Making dough for Roti and Paratha (Dough for indian bread)

Soft, pliable dough for roti / paratha

The quality of dough is the deciding factor how good the roti / paratha are made. Hard dough and roti / paratha will not be soft, gooey dough and rolling the dough to roti / paratha will become extremely difficult. I learnt this truth hard way. After marriage when I entered my kitchen I had no Idea how to make dough for roti. I added water to flour and it became thin so I added some more flour and mixed. Now it became hard. I kept on repeating this and for myself and my husband landed up making dough of one Kg flour. Dough sticking to my hands and on the plate, flour spilled on the kitchen platform was sight to be seen. When my maid came she had a hearty laugh at my cost. Since then 30 years have gone by and now wish to write about the process of making dough for the benefit of other so that nobody has to face the same fate as mine!!!

Preparation Time: 5 min.

Making Time: 10 min

Servings: Makes 12-15 Roti / 8-10 Paratha

Ingredients Required For Making Dough for Roti / Paratha:

• 250 gm. Whole Wheat flour

• 200ml. Water

Direction for Making Dough for Roti / Paratha:

• Take wheat flour in a bowl or big plate.

• Add 40-45 ml. of water and mix with your fingers till all water gets mixed.

Adding water in little portion

• Repeat again by adding 40-45 ml. water and mixing with remaining dry flour.

Mixing the flour and water

• Add 20-30 ml. water and mix collecting the dry flour with wet flour.

Kneading and mixing

• Start ploughing through the wet flour mixture with your knuckles and fist. This is called kneading. Mix the wet and dry flour in this process.

Kneading the flour to mix dry and wet flour

• Flatten the dryish dough which will be formed and add 25-30 ml. water and mix by kneading  folding the flattened dough due to kneading and kneading again.

Folding and Kneading to get soft dough

• Repeat this flattening and kneading action 2-3 times.

• Flatten the roughly made dough (It will be slightly hard and not pliable). Add 10 ml. of water and knead.

Dough almost ready

• While kneading the dough will flatten, fold and knead 4-5 times. This will make the dough soft  and  pliable.

Soft, pliable doughfor roti / paratha

• Store in airtight container.

• This dough can be kept in fridge for 3-4 days but outside the fridge at 35-38^oCit starts fermenting in 6-7 hrs.
• The amount of water required may vary by with the type of flour and the coarseness of flour.

Tips:

• Excess of water can make the dough gooey which can be made to proper dough by adding dry flour

• Hard dough can always be made to soft dough by adding water and kneading so add water in little proportions to avoid messy situation.

Suggested Variations:

• 1/2Teaspoon salt can be added to the flour before kneading.

• After the dough is made 1/2teaspoon oil can be sprinkled on the dough and made to big ball and stored.

• 1 Teaspoon oil  / ghee can be added to flour before making the dough.

Roti/Chapati / Phulka (An Indian bread, no oil, dry so low on calories)

Roti / Chapati / Phulka

Rotis are main dish in northern, eastern, western,and central India. When I first started making them in my kitchen they used to be of all shapes and size except for round, which is what they are supposed to be :). But now of course they come out round and fluffy which my family and I enjoy with all type of vegetables and curries.My hubby dear takes credit for teaching me how to get them round ! Ha ha do not believe him :).

Preparation time: 5 min. 
Cooking time: 15 min.
Servings: From 200gm. Atta total 15- 20 Rotis can be made. 

Ingredients Required

• 250 gm. Atta( wheat flour)
• Water

 Directions for Making Dough for Roti / Chapati / Phulka:
http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.in/2012/12/making-dough-for-roti-and-paratha-dough.html

Atta (Dough)

Direction for Making Roti / Chapati / Phulka:

• Take 50 gm. of atta and keep on a plate.
• Make 15 - 20 small balls from the dough. 

Dough ball for chapati

• Sprinkle dry flour on the dough ball and place it at the center of rolling board.

• Roll and flatten it  using rolling pin, sprinkle some dry flour if required.
  

  

  Dough ball rolled

• Heat the Tawa ( flat pan with out side walls) on the gas and put the rolled chapati on.
  

  

  Rolled dough for roti on hot tawa

• Cook it on both sides by turning it upside down with the flame on medium heat.

Cooked on one side

• When the color of chapati starts changing turn it and cook on the other side till small golden brown dots start appearing.

Other side also cooked till brown dots appear

• When done on both sides put it directly on flame and quickly turn it , the roti will swell and become fluffy or press it gently with a clean dry cloth from the sides. Chapati will puff.
• Turn to the other side and cook for 2-3 sec. 

Roti being cooked on gas flame

• Puffed soft chapati is ready.

Roti / Chapati / Phulka

Tips:

• The dough should be soft else the chapatis will come out hard not soft.

• The tawa should be neither smoking hot nor luke warm before placing the rolled chapati on it. It should.

• Keep the cooked chapatis in a clean cloth in a container to make sure the moisture of chapati is retained in them.

Suggested Variations:

• Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt in the flour before making the dough.

• 1/2Teaspoon caraway seeds can be added to the flour along with salt before kneading.