Roti

Roti is a flat unleavened bread that is thought to have its origins in the Indus Valley culture of some 5000 years past. Archaeological evidence has shown that wheat was first cultivated in Mesopotamia, but it was very soon transported to the Indus Valley civilisation, where the people developed a simple dough made with roughly milled wheat by mixed with water. This grainy stiff dough was then cooked over a hot stone heated by fire.

Not much has changed as today the same bread is made almost as it was back in ancient times, but now it is baked over what is called a tawa (or tava), a large flat or convex disc-shaped metal griddle, or it is put on the side of a tandoor, an extremely hot clay oven heated with wood or charcoal. Lacking one of these traditional cooking methods, these flat breads can be dry-fried in a heavy-based frying pan.

The dough mixed today may have the addition of a little oil and salt and the flour used can vary from wheat flour, to millet flour, to channa or gram flour made from split dried chick peas, to cornmeal, or a combination of any of these; even whole cooked lentils, vegetables or herbs may be added and spices like turmeric or whole seed spices like cumin and fennel, for example, are often included in the mixture. In South Africa mealie meal, a course flour made from white maize, is also used in the mix.

Roti have been taken all over the world by the peoples of the Indians subcontinent, even to places like the Caribbean, where there is a large population of Indian descendants in Trinidad and Roti is proclaimed the national dish. In Durban, South Africa, I remember you could get roti from an Indian take-away rolled up into an envelope and filled with either chicken, mutton, keema, bean or lentil curry. Delicious!

As there are so many ways of making this simple bread, I will be sharing a number of recipes and you can choose how simple or complicated you want to make it.

Wholemeal Wheat Roti
Ingredients:
125g wholemeal flour
75ml warm water
5ml ghee or vegetable oil

Method:
Mix the flour with the warm water. Add the ghee or vegetable oil and knead thoroughly for about 7-8 minutes until a soft, smooth texture is achieved. Cover and set aside for 1 hour to rest. Shape the dough into golf ball sized balls and roll each out into a thin flat circle, about 6 inches in diameter. Cook each individually in a hot dry frying pan for about 2 minutes on each side, until lightly browned. Serve warm, brushed with butter. Makes 4-5 Roti.

Tandoori Roti
Ingredients:
350g fine white bread flour or wholemeal flour
5ml salt
2ml hot chilli powder or tandoori masala
250ml water
30-45ml melted ghee or butter for brushing

Method:
Sift the flour, salt and chilli powder into a large bowl. Add the water and mix to a soft dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 3-4 minutes until smooth. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rest for an hour.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 6 pieces and shape each piece into a ball. Press into a larger round with the palm of your hand. cover with lightly oiled cling film and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 230C. Place 3 baking sheets in the oven to heat. Roll the roti into 6 inch circles and place 2 on each baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. The roti are ready when light brown bubbles appear on the surface of the bread. Brush with ghee or butter and serve warm.

If you don't want heat in your roti, you could replace the chilli with garam masala, ground cinnamon or ground cardamom.

White Roti
Ingredients:
60ml mealie meal
15ml ghee
250ml boiling water
30ml double cream
5ml salt
500ml all purpose white flour
melted ghee for brushing

Method:

Pour the boiling water over the mealie meal and allow it to cool. Add the cream, ghee and salt and mix well. Add the flour and knead to a soft dough. Cover with cling film and set aside for an hour.

Divide the dough into 4 sections and roll each out to a circle 8-9 inches in diameter. Brush with melted ghee and put on a hot griddle, turning over several times until the roti is lightly freckled. Brush again with melted ghee and cook a little longer on both sides until the roti has golden brown freckles dotting evenly against a light background. Serve warm.

Brown Roti
Ingredients:
250ml white flour
250ml wholemeal flour
15ml ghee
5ml salt
185ml water
60ml milk
melted ghee for brushing

Method:

Mix together the two flours and add salt and rub in the ghee. Heat the milk and water together till hot, but not too hot to work with. Mix into the flour with the fingers and knead to a soft dough.

Divide dough into four sections and roll each out to a circle 8-9 inches in diameter. Brush with melted ghee and cook on a hot griddle, turning to cook both sides, until dotted with golden brown freckles. Brush with melted ghee and serve warm.

Millet Roti
Ingredients:
250ml millet flour (bajra)
a pinch of salt
5ml ghee
cold water to make a soft dough
melted ghee for brushing

Method:

Sift the flour and sprinkle with salt. Rub in the ghee. Mix to a soft dough with cold water. Grease a piece of cling film and pat the dough on it to a circle of about 8 inches in diameter. Turn the roti onto a hot griddle, remove the cling film and cook on both sides until golden brown. Brush with melted ghee and serve warm.

Chana Roti
Ingredients:
250ml gram flour
250ml wholewheat flour
1 green chilli, seeded and finely chopped
half an onion, finely chopped
15ml chopped fresh coriander
2ml ground turmeric
2ml salt
15ml vegetable oil
120-150ml lukewarm water
Melted butter for brushing


Method:

Mix the gram flour, wholewheat flour, chilli, onion, coriander, turmeric and salt together in a large bowl. Stir in the oil. Add sufficient water to make a pliable soft dough. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, covered in cling film, and leave to rest for an hour.

Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and divide into four pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Roll out each ball to a circle of about 6-7 inches in diameter. Heat a griddle or a heavy-based frying pan for a few minuted until hot. Brush both sides of a circle of dough with melted butter and cook for about a minute each side. Brush the cooked roti with more melted butter and place on a warmed plate. Keep warm in a low oven while cooking the remaining circles of dough. Serve warm.

If you don't want heat in your roti, substitute the chopped chilli with 2-3ml fennel seeds.

Spinach Roti
Ingredients:
5ml cumin seeds
60g wilted spinach with all the water squeezed out
250g wholewheat flour
salt
melted ghee to serve

Method:

Toast the cumin seeds in a dry frying pan for a few seconds, then grind them lightly with the back of a spoon to break them up. Mix together the cumin, spinach, flour and salt to taste and add water, a little at a time, to make a dough. Divide the dough into 6 separate balls and roll each into a flat circle. Toast the discs on each side in a dry frying pan until they are browned. Brush each with a little melted ghee and serve warm.

West Indian Golden Roti
Ingredients:
200g plain flour
100g gram or split pea flour
5ml turmeric
5ml salt

Method:

Combine the plain flour, gram flour, turmeric and salt in a bowl and add just enough tepid water to give the mixture a dough consistency. Take a handful of dough and roll it out to a pancake shape. Shallow fry it in hot oil until golden brown on both sides, then place on kitchen paper and cover with a plate to keep warm while cooking the rest of the dough into roti. Use as wraps for a tasty curry.