I have many questions about RotiMaker..Please help me :-)

swaran · Feb 23, 2012

Hello Ladies, :hiya

I am planning to buy a roti maker after getting a good review from my mother...she actually got the rotimaker(sorry dont know the brand) from her sister which was not used since a long time...my mom makes chappati and dosa in it and says its really good...also my SIL has got one new roti maker...but when i read the reviews here in IL(i have read all threads about roti maker),i have got a dilema whether i really need to go for one!!! :bonk...

Reasons for why i need a roti maker
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(1)The main reason for which i plan to buy a roti maker is to her my MIL who does by her hand..
(2)lesss/no oil
(3)also we have a catering business and i feel this roti maker would be of greater use when we get an order.

Brand
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I have 2 brands in mind-JAIPAN and BUTTERFLY...JAIPAN i have heard some good reviews and butterfly,i have not heard any review but i feel good about the brand :crazy
any other brand would you like to suggest...i stay in india and would like to know the brands that are available here

Questions that i have
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(1)Many say that roti maker is not fine,i mean the chappatis are dont come as expected but is this because of the dough that we make??...sorry i dint mean to hurt anyone but just want to know whether someone has changed the dough thickness or changed the ingrediants to make the dough(like less/more oil,milk etc etc) and the rotimaker was able to make rotis as expected!!!!!...becoz my mom says,if we make the dough a little loose,the chappati is fine
(2)Also whatever reviews i have read here in ILs are old,i mean starting from 2007-2011 june i see the reviews but nothing after that...are the present roti maker models still working the same or any good brand has come after that...any of you have bought a roti maker in the recent times and its working fine???..i mean not rubbery and not getting hard after an hour or two!!!!!
(3)i also read that its made of aluminium and some other element and it could cause health issue...can it????
(4)ok,even in case i fail to make proper rotis,can i use the roti maker for making some other item..like dosa,parata or even making thin roti base(will use it on tava seperately for making chappati)???...i read that we can make pooris??...how many of you have tried this roti maker for some other purpose...

The main reason why i want to know this is,even if this rotimaker fail to make rotis properly,atleast it should be used for some other purpose rather than sitting idle in the kitchen forever!!!!

I plan to take a demo before purchase too but also want to know from the experienced ladies here...

Waiting for all your valuable inputs...please help!!!!!!!

Thanks in Advance Bow

upfsabari · Feb 23, 2012

Even I'm planning to buy and have all these questions in mind.
Thank you so much for starting this thread swaran.

Will wait for the replies.

swaran · Feb 23, 2012

lets wait for some replies sabari

pman16 · Feb 23, 2012

Swaran,

My reply may not be impressive to you...but still let me write about my personal experience.

When i relocated to US, i thought the rotimaker will be of great help in the absence of a maid and the extra work. I took a demo from one of a dealer who came home and to my satisfaction, he mixed the dough in front of me and used too much oil . I didnt worry about the taste or other stuff at that time and bought it to US with the adapter.

Firstly we have to be careful handling it in the presence of kids. They do not know it is electric and might touch it. So we have to guard them from the kids.

The rotis get compressed with electric heat (artificial) and i feel the inner layer doesnt get cooked properly (hubby's complaint) and smells raw sometimes. Also the rotis if eaten immediately will be kind of ok but if you leave it for sometime and eat later, it is not so great. When the rotis are rolled out with hand (natural) the inner layer also gets cooked evenly on stovetop.

After my family protested the rotis of rotimaker, i still wanted to use it in some way or the other. I tried making dosa. The dosa is ok but we cannot put more oil. It was ok for us but the kids like dosas a bit crisp so it didnt serve me the purpose. Also the size of the dosa is small on a rotimaker. It was like playing and i dont have so much time to spare. Also we need to keep only wooden ladles for this purpose.

I never tried pooris though.

If you are still interested to buy, have a look at this video.
CHEFMASTER- Chapathi maker- DEMO film - YouTube

swaran · Feb 23, 2012

thanks a lot pman for the detailed feedback...
i have fully not convienced about this roti maker,,hence looking for some response from all ladies who have/are using this...
great help..
thanks a bunch..

orion80 · Feb 23, 2012

Hi Swaran,

Even i had similar exp with the roti maker. Mine is Vijay brand.

My family likes the soft rotis i make by hand and prefer it in 3 meals. So i thought making rotis would be easier. Some differences between rotis i make by hand and rotimaker:

1. Rotis made by hand stay soft till evening but those made in rotimaker should be consumed immediately or should be stored in hotpack lined with tissues. Even then the taste is different.
2. Lot of oil goes into mixing the dough when we use rotimaker but for the dough which i roll by hand one tblspoon is enough.
3. I make crispy and bigger dosas on non-stick tawa. On rotimaker, the diameter is too small. You need to make more number of dosas and the time taken is more.

So my opinion would be not to go for it. I gave mine to a friend so that she can use for few days and check for herself if she is comfortable with it. She came back after few days and said that i saved her the money

I strongly suggest you ask your mom how she is using it. She must be doing it the correct way to find it useful for rotis as well as dosas. She might help you with the technique, which obviously, we are missing. And then you can share it on IL and we can restart using our rotimakers :bonk

harikamahesh · Feb 23, 2012

Hi,
My mom also used to do rotis in roti maker and wat i personally experienced is that
rotis are of not gud taste and they become some wat dry after some tym. They have to be consumed immediately.
As 'Orion80' said may be ur mom is using it in the rght manner which we dont knw.

Regards
Harika

Priesh · Feb 24, 2012

I am also thinking to buy Roti maker. Thanks for starting this thread Swaran.

My friend is using this. She told chapthis are coming good when the dough is loser. Dont know whether she uses more oil or not.

My cousin told chapathis are OK when we eaten immediately. else it is like papad.

confused now.

pman16 · Feb 24, 2012

If your family members do not worry about the taste,texture or size of rotis/dosas, then go for it. If a family's staple food is rotis, then no point in spoiling the show by experimenting with taste. As contrast to rotis, my kids love my hand-made rotis and have started to say mummy-maker rotis are the best

npri · Feb 24, 2012

Even i used roti maker. The chapati has to be consumed soon else it will become dry and difficult to eat. You cannot pack chapati to lunch which i find it as a big disadvantage.
the dough has to be too loose so that you can get a puffy chapathi. Taste wise it would not be so good as compared to hand made ones.