Making soft and round chapatis is an art by itself and one can master this art throug practise only. A lot of tips have been shared in this forum for making soft rotis, so wil not say much about it. Begin with making small sized chapatis and gradually increase their size. Roll with a light hand and not hard so that the dough will not stick to the board. Make sure that both the rolling board and pin are absolutely dry. Dust with a little flour before rolling chapatis. Always knead your dough soft and the more you knead the dough, the softer rotis will be. Knead and let the dough rest for atleast half an hour.
Reposting my reply on another thread:- For Soft Chapatis, MIL taught me, NOT to turn the flour upside down while making the round shape..as in in my Mom's place we have an habit of turning the round shape or even turning it to face the other side. We also follow this on the Tava...ie when one side has been done and small spots appear, we turn the other side. once spots appaer on other side, I do NOT turn it back...at this stage we put the chapati on the flame and turn it only once to cook on both sides..this gives a nice "phulka" my Hubby who didnt know cooking, can make decent chapathis(Phulkas) with this method and there is no need to add oil also in flour
dear magicworlld, The ladies hv posted such wonderful tips on this thread. So i guess just get out yr rolling pin n board n get rolling dear !! When I started to roll out chappatis [after marriage] , they were pretty bad - u cud easily stick the shapes on the map and u wudnt miss the continents !! They wud not puff and wud not roast evenly. My poor SIL had to save the day for me most of the times. But eventually, I mastered the art and can now roll perfect chappatis. Just remember knead the dough well. Use a stainless steel rolling pin if u want bcoz thats really smooth. While rolling, relax yr shoulders n keep yr hand soft, sprinkle flour on the chappati if they are sticky. Initially, till u get the hang of it, try not to concentrate on the shape or thickness, just keep rolling. Once u hv mastered rolling, the round shape will automatically come. It is just practice which will make it better. best of luck kylie
How about cutting out round chapattis with lids of utensils. I started like that but that was when I was a teenager. This thread made me remember that chapatti making mania and getting appreciated(falsely) by my father.
HI, Even i struggle in making perfect round chapathi .even my chappathi is not in shape,my outcome will b smooth n soft chapathi.i learned the art of making smooth chappathis but i couldnt learn the art making round chappathi's.Once i have seen my neighbour who is north indian who used to roll chappathi without changing the poisition.when i used to roll ,i roll first vertically then turn the sides to horizontal n again roll it.by doing this i wont get perfect round shape(my dough will b soft ).North indians used to roll such a way that without changing position eash time they roll to perfect shape.sometimes i have seen them changing the flat board position instaed of changing dough position.i hope everyone understand what i mean.can any one help how to roll perfect round chappathi.
Methi Thepla is one of the spicy roti just try it this too north indian soft roti with spicy as the south Indian style
first make sure that the rolling board and belan (the wooden rod) is good quality, as the quality of the rotis will depend on that. you can get a hindalco / steel / aluminium as well. make sure that the board is stable . initially, make small balls of dough, press a little so that it becomes little flat. then put dry wheat on both sides. roll once vertically (i.e roll the pin up and then back to end of the dough). then turn the roti 90 degrees, and then roll once. then put some wheat powder on top and turn the roti upside down (to make sure that bottom doesnt stick to the board). then continue rolling. after lots of practice, the rotis will turn automatically (also depends on the board). else manual turning is very good to get round rotis.
hi, For soft chapathis knead the dough with warm water or milk and salt to soft dough withouth any cracks. Close and set aside for 15-20mins, roll out chapathis and prepare them. Initially dont be concerned about the shape, by practise you will get perfect shape and taste.
