Easy 4-Ingredient Rotis | Simple Indian Flatbreads

Our Easy Indian Flatbreads recipe is very quick and simple to make, using just four ingredients. Absolutely delicious served with your favourite curry or dahl, when you don’t have time to make a Naan Bread, but also useful used as simple wraps for your fajitas or lunch wraps. Mix flour, baking powder, water and oil and you have yourself a lovely flatbread to enjoy with a variety of meals!

We had always made naan bread (or sourdough naan) to go with various Indian-inspired meals until we tried rotis. Rotis (a.k.a. chapatis) are traditional Indian Flatbreads that are made without any yeast. No yeast means no waiting. It doesn’t have to prove, so you can mix and cook it right away. However, resting the dough for a short period of time goes a long way. You can use wholemeal flour, add garlic powder or herbs, but here we’re sharing the simplest recipe for rotis you’ll ever find.

Not only do we serve these with dahls and curries, but we also use these every time we make fajitas (hope Mexicans won’t take offence) or make any lunch wraps.

With so few ingredients and not much work, I am always impressed at how tasty they turn out. Mixing self-raising flour, some salt, oil, and water produces something of amazing flavour and texture – an Indian Roti. All ingredients mixed together will produce a firm dough. I knead the dough for 5 minutes and pop it in a bowl. Cover with a tea towel (or clingfilm) and leave for 20 minutes to an hour to rest. Whilst you can get away without resting the dough, it certainly helps the texture of the cooked rotis. As the dough rests, gluten develops making these Indian flatbreads more elastic, easier to roll out and very soft when cooked.

Once rested, divide your dough into four equal pieces. Roll each of them into very thin circles (approx 15cm/6in). Make sure to dust the surface and your rolling pin with flour, although the dough shouldn’t be too sticky.

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If you make chapatis, tortilla wraps and other flatbreads on a regular basis, or make them in large batches, it may be worth investing in a Tortilla Press! It’s an excellent piece of kit to have in your kitchen!

Heat a large frying pan on high heat and brush it with a bit of oil. I normally use a pastry brush to make sure it’s a very thin layer. Once hot, pop your rolled-out roti and fry for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Then flip and fry for another 30 seconds. In summary, the cooking time depends on how you want to use your rotis.

If you want them crispy, fry for longer. If you want to use them for wraps (so they are soft, flexible and bendy), you only need to get them just cooked. Should you, by accident, overcook them and they are getting brittle and break as you try to roll them, spray them with a little water and pop in a microwave for 10 seconds. They will soften and be flexible again.

Check out the Indian Style Fajitas that we love using these Rotis for. We also love serving them with our other Indian inspired meals:

• Curried Carrot and Lentil Soup
• Autumnal Red Lentil & Butternut Squash Dahl
• Mushroom Dahl with Coriander Relish

Easy 4-Ingredient Rotis (aka Chapatis)

Our Easy Indian Flatbreads recipe is very quick and simple to make, using just four ingredients. Absolutely delicious served with your favourite curry or dahl, when you don't have time to make a Naan Bread, but also useful used as simple wraps for your fajitas or lunch wraps. Mix flour, baking powder, water and oil and you have yourself a lovely flatbread to enjoy with a variety of meals!

5 from 10 votes

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Prep Time 7 minutes mins

Cook Time 8 minutes mins

Resting Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Servings 4 rotis

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 100 g self-raising flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 50 ml water

Instructions

 

• Add all the ingredients to a bowl. Using your hands bring together into a rough dough. Then knead onto a lightly floured surface until the dough is smooth and cohesive. This should only take 4-5 minutes.
• Wrap a ball of dough in clingfilm and set aside for 20 minutes to rest.
• After 20 minutes, divide the dough in four. One by one, roll the dough pieces into thin circles (approx. 15cm).
• Preheat a large frying pan and lightly brush with oil. Place the first roti in the pan and cook on medium-high heat for 30 seconds to a 1 minute until blisters start forming on the top. Then flip it over and cook for further 30 seconds. Repeat with the rest of the rotis.
• If you want your rotis soft (to use for wraps), cook them for a short period of time. If they crisp up, spray them with a little water, and microwave for 10-20 seconds.

Video

Keyword Easy Chapatis, Easy Flatbreads, Easy Rotis, Flatbreads, Indian Flatbreads

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