Roti Cooking: How to Make Perfect Indian Flatbread Every Time

When you think of roti, a simple, unleavened Indian flatbread made from whole wheat flour and water. Also known as chapati, it's the daily bread for over a billion people across India, Pakistan, and beyond. It’s not fancy. No yeast. No sugar. Just flour, water, maybe a pinch of salt—and skill. Yet, get it right, and it puffs up like a cloud, soft on the inside, lightly charred on the outside. Get it wrong, and it’s tough, flat, or stuck to the pan. Roti cooking isn’t about perfection—it’s about rhythm. You learn it by feel, not by recipe.

What makes roti different from other flatbreads? It’s the tawa, a flat, heavy griddle, usually cast iron or steel, used across Indian kitchens to cook breads and pancakes. You don’t bake roti. You don’t fry it. You cook it on a hot tawa, flipping it once, then pressing it gently with a cloth until it balloons. That puff? That’s steam escaping through the gluten network you built by kneading. Too little kneading? No puff. Too much? Tough roti. Then there’s the flour—whole wheat atta, a finely ground, high-protein flour specifically milled for Indian breads. Regular all-purpose flour won’t give you the same stretch or texture. And water temperature? Cold water keeps the dough elastic. Hot water? It breaks down the gluten. It’s all connected.

People think roti is just bread. But it’s the foundation. It’s what you use to scoop up dal, wrap around aloo sabzi, or tear off pieces to dip in chutney. You’ll find roti in every Indian home, from Mumbai apartments to village hearths. It’s not a side dish. It’s the plate. And learning to cook it well means you’ve unlocked the most basic, most important skill in Indian cooking. Below, you’ll find real posts from home cooks who’ve cracked the code—how to fix grainy dough, why your roti won’t puff, how to store it without drying out, and even how to make it gluten-free without losing flavor. No fluff. Just what works.