Tandoori Roti Recipe

Make restaurant-style Tandoori Roti at home without any tandoor with this easy step-by-step recipe. These rotis are crisp on the edges and soft in the center and make the perfect pairing with creamy dals and curries.

This traditional and tasty north Indian flatbread recipe is made with wheat flour using tawa on a top gas stove. it is traditionally made in a tandoor oven where flat rotis are pasted to the sides till it is cooked.

At home, not all of us have tandoors. Yet even without a tandoor, we can make a really tasty tandoori roti on the stovetop following a simple technique of water brushing the rolled dough.

The idea of making tandoori roti at home might sound intimidating since most of us don’t have tandoor at home but it’s actually quite easy to make. We make this using a small iron wok or tawa and invert it overheat which mimics a tandoor and thus gives the roti its charred characteristic appearance and texture.

Ingredients for Tandoori Roti

• 2.5 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tablespoons oil
• ½ cup curd (Yogurt)
• water to knead
• 2 to 3 tablespoons Butter (softened) or ghee or for brushing on rotis

Instructions for Tandoori Roti

1. Sieve 2.5 cups atta (whole wheat flour)
2. To a large bowl add the atta (whole wheat flour), 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and ¼ tsp baking soda.
3. mix well making sure everything is well combined.
4. Then add curd and 2 tablespoons oil.
5. Mix until all the oil and curd are well incorporated with the flour. Rub the flour with your fingers until it’s all mixed well.
6. Then add ¾ – 1 cup water as needed, working a little at a time.
7. Mix everything together. Gather the mixture to begin kneading.
8. Add water if required while kneading and knead until the dough turns smooth and soft.
9. Cover this dough with a wet damp cloth. Keep aside for 25-30 minutes.
10. Make small-medium-sized balls from the dough, depending on the size you want your tandoori roti to be.
11. Now, take a dough ball, dust it with dry flour and Using a rolling pin, evenly roll it into small to medium-sized rounds like that or a regular roti or chapati.
12. You should roll it on the thicker side, it doesn’t have to be thin like a normal roti.
13. After you are done rolling the roti, spread water evenly all over the roti.
14. heat the tawa on medium flame, and Place the roti – watered side down – on a hot cast iron tawa.
15. Now let it cook for 20 to 30 seconds on high heat. You will see lot of bubbles appearing on top.
16. Be patient and allow the roti to cook well or it will get stuck. The water has to dry up completely so that the roti comes out easily.
17. Now carefully flip the tawa and cook the roti directly on the heat with the tawa being upside down.
18. Heat should be medium at this point and you should move the wok a little bit so that it gets cooked evenly from everywhere.
19. don’t worry if there are some black spots appearing. it gives a tandoor effect.
20. Bring back the tawa to its original position on the stovetop.
21. scrape the roti and make sure the roti is cooked completely from all sides.
22. Spread some butter or ghee on the tandoori roti. You can also serve the tandoori roti plain, without adding any butter or ghee.
23. Serve hot with creamy curries or dal.

Serving Suggestions

Tandoori roti pairs greatly with a rich saucy curry or a creamy lentil dish. It is best to pair with Popular Indian legumes and lentil dishes like Chana Masala, Dal Makhani, Dal Tadka, and Rajma Masala.

They also taste nice with vegetable curries like Bhindi Masala, Dum Aloo, Aloo Gobi, and Palak Paneer. For a richer meal, serve with paneer curry recipes like Paneer Butter Masala, Matar Paneer, Paneer Tikka Masala, or Kadai Paneer.

Tips and variations

• firstly, if you are comfortable adding maida to roti then you can add a 1:1 ratio of maida and wheat flour.
• Knead the dough to a smooth, soft, and pliable dough adding water as needed.
• If you do not have an iron tawa or wok, you can even use the inside of a pressure cooker and stick the rotis there and then invert it.
• Keep in mind not to overcook the roti as they can become hard
• also, make sure not to use nonstick tawa as the roti will slip and will not stick to tawa.
• The recipe can be easily scaled to make a small portion or a large batch.
• You can keep leftover rotis in the fridge. Re-heat in the oven for 2-3 minutes. However, they do lose their crispy edges so they will still be soft but not crispy from the edges if you eat it the next day.