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 little bit crispy from the outside and soft from the inside, just like you get in Indian restaurants.

Jump to:

• What is Tandoori Roti?
• Ingredients required
• Step by step process
• Add-ons/variations –
• Notes, Pro-tips, and quick FAQs –
• More Indian flatbread recipes –
• Tandoori roti
• Video

What is Tandoori Roti?

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

Tandoori Roti is a very popular Indian flatbread recipe. It is traditionally made in 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, 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 the Indian restaurants, we all end up ordering either naan or tandoori roti to go with our curry and dal.

Making tandoori roti at home is not a difficult task. It is very easy 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 stove 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 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 prefereed brand of whole wheat, here in US, is SUjata Gold atta.
• Yogurt – The addition of curd gives the softness to the roti.
• Oil – Gives bit crisp texture
• Sugar and salt – For the taste
• Leavning agents – I use baking powder and baking soda to puff this bread up a bit when we cook it. This make 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 dough 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 10 equal parts. Make balls from each part. (image 7)

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. (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 and not the nonstick pans.

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 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, 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 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.

Add-ons/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 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.
• 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

Warm regards,

Dhwani.