The secret to making soft Indian style roti is threefold. Your ingredient ratios, your rolling method and your cooking technique. Get that right, and you’ll have perfect roti every time.

To begin, you should always use boiling hot water, or water taken from the kettle as soon as it boiled. Apart from this major ‘secret ingredient’, you must ensure that the first side is half cooked-before flipping it over.  Perfect soft roti should rise when cooked and reveal multiple layers that can be peeled.

Here’s what you’ll need to make yours:

Ingredients:

• 400g Cuisine flour
• 1 tablespoon melted Blue Band butter
• Half teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons Cuisine vegetable oil
• Half cup Cuisine flour for dusting the work surface
• 250ml hot water

Utensils:

• A wooden rolling pin
• A thawa or heavy based frying pan.  If you don’t own a thawa- a nonstick frying pan works just as well.

Cooking Directions:

1. Add 350g Cuisine flour into a bowl. Add the oil. Add the hot water. Mix with a tablespoon since the dough will be quite hot with the boiling water.
2. Take some of the remaining flour and dust the worktop. Remove the dough from your dish then place on the work top.
3. If it is sticky then add a little flour until it is soft and manageable. Knead the dough until a soft pliable dough is formed. Like most breads the key to soft bread is a dough that is well kneaded!
4. Once a soft dough is achieved. Cover the dough with a dishcloth or with your mixing bowl turned over it. Let the dough rest for about 5 minutes while you prepare the butter and heat the pan. Leave the pan on low heat while rolling the rotis then turn up to high heat a minute or two prior to cooking the rotis.
5. Melt the butter then return to the dough. Break off a small piece of about 8cm diameter then roll into a large circle shape. Take the melted butter then spread over the circle shaped dough.
6. Then roll the dough like a Swiss roll. Roll inward toward you. Once you have formed a snake-like shape then cut into even pieces.
7. Take one of the cut pieces, stand upright then press down with your hand this will create a circle when flattened. Dust your hands with flour then work this small circle into a round shape then place onto work top and roll into a flat round disc. Make sure the roti is rolled as flat as possible. Thick rotis take longer to cook and are often too heavy to rise resulting in uncooked tasteless roti.
8. To cook your soft roti simply place on the hot preheated pan (the pan should be hot) .The cooking process for each roti should be 1 minute. Allow the roti to cook for a 5-10 seconds before turning it over. On the second side allow to cook for a little longer, pressing the sides with your fingers to ensure that it cooks. Once the roti rises or you see bubbles form turn the roti. Careful not to burn your fingers as this can be quite hot, use a spatula if you like.
9. Once you see the dough rise up forming bubbles then turn the dough over allowing the dough to rise once more. Once you have golden brown spots then the roti is cooked. Remove from stove then repeat this process for all remaining roti. Once all are cooked cover with a piece of paper towel or dishcloth, this will keep the moisture in keeping roti soft until you are ready to serve them.