Tandoori Roti

Are you guys looking for a perfect restaurant-style Tandoori roti recipe?

Then look no further…

Once you try this recipe, it will surely blow your mind with its perfect texture and taste. This roti is a bit crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, just like you get in Indian restaurants.

What is Tandoori Roti?

In every Indian household, roti, naan, and kulcha is the staple food. Whether it is curry or dal, they all taste great with them. There are many types of Indian bread; Tandoori roti is one of them.

Tandoori Roti is a top-rated Indian flatbread recipe. It is traditionally made in a tandoor( a round clay oven) at a high temperature. But since not all of us have tandoors, I am sharing how you can make it without an oven (on the stovetop using Tawa/griddle).

These homemade tandoori rotis are thick and always served with ghee/butter on top. This roti is enriched with dietary fiber, proteins, iron, potassium, and minerals.

Whenever we go out for dinner in Indian restaurants, we all order naan or tandoori roti to go with our curry and dal.

Making tandoori roti at home is not a difficult task. It is effortless to make, and you don’t need any fancy utensils/equipment. All you need is the cast iron Tawa, a pair of tongs, and a rack (that can be kept on the gas or electric stove).

This recipe is my MILs recipe, and you guys… It’s a no-fail recipe and tastes heavenly good!

The texture of the roti is soft and not chewy at all.

Ingredients required

(Note – measurements are given in the recipe card)

This recipe roti is made of

• Flour – I have used both whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour here. You can use only whole wheat flour too. My preferred brand of whole wheat here in the US is Sujata Gold atta.
• Yogurt – The addition of curd gives softness to the roti.
• Oil – Gives a bit of crisp texture
• Sugar and salt – For the taste
• Leavning agents – I use baking powder and baking soda to puff up the bread when we cook it. This makes the roti light.
• Ghee or butter for brushing the top

Step-by-step process

Step 1 – Make the dough

• To make the dough, mix maida, whole wheat flour, curd/yogurt, salt, oil, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl. (image 1 to 4)
• Add water slowly and make a tight dough. Make sure the dough is not sticky or wet and is slightly stiff, just like paratha dough. (image 5)
• Knead the dough for 5 minutes until it is smooth. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and keep aside for 1 hour. (image 6)

Step 2 – Rolling

• Once one hour is done, knead the dough again for 2-3 minutes.
• Now divide the dough into ten equal parts. Make balls from each part. (image 7)
• Take one ball, and roll it to make a 6-inch oval or round-shaped roti. Remember that tandoori roti’s thickness is slightly more than phulka or paratha. (If you want to make garlic roti, at this point, apply some crushed garlic, onion seeds, and finely chopped cilantro and press it a little bit). (image 8 and 9)

Step 3 – cook on Tawa

• Note – I have an induction stove in my kitchen. So for this recipe, I place the rack first and then Tawa on a rack. If you have a gas stove, you can directly place tawa.
• Heat a Tawa. Use a slightly curved roti Tawa for this recipe, not nonstick pans.
• Now apple water on one side of the roti. Transfer the roti to the hot griddle with the waterside down. Tawa needs to be very hot before transferring the roti onto it. (image 10)
• As soon as the roti gets heated up, you will see huge and sometimes even large bubbles on the roti. Cook roti for 30 to 40 seconds on high heat. (image 11)
• Now, remove the rack, invert the Tawa and cook the roti on direct heat until brown spots appear. Keep moving the tawa so that all parts of the roti get cooked. (image 14)
• Bring back the Tawa to its original position on the stovetop.
• Carefully remove the roti from the Tawa. Apply ghee or butter on top and serve hot. 

• The tawa will have a few stuck particles of cooked atta. Just scrape or wipe them off.
• Make the remaining rotis the same way.

Variations

This tastes best with just butter or ghee, but You can use

• finely chopped green chilies and cheese
• only grated garlic
• finely chopped mint with garam masala
• stuff it with paneer.
• sesame seeds
• finely chopped onions with chaat masala
• Or try my favorite variation – Onion seeds, cilantro, and garlic

Notes, Pro-tips, and quick FAQs –

• Apply a generous amount of water on one side of the roti before roasting. This would ensure the rotis sticks to the Tawa/cooker, cook properly, and it will not fall on the stove during the cooking process.
• Don’t worry if a Couple of first ones stick to the Tawa. Use a flat spatula and remove them off the tawa/griddle.
• Use only all-purpose flour to make tandoori naan without yeast!
• Always use an Iron Tawa for the best results. Non-stick griddle/Tawa never works for this recipe as roti don’t stick to the pan and easily fall off.
• Avoid adding much water to the flour all at once.
• Don’t make big rotis as it will restrict even heating on the stovetop and you will not get perfectly cooked Rotis.
• While rolling, don’t use too much dry flour. Too much dry flour will not let the roti stick to the cooking surface. Shake off excess dry flour before cooking.
• Make sure the Tawa is very hot before putting the roti on it.

