Roti

I thought to start things off I would go with something real simple. So simple the only person that could possibly mess it up is yours truly. Hey, I didn’t say I was a professional. But yeah it’s a simple recipe but directions are important, so try to follow them (I may have failed at them a few times, but you know what they always say “practice makes you a competent person, so you should totally do it”…I think.) So, now that I’ve totally convinced you of my capabilities, I’m going to teach you how to make roti (with pictures!). Roti is a type of flat bread, you could say, that is eaten in Pakistan with some type of salaan (basically a type of curry-I’ll explain it later).   Let’s get started then:

Ingredients (there are just two):

• 2 cups Atta Flour(Whole Wheat/White Flour) aprox.
• 1 cup Water
• salt (optional)

(Note: Technically we use the Atta (Roti flour), but to be honest the whole wheat will work…I don’t even know if there’s a difference. But, if you want to use the real thing you can find it at any Indian grocery store.)

Directions:

First off start by placing the 2 cups of whole wheat flour into a bowl…fairly simple, yes. Then, take your finger, and make a little hole in the middle of the flour. Not so bad. You’re a fighter, I can tell.

(Here’s where you can add a pinch of salt if you want, I mean if you’re about that life, it’s totally cool.) Okay, moving on. Next you will pour, little by little the water into the middle of the flour. I go in parts. I pour in a little(like below) in the beginning then, using my hands (you have to use your hands, its just the best way to do it) I mix the flour. It’s a bit of a messy/sticky process, but in the end its all good. But, remember pour water in slowly, however, if it does get too sticky you can just add a little bit of flour.

After a bit of hard work and mixing you should end up with something that looks like this (above). The ball of dough shouldn’t be dry it should be smooth and soft to the touch…kind of like a marshmallow (Sorry, I really couldn’t think of anything). Mine could’ve used a little more kneading and I added a little water later (sorry, I didn’t take a picture) Now find a good surface to roll out dough and dust it with some flour, but not too much. Then take a small almost fist sized piece of dough from your completed dough or smaller, it’s really up to you, and roll it in some flour, so it’s not all sticky when you’re rolling it out.

Now, to rolling it out. First just press it flat down then take a rolling pin and roll it, as best you can, into a circle. I know what you’re thinking, “Pshaw, Sana, I can totally make a circle. I mean how hard could it possibly be?” I am not even joking when I say mastering the art of making your roti a circle is a pretty big deal. It’s a skill I have yet to obtain. So naturally don’t expect anything on the first try, seriously, just take it the way it is. When you’re rolling out the roti just keep it the way it is and don’t fold it over to make it pretty it’ll just be uneven. You want a nice even, fairly thin roti. It should be thin enough to cook through, but also not so thin it’s breaking apart. Something like this: I know what you’re thinking, “Wow, Sana, that looks pretty much like a circle!” Well it’s my mom’s. Mine was just too horrible… So yeah, as you can see next you will need to, on a non-oiled frying pan, just heat it up on medium heat. Before putting it on a pan make sure you take off all excess flour-I cannot emphasize this enough. Dry flour on a heated pan will just turn into a burning mess. So, what you’re waiting for is for it to turn whiter. As you can see before it’s a light brownish color, so when the roti is dry to the touch and a whitish color flip it over and do the same for the other side. It should take a couple minutes each side, if it’s taking too long, feel free to turn the heat to high. Then transfer it to a metal mesh thingy. I know not very descriptive, I think it’s called a roti grill, if you have one at home, great. Otherwise, look for something like this, I think a cooling rack would work:  

Anyways, after you transfer the roti to the roti grill you must wait for it to poof up as seen above. The poof is very important, you must have a poof. I mean no poof means no roti, and what’s life without roti. Anywho, so now that that’s out of the way, this part is fast. You have to keep your eye on the roti here. After the poof you should flip it with some tongs and see little brown dots. Like this: I don’t know if you can see the dots, but they’re like a golden brown and when both sides look like that it means that the roti is done. Now to plate I suggest putting in some sort of container wrapped in cloth, so it doesn’t get all sweaty, no one wants sweaty roti. Well, congratulations! You did it! You made roti or you didn’t, but you did at least finish reading this entry, which I think is an accomplishment in it itself. Now I know what you’re thinking, yet again, you should stop being so predictable, “Sana, what am I suppose to eat with this?” Well that’s the best part. You have to keep reading my blogs to find out. Isn’t that just so wonderfully…evil! Well I can’t wait to see you next time and I really hope you enjoyed this recipe.

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TLDR Version (for those of you who are too lazy to read it all (I feel ya’)):

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Atta Flour(or Whole Wheat/White Flour)
• aprox. 1 cup Water
• salt (optional)

Directions:

1. Put the flour in a bowl, big enough to leave room to mix with hands. Add salt if you desire.
2. Make a hole in the middle of the flour and then slowly add the water into it. As you do so, slowly fold the water and flour together using hands. It’s sticky in the beginning, but by the end you want the dough to have a smooth and soft to the touch.
3. After the dough is made take a small (a little less than fist-sized) piece and on a floured surface roll it out into a circle shape.
4. The dough should be thin enough to cook through, but not so thin it breaks apart.
5. Now, place the roti onto a non-oiled frying pan heat it up on medium heat for about 2-3 minutes on each side. You want it to turn from a brownish color to a more white one.
6. After the color is white transfer the roti to a metal mesh that is raised above the stovetop (roti grill).
7. This part is quick. Keep the roti on until it starts to puff up. After it puffs flip it over and do the other side. Then your done!
8. I suggest eating it with some type of curry and wrapping it in a cloth if not serving immediately.