Missi roti

Being a South Indian, rice was the staple of our diet during my childhood. The only Indian breads that we would make at home were chapathis and puris, with the occasional indulgence in naan when we would go out to eat. I was content with chappathis and puris, to tell you the truth. Nowadays as I am looking for simple recipes to try out, I am more willing to give other rotis a chance. Browsing through Suneeta Vaswani's cookbook, I was kind of surprised by the array of Indian breads popular in the North. As this recipe appeared to be very simple and almost like that of chappathis (the difference being the addition of chickpea flour), I tried it out first and finished effortlessly. They were perfect with the potato-green peas curry I made. This is a good replacement for chappathis when you want a change of taste. Enjoy!

This is also my entry to the Roti mela hosted by Srivalli of Cooking 4 all seasons, along with the Kerala porottas.

Recipe (Makes 8 rotis):

Wheat flour - 1 cup
Chickpea flour (Besan) - 1 cup
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Water - as needed

Method:

Mix the wheat flour, chickpea flour, oil and salt together using a spoon.

Add just enough water to form a single ball of dough.

Knead for a minute or two until the dough becomes smooth.

Cover with a kitchen towel and keep aside for 30 minutes.

Heat a heavy skillet over medium high heat.

Meanwhile, knead the dough again for 2 minutes.

Divide it into 8 equal portions.

Roll each into a ball, cover and set aside from heat.

Dust the work surface with flour.

Flatten a ball of dough between your palms.

Roll each disc into a 7"-8" circle, turning frequently to prevent sticking.

Dust with more flour if needed.

Transfer to the hot skillet and cook until puffy spots appear (~1 1/2 minutes).

Flip the roti over and cook the other side, pressing down on the edges with a spatula (~1 minute).

Lightly oil the roti on both sides and keep warm.

Repeat with the remaining dough balls.

Source: Complete book of Indian cooking By Suneeta Vaswani.



Tips:

1. Aloo-mattar (potato-green peas curry) is a good side dish.
2. To the basic dough, chopped onions, chillies and spices can be added to spruce it up.
3. The cookbook tip suggests that if need be, the rotis can be wrapped in foil, placed in a resealable bag and refrigerated for upto 4 days or frozen for upto 3 months. Reheat in the microwave before serving.