Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Khamiri Roti
Khamiri Roti (Spiced Flatbread with Kashmiri Chilli & Carom Seeds)

Khamiri Roti

Spiced Flatbread with Kashmiri Chilli & Carom Seeds
VegetarianMakes 6

A soft, yeast-leavened Indian flatbread flavoured with carom seeds and Kashmiri chilli, then brushed with ghee. It tastes mild and aromatic, with a light smoky note from being cooked against the flame.

Dough spices

1.7 gStirred into the dry flour (step 2)
01
1 g½ teaspoon
spice
Stir them through the flour with the salt.

Everything else

01
6 g2 teaspoons
other
02
4.2 g1 teaspoon
sweetener
03
124 g120 ml
dairy
05
~0.3 gpinch
salt
06
Gheemelted
to taste
oil/fat

Method

  1. Stir 6.2 g dried active yeast and 4.2 g granulated sugar into 124 g warm whole milk. Leave for 10 minutes.
  2. Mix 250 g chapatti flour, 0.3 g salt and the dough spices in a large bowl.
  3. Pour in the yeast milk and stir, then work in up to 4 tbsp water to make a soft dough.
  4. Cover the bowl and rest for 1½ hours.
  5. Heat a large dry frying pan over a high flame.
  6. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces.
  7. Roll one piece on a lightly floured surface to an 18 cm round.
  8. Brush the round all over with water and lay it in the hot pan; the water helps it cling.
  9. Invert the pan over the open flame and cook for 1 minute, moving it so the bread browns evenly.
  10. Turn the pan upright and set it on the heat for 1 minute to cook the base.
  11. Brush with melted ghee to taste, wrap in foil and keep warm. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Don't have something?

Dried yeast
  • Fast-action dried yeast

    Use the same weight. Mix straight into the flour as the recipe directs; no need to activate first. Proves a little faster.

  • Fresh yeast

    Use about 2.5 times the weight. Crumble into warm liquid with a little sugar and leave for 10 minutes before mixing. Slower and shorter-lived.

Granulated sugar
  • Jaggery

    Use equal weight; grate or shave finely so it dissolves rapidly, giving a warm, caramel-like sweetness and slightly darker sauce.

Whole milk
  • Milk

    Use 100% of the weight. If using semi-skimmed milk, stir in 10 g butter per 200 g milk to match the richness of whole milk.

  • Single cream

    Use 60% cream diluted with 40% water by weight to match the fat content of whole milk. Gravies will taste richer and reduce faster.

Whole wheat flour
  • Wholemeal flour

    Use the same weight; it is very close, but add water slowly as it can be coarser and absorb more.

  • Plain flour

    Use the same weight but reduce water by about 10%; the dough is softer and the flavour less nutty.

  • Flour

    Use the same weight as a plain-flour swap; reduce water slightly and expect a lighter, less wheaty result.

Carom seed
  • Carom seeds

    Use the same weight; this is the same seed under its other name.

  • Carom seed paste

    Use the same weight; looser and stronger, so add near the end and taste.

  • Cumin seed

    Use half the weight, lightly crushed; gives a warm aroma but not carom's thyme-like punch.

Kashmiri chilli powder
  • Dried kashmiri chilli

    Grind deseeded dried pods to an equal weight of powder; gives identical vivid red colour and gentle warmth.

  • Red chilli powder

    Use 25% of the weight mixed with sweet paprika for colour; straight red chilli powder is substantially hotter and will make the dish fiery.

  • Chilli powder

    Use one-third of the weight; the sauce will be less intensely red and notably sharper in heat.

Ghee
  • Unsalted butter

    Use 120% of the weight; melt gently over low heat to avoid burning the milk solids, which will yield a softer, creamier richness rather than a nutty aroma.

  • Vegetable oil

    Use 85% of the weight; holds high cooking temperatures without smoking, but the final dish will lack traditional dairy depth.

  • Mustard oil

    Use equal weight; heat to smoking point and cool slightly before cooking, bearing in mind it introduces an assertive, pungent edge.

Similar dishes

Ajwain Paratha
Layered Flatbread with Carom Seeds
Ajwain Paratha is crisp and flaky at the edges with a warm, slightly peppery carom flavour, while this dish is soft, mild and aromatic with a light smoky note.
  • Same: Ajwain Paratha and this dish are both chapatti-flour flatbreads flavoured with carom seeds.
  • Different: Ajwain Paratha uses more carom seeds, vegetable oil and water, has no yeast, sugar, milk or Kashmiri chilli, and is layered rather than yeast-leavened and flame-cooked like this dish.
Phulkas
Wholemeal Flatbreads
Phulkas tastes wheaty and mild with ghee richness, while this dish tastes mild and aromatic with carom seeds and a light smoky chilli note.
  • Same: Phulkas and this dish both use chapatti flour, salt, and ghee to make flatbreads.
  • Different: Phulkas has no yeast, sugar, milk, carom seeds, or Kashmiri chilli, and it uses water instead; it is unleavened and cooked on a hot griddle, while this dish is yeast-leavened and cooked against the flame.
Puris (Indian Kitchen)
Puris tastes savoury and rich from frying oil, while this dish is mild and aromatic with carom seeds, Kashmiri chilli and a light smoky note.
  • Same: Puris and this dish are both Indian wheat breads made with chapatti flour and added fat.
  • Different: Puris has no yeast, milk, sugar, carom seeds or Kashmiri chilli, and it is deep-fried in vegetable oil rather than yeast-leavened, flame-cooked and brushed with ghee.
Chapattis
Chapattis tastes wheaty, tender and slightly rich, without the aromatic carom, mild chilli and light smoky note of this dish.
  • Same: Chapattis and this dish both use chapatti flour and salt and are flatbreads finished with a brushed fat.
  • Different: Chapattis has no yeast, sugar, milk, carom seeds or Kashmiri chilli, uses vegetable oil in the dough and butter to finish, and is cooked on a dry griddle rather than against a flame.