More Indian flatbread recipes –

• Thepla
• Kulcha
• Puri
• Parotta

Print

4.80 from 10 votes

Tandoori roti

This recipe will surely blow your mind with its perfect texture and taste. This roti is a little bit crispy from outside and soft from inside, just like Indian restaurants.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Keyword Tandoori roti

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

resting time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes

Servings 10 roti

Calories 136kcal

Author Dhwani

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 cups – Whole wheat flour (atta)
• ▢ ½ cup – All-purpose flour (maida)
• ▢ 4 tablespoon – Yogurt
• ▢ 2 tablespoon – Oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon – Sugar
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon – Salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon – Baking powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon – Baking soda
• ▢ ¾ cup – Water. Or as needed

Instructions

• To make the dough, mix maida, whole wheat flour, curd/yogurt, salt, oil, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl.
• Add water slowly and make a tight dough. Make sure the dough is not sticky or wet and is slightly stiff dough just like paratha dough.
• Knead the dough for 5 minutes until it is smooth. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and keep aside for 1 hour.
• Once one hour is done knead the dough again for 2-3 minutes.
• Now divide the dough into 10 equal parts. Make balls from each part.
• Take one ball, roll it to make a 6-inch oval or round shaped roti. Keep in mind that, the thickness of tandoori roti is slightly more than phulka or paratha.
• Heat a Tawa. Use a slightly curved roti Tawa for this recipe and not the nonstick pans. (Note – I have an induction stove in my kitchen. So for this recipe, I placed wire rack first and then Tawa on a rack. If you have a gas stove, you can directly place tawa.)
• Now apple water on one side of the roti. Transfer the roti on the hot griddle with the waterside down. Tawa needs to be very hot before transferring the roti on to it.
• As soon the roti gets heated up, you will see huge and sometimes even large bubbles on the roti. Cook roti for 30 to 40 seconds on high heat.
• Now, take away the rack, invert the Tawa and cook the roti on direct heat until brown spots appear. Keep moving the tawa so that all parts of the roti gets cooked.
• Bring back the Tawa to its original position on the stovetop.
• Carefully remove the roti from the Tawa. Apply ghee or butter on top and serve hot with your favorite curry or dal.
• The tawa will have a few stuck particles of cooked atta. Just scrape or wipe them off.
• Make remaining Rotis same way

To make garlic tandoori roti –

• Roll the roti, apply some crushed or chopped garlic, some kalonji(onion seeds), and finely chopped cilantro. Press a little bit.
• Apple water on the backside of the roti.
• Transfer the roti on the hot griddle with the waterside down. Tawa needs to be very hot before transferring the roti on to it.
• As soon the roti gets heated up, you will see huge and sometimes even large bubbles on the roti. Cook roti for 30 to 40 seconds on high heat.
• Now, take away the rack, invert the Tawa and cook the roti on direct heat until brown spots appear. Keep moving the tawa so that all parts of the roti gets cooked.
• Bring back the Tawa to its original position on the stovetop.
• Carefully remove the roti from the Tawa. Apply ghee or butter on top and serve hot.

Video

Notes

Add-ons/variations –

This tastes best with just butter or ghee but You can sprinkle/use

• finely chopped green chilies and cheese
• only grated garlic
• finely chopped mint with garam masala
• stuff it with paneer.
• sesame seeds
• finely chopped onions with chaat masala

Pro-tips

• Apply a generous amount of water on one side of the roti before roasting. This would ensure the roti’s to stick to the Tawa/cooker, cook properly and it will not fall on the stove during the cooking process.
• Don’t worry if a Couple of first ones stick to the Tawa. Use a flat spatula and remove them off the tawa/griddle.
• To make tandoori naan without yeast, use only all-purpose flour!
• Always use an Iron Tawa for the best results. Non-stick griddle/Tawa never works for this recipe as roti don’t stick to the pan and easily fall off.
• Avoid adding much water to the flour all at once.
• Don’t make big rotis as it will restrict even heating on the stovetop and you will not get perfectly cooked Rotis.
• While rolling, don’t use too much dry flour. Too much dry flour will not let the roti stick to the cooking surface. Shake off excess dry flour before cooking.
• Make sure the Tawa is very hot before putting the roti on it.
• You can refrigerate the dough for up to 3 days.

What to do with Leftover Rotis?

You can make quick paneer pizza. Make paneer topping following this recipe, apply pizza sauce or marinara sauce on roti, add cheese of your choice, top it with paneer toppings and bake it at 350 degrees F (180 C.) in the oven for 5 minutes. You can use any toppings of your choice.

Serving ideas –

You can serve it with any curries like

• Palak paneer
• Matar paneer
• Malai kofta
• Resmi Kaju Paneer
• Paneer pasanda
• Dum aloo

Nutrition

Serving: 1roti | Calories: 136kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 91mg | Potassium: 147mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 8IU | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg

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Warm regards,

Dhwani.