or Phulka is a basic part of a main meal made everyday in most homes. So, today, I am going to share the non-fancy, to the point Roti or Phulka recipe :D. You just need a little patience and practice to be able to roll out the perfect roti.
Steps to make soft Roti or Phulka:
Watch Quick Video:
How to make Roti Soft and Fluffy – Phulka Roti Recipe
Making Dough:
- Take whole-wheat flour in a bowl, add salt, little oil and some yoghurt.
- Mix well so that the oil, salt and yoghurt spreads evenly.
- Add warm water and start kneading the flour with your hand. Continue to knead and make sure you add water little by little. If you add all the water at once then the flour will become too sticky to handle.
- Gluten strands have to be formed otherwise it will be difficult to roll the rotis. So apply pressure with your fist and knead the flour.
- Continue to knead till the dough becomes soft. The final dough consistency should not be very soft or hard.
- Keep the dough covered and leave it aside for at least 30minutes.
NOTE:
Although you can make the rotis straight away after kneading the dough, but, this waiting period helps to get soft rotis. You can also use a food processor to knead the dough.
Rolling Roti or Phulka:
- Now make small to medium (golf size) balls of the dough. Roll the balls in the palms of your hands.
- Flatten the ball, sprinkle some whole-wheat flour over it and roll it to a flat disc.
Frying Roti or Phulka:
- Heat the griddle over medium flame. Place the rolled roti on the griddle and cook for a few seconds and flip it to the other side.
- Cook till you see small bubbles with brown spots. Make sure you don’t fully cook it.
- Now, remove the griddle from the flame and place this half cooked roti with the help of a tong on direct flame.
- You can see that the roti starts to puff up. Turn and keep the other side on flame. The roti will puff more.
NOTE:
Avoid burning the rotis and also don’t overdo it as roti will not be soft and will become crisp and hard.
- You can also cook the roti directly on the griddle and use a spatula or anything (a wooden press or even a folded kitchen tissue as shown below) to apply pressure around the circumference, which will help puff up the roti.
- Remove and brush the rotis with ghee/butter to keep them soft for a long time. You can avoid ghee (as I do), if you serve the rotis hot.
- You can also wrap them up in a napkin or foil and serve later.
- Serve hot rotis/Phulkas with any side dish of your choice. Today I’m presenting with Baingan ka Bharta.
A Quick Summary:
Roti/Phulka Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 2 Tablespoons yoghurt
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup or required warm water to knead flour
- Little wheat flour for dusting while rolling Rotis
Instructions
- In a wide bowl add whole-wheat flour, oil, salt, yoghurt and mix with water to knead slowly to make a pliable and soft dough. Cover the dough and keep it aside for at least 30min. You can use your hand or a food processor to knead the flour.
- Now make medium sized balls of the dough and roll it to a flat roti by sprinkling some flour
- Heat the griddle over medium flame. Place the rolled roti on the griddle and cook for a few seconds and flip it to the other side. Cook till you see small bubbles with brown spots.
- Now remove the griddle from the flame and place this half cooked roti with the help of a tong on direct flame until the roti starts to puff up. Flip it to the other side and repeat.
- Brush rotis with ghee/butter to keep them soft for a long time (optional).
- Serve hot rotis/Phulkas with any side dish of your choice.
My Notes:
- Adding yoghurt or milk along with some oil while kneading the dough will give very soft rotis.
- Using hot water to knead the dough also gives soft rotis.
- Getting the right consistency of the dough is very important.
Hope you enjoyed my version of Roti or Phulka Recipe!! Do check out other INDIAN BREADS and pair with VEGETABLE GRAVY RECIPES or NON VEGETARIAND RECIPES from blog!!!
Many more to come!!…..STAY TUNED!!
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Editor’s note: This post was originally published in December 2014 and has been updated for comprehensiveness and freshness.
Happy Cooking ????
Cheers!!
Padma.
Preethi's Cuisine
Loved the detailed explanation Padma. Love hot phulkas with ghee and can have it with any vegetarian curry.
Lathiya
I haven’t added yogurt to make roti dough…will try to add next time… great share
Seema Doraiswamy Sriram
Your post reminded me of the number of years of training under my mom’s watchful eyes to get a soft perfect phulka. I still can’t get them all in one size, adore yours.
Ritu Tangri
This a simple yet a very important part of North Indian meal. Though it appears simple yet making perfect soft roties is an art that one learns by practice only.
sapba
I have never added yogurt or oil in my roti dough but it sounds like a good idea to make soft roti.
Jagruti Dhanecha
My son won’t sleep that night if he doesn’t eat roti, making roti is an art. I never add yogurt or oil into my dough, only when I make methi paratha.
Poonam Bachhav
I have always added curd in naan, kulcha and bhatura..never tried in phulka. Will give this a try for sure .
Renu
A comfort food always, and we always miss this no matter we eat anything. Good idea to add curds.
code2cook
roti or phulka is the simplest recipe yet a complex one. If dough is not good then roti wont puff. love this and am craving for it.
Malini
I used to try and wonder, how people make soft rotis, in the beginning of my cooking days. I must admit, it really took some time for me to get the perfect shape and texture. Great explanation with picture representation, I am sure this post will be very useful for budding cooks.
Ruchi
Lovely post. Never tried curd for Phulka. Lovely pics. I always add milk for my roti and Bhakhri dough. Will try curd for roti too ..
themadscientistskitchen
I have never added curds to my atta. Must try it . Love the pictures.
Priya Suresh
Thats a fabulous post, well explained and very detailed post for novice cooks. Am sure after going through your post, so many will get tempt to make these soft rotis at home without any hesitation.
Geetha Priyanka
Love the way you explained the process in detail, step by step pics. Great tip to add yogurt. Thanks for sharing..
Nandita Gupta
Love how elaborate and descriptive this post is. Roti is the most basic recipe we tend to neglect. I myself am not a pro at it. Thanks for such a useful post.
Sandhya
Such a nice step by step pictorial Padma! Nothing like fresh cooked soft rotis to make a meal great!
Padma Veeranki
Thank you Sandhya 🙂
Anshu
Great share with a great explanation..
Padma Veeranki
Thank you 🙂
Geetanjali Tung
Well explained! The rotis look perfect!!! Great share!!!!
Padma Veeranki
Thank you 🙂
Shobha
Nice tip of adding yogurt to the rotis dough .. I usually add in thepla dough . Rotis look very nice.
Padma Veeranki
Thank you Shobha 🙂
Antara Roy
When I read this article my eyes tell me “Just tut paro”. BTW great writing great great great photography and One thing which I want to add that I love the logo cute one. Thank you dear.
Padma Veeranki
Thank you for the feedback 🙂