Quick Tawa Roti
VegetarianMakes 5
Quick tawa roti is a soft, plain Indian flatbread cooked on a dry pan and briefly charred over a flame. It is mild and slightly rich from the oil in the dough.
Ingredients
Method
- Mix 220 g white bread flour, 36.5 g vegetable oil and 0.3 g salt in a bowl.
- Pour in 100 ml water a little at a time and knead until a soft dough forms.
- Cover the bowl and set aside for 30 minutes.
- Warm a dry frying pan over medium heat.
- Knead the dough briefly on a floured surface, then split it into 5 equal pieces.
- Roll one piece into a 15 cm round; repeat with the remaining pieces.
- Cook a round in the hot pan for 30 seconds, turn, and cook the second side for 30 seconds, until bubbles appear.
- Hold the roti with tongs over a gas flame for 3 seconds on each side until lightly charred.
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Plain flourUse the same weight. Lower protein; bread will rise a little less and be softer.
Wholemeal flourUse the same weight but add 1–2 tbsp extra water. Denser, heavier loaf.
Atta (chapatti flour)Use the same weight. Softer, weaker gluten; bread will be flatter but usable.
Peanut oilUse 1:1 by weight. Handles high-heat frying identically and introduces a very subtle, pleasant nuttiness.
GheeUse 1:1 by weight. Yields a much richer, authentic aroma and a glossy, heavier mouthfeel.
Mustard oilUse 1:1 by weight. Heat until smoking, then cool slightly before cooking to temper its intensely pungent, sharp mustard kick.
Similar dishes
Puris
Deep-Fried Bread with Wholemeal Flour
Puris are crisp and puffed from deep-frying, while this dish is soft, plain, and only slightly rich from the oil in the dough.
- Same: Puris and this dish are both flatbreads made with flour, salt, and vegetable oil.
- Different: Puris uses wholemeal flour and water and is deep-fried, while this dish uses white bread flour and is cooked on a dry pan and briefly charred over a flame.
Phulkas
Wholemeal Flatbreads
Phulkas tastes wheaty and mild with a little ghee richness, while this dish is milder and slightly rich from vegetable oil with a plain white-flour flavor.
- Same: Phulkas and this dish are both soft, plain, unleavened Indian flatbreads made from flour, salt, and a little fat and cooked on a dry hot pan.
- Different: Phulkas uses wholemeal chapatti flour, ghee, and listed water, while this dish uses white bread flour and vegetable oil and is finished by brief charring over a flame.
Chapati
Chapati tastes less oily-rich and more salted than this dish, with a possible wholewheat flavor, while this dish is mild and slightly rich from the oil.
- Same: Chapati shares with this dish flour, vegetable oil, salt and a dry-pan cooking style.
- Different: Chapati uses wholewheat or plain flour plus water and much more salt, while this dish uses white bread flour and lists no water and proportionally more oil.
Puris (Indian Kitchen)
Puris tastes crisp and golden outside with a soft centre and a rich fried-oil savour, while this dish is soft, plain, mild, and only slightly rich from the oil in the dough.
- Same: Puris shares with this dish a simple flatbread base of flour, vegetable oil, and salt, with no spices or souring agent.
- Different: Puris uses chapatti flour and more oil in the dough plus extra oil for deep-frying, while this dish uses white bread flour and is cooked on a dry tawa then briefly charred over a flame.