Indian flat bread - Soft, healthy, fluffy phulkas

Making rotis/phulkas is not a rocket science. There were days when my rotis used to be really hard like cardboard :-(. Slowly learnt this making phulka which is really easy and can be made with little effort. With absolutely NIL oil this is a very healthy dinner option along with a simple dhal. You can prepare the dough even a day before and refrigerate in an air-tight container. Defrost the dough an hour before making rotis. If you are using a hotpack to store the rotis make sure to layer the bottom with soft cotton cloth or tissue paper. Roll the rotis first (10/12), then cook them altogether and while storing cover the hot-pack immediately. This makes the rotis stay softer for longer.



Gently kneading the dough to a softer consistency is the secret of making soft phulkas..... Even though the procedure seems to be a lengthy one, making them is easy. Don't lose your heart if it doesn't puff up the first time. Make rotis often and I guarantee anyone can master this.

Ingredients

Water - 1 cup
Wheat flour - 2 and 1/4 cup
Salt - 1 teaspoon
(Usually I just mix the dough and water according to my wish. Today for the blog I measured the water : flour ratio. So use the same cup to measure water and wheat flour. Also I measured wheat flour just up to the level of the cup..Just in case water is a little more, don't worry, add 1/2 tablespoons of wheat flour.)

Procedure

1. In a wide mouthed vessel fold in all the ingredients. Gently mix to form a smooth dough.

2. Now comes the secret part to make soft , fluffy phulkas. Slowly start kneading the dough with all your fingers and palm. I am posting a video to demonstrate this. Don't strain yourself by beating the dough to your full strength.  After  6/8 minutes of kneading we need the dough as soft as a cheek of a new born baby.

You will feel the softness of the dough at the end(approximately 6-8 minutes for the above measurement)

3. Then rest the dough for half an hour. Don't forget to cover it.
4. Now just take a small lemon size dough. Roll the dough to a round ball shape. Your roti shape will depend on this. If  it's not a perfect ball shape then your chappathi won't be round.
5.Roll the dough into small small rotis, just the size of a poori. Don't forget to dust with the wheat flour in between. It should be round enough just to cover the flame of your burner.
6.Heat a flat pan. Wait until it's really hot.(Don't cook rotis in low flame. Roti hardens if it's cooked for a longer time).
7. Then cook the rotis on both sides until it's half done.
8. Now use the steel mesh which is available in the market especially for making phulkas. Place the half cooked rotis on top with a high flame. You can see how it's puffing like a poori.
(posting the video also)

9. Store in a hot pack/air tight container. As I mentioned earlier layer the bottom with tissue paper which will absorb the moisture from the hot