Vegan Roti (Easy Soft Indian Flatbread Recipe)
Learn how to make traditional roti (Indian/Asian flatbread) – made on the tawa with just two ingredients – topped with vegan butter. This can be served with countless dishes and is a must-have with most Indian dishes!
Servings: 10 roti (10-12 depending on size of roti)
Calories: 170kcal
Ingredients
- 500 g Whole wheat / wholemeal flour (Chakki Atta)
- 390 ml Water
- Vegan butter (salted) or oil to serve
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add the whole wheat flour and slowly add warm water and mix to combine. Gently knead to make a large chunk of slightly sticky/shaggy dough.
- Let the dough rest for 15 minutes at room temperature to make it easier to roll and become a smooth dough.
- Knead the dough to ensure soft dough consistency. Divide into equal pieces and roll each piece of dough into a smooth ball (this helps to roll into a perfect circle).
- Roll out into a round shape (flatbread shape). Prepare your worktop area/work surface (by sprinkling some of the flour onto your worktop surface and placing some flour in a plate). Take a dough ball, flatten slightly and sprinkle some flour onto the ball. Using a rolling pin, roll into a flat, round and thin tortilla/flatbread shape.
- Cook rolled out roti on preheated tawa/frying pan for 30-40 seconds on medium-high heat.
- Flip roti, use a spatula to gently press the sides of the roti to cook the edges and rotate the roti in a circular motion to help cook evenly.
- Once cooked transfer to a plate lined with kitchen towel and spread with butter or oil. Repeat for the remaining dough until you have a lovely stack of soft roti. Wrap the stacked rotis in a clean cloth or foil to keep them warm, this will also help them stay soft. Alternatively, you can store them in a roti box (or airtight container) to keep them warm and soft.
Notes
- Add vegan salted butter or brush with oil when roti is hot: The heat from the roti helps the butter melt into the roti/oil soften the roti as well as adding flavour and moisture to the roti. Using vegan butter or oil will make your roti vegan (classic roti uses regular salted butter).
- Knead well and allow dough to rest: knead the dough well to help make the dough more elastic and will give you a softer roti. When kneading ensure you bring each side of the dough into the middle to help evenly knead the dough. You can knead the dough with your hands or use a stand mixer if preferred. Allow 15 minutes for the dough to rest will help make it easier to roll out into disc shapes.
- Cook roti fully: once the roti has heated on the pan, flip it again and you’ll notice it may start to puff up, press down on sides of the roti using a spatula to help the roti puff up evenly and fully which helps give you the perfect roti. If you see the roti puff up fully it means it’s completely cooked and can be removed from the tawa. Optional: for a tandoori roti flavour, using tongs carefully place roti over an open flame and cook for a few seconds.
- Use warm water: to help give you a softer dough, you can use hot water however I prefer warm water as it is easier to knead the dough.
Nutrition
Calories: 170kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 3mg | Potassium: 182mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 5IU | Calcium: 18mg | Folate: 22µg | Iron: 2mg | Zinc: 1mg