How to make rotis for a week

A quick and easy recipe for warm, soft, lightly charred chapati. Ready in 40 minutes, I love to make these whilst my curry is bubbling away. The perfect vessel for mopping up that curry sauce.

• 📋 What do we need?
• 🔪 How to make Chapati
• 🍽️ Why not serve with a delicious curry!
• Why use oil in the chapati dough?
• Chapati vs Roti:
• 📺 Watch how to make it
• 🍲 More fantastic from-scratch dough/bread-based recipes
• Chapati Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

I find this quite a therapeutic recipe - a little bit of kneading, a little bit of rolling, and straight onto cooking, without having wait for anything to prove.

I love that it's simple and not too time consuming, and yet everyone gets super-excited when I tell them I'm making some chapatis to go with our dinner.

This recipe makes 10 chapatis, but our little family of four consumes the lot every time. Even when I'm cooking rice too. Might as well go all in and add some potatoes and noodles to the carb-fest....

📋 What do we need?

🔪 How to make Chapati

Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.

We start by mixing together wholewheat and plain (all-purpose) flour with salt. Then stir in a little oil, and add in enough hot water until the dough comes together.
Give it a knead for 8-10 minutes (or use the dough hook on a stand mixer), then divide into balls and roll out:

Fry in a pan over a very high heat, turning once, until browned, slightly charred spots appear:

👩‍🍳PRO TIP You can use a regular rolling pin, but I love my chapati rolling pin (<-- affiliate link to a similar one to mine) - it's lighter and much easier to move to help shape your chapatis.

That's it. Five ingredients and a plateful of chapatis.

🍽️ Why not serve with a delicious curry!

• 

  Easy Chicken Korma

• 

  Lamb Bhuna

• 

  Butter Chicken

• 

  Chicken Pasanda

• 

  Chicken Madras

• 

  Healthier Slow Cooked Spicy Beef Curry

I usually start my curry going, then make the chapatis whilst it's bubbling away, so everything is ready at the same time.
One of the easiest bread recipes you can make, perfectly tender, chewy and carb-elicious.

Why use oil in the chapati dough?

The addition of oil in the dough helps the dough to stay soft and pliable - so you get a nice chewy finish. You can leave it out, but I find the chapatis get a little crispier more quickly.

Chapati vs Roti:

Technically, chapati is a type of roti.

There are hundreds of different varieties of roti, popular in Southern and Central Asia - including dhalpuri (a lentil or pea-stuffed roti), paratha (a plain roti, rolled and folded several times to create layers), aloo roti (a potato-based roti) to name a few.

📺 Watch how to make it

🍲 More fantastic from-scratch dough/bread-based recipes

• Bao Buns with sticky pork belly
• Soft and fluffy Brioche Buns
• Dough balls with spinach and bacon dip
• Homemade Artisan Bread
• Flatbread pizza with basil garlic butter

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Chapati Recipe

By: Nicky Corbishley

A quick and easy recipe for warm, soft, lightly charred chapati. Ready in 40 minutes, I love to make these whilst my curry is bubbling away. The perfect vessel for mopping up that curry sauce.

5 from 5 votes

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Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Course Sides

Cuisine Indian

Servings 10 chapati

Calories 154 kcal

Ingredients 

• ▢1 ¼ cups (150g) wholemeal flour
• ▢1 ¼ cups (150g) plain (all purpose) flour, plus 4 tbsp extra for kneading and rolling
• ▢1 tsp salt
• ▢3 tbsp vegetable oil
• ▢¾ cup + 2 tbsp (210ml) hot water

INSTRUCTIONS 

• Place the wholemeal flour, plain (all purpose) flour and salt in a large bowl (or stand mixer bowl if you're kneading using a stand mixer) and mix together.

• Add 2 tbsp of the oil and three-quarters of the water and mix again, adding more water as necessary until you have a soft dough that comes together.

• Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 8-10 minutes until soft, smooth and elastic. You can knead in a stand mixer if preferred.

• Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball.

• Roll out each of the balls on a lightly floured surface, using a rolling pin, until they're as thin as a tortilla. Place each chapati on a piece of baking parchment to make transferring to the pan easier.

• Brush a large frying pan or flat griddle with a little of the reserved oil and heat over a high heat until smoking hot.

• Add a chapati to the pan and cook for 30-60 seconds, until charred brown spots appear. Turn the chapati over and cook the other side until charred spots appear.

• Transfer to a plate and place in the oven on it's lowest setting (or place in a plate warming drawer if you have one).

• Repeat with the remaining chapati, brushing the pan with a little oil each time before cooking.

• Serve the chapatis warm.

Video

✎ Notes

Can I make chapatis using only wholemeal flour?

Can I leave out the oil?

Can I make chapatis ahead of time?

• Make the dough ahead, then transfer to a covered bowl and refrigerate for up to a day. Allow to come up to room temperature for an hour before rolling into individual chapatis.
• Par-cook the chapatis - by frying them in the pan until very lightly brown. Then cool, wrap in foil (or place in a covered container) in the fridge for up to 3 days. Finish the cooking by heating them individually in a large pan over a very high heat until brown spots appear.
• Cook the chapatis as per the instructions, then cool, wrap in foil in piles of 2-3 (or place in a covered container) in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven (wrapped in foil - in piles of 2-3) at approx 170C/375F for approx 6-8 minutes. You need to wrap them in small piles, as if you reheat in a pile of ten chapatis, the heat of the oven won't penetrate to the chapatis in the centre.

Nutrition

Calories: 154kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 4gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 234mgPotassium: 75mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gCalcium: 8mgIron: 1.4mg

Keywords bread, roti

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This recipe was first published in July 2019, updated in June 2021 with video, extra information and a bit of housekeeping.

Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.

Hi I’m Nicky

I love to cook and I want to share with you my favourite, delicious family friendly recipes. I want to inspire you to create fantastic food for your family every day.

Can rotis be made in advance?

Can I make chapatis ahead of time? Yes, you can do this in a few ways: Make the dough ahead, then transfer to a covered bowl and refrigerate for up to a day. Allow to come up to room temperature for an hour before rolling into individual chapatis.

How long does homemade roti last?

room temperature & about 48-72hrs in the fridge. Still, the store brought precooked Rotis last a. minimum of 60 days.

How to make roti for travelling?

Step 1: Put a Tawa on medium-high flame. Step 2: Once the Tawa turns hot enough, put the rolled Chapati on it. Step 3: Wait for a few seconds to form some bubbles on its surface. Step 4: Flip the Chapati and increase the flame if needed.

How can I make my roti stay soft for long time?

Apply ghee or oil to keep the rotis soft for longer. When learning to make roti, you might need to use more dry flour. But always dust off any excess flour before cooking on the Tawa, otherwise the dry flour can make the roti dry and hard. As you get experienced, only apply dough once and roll the roti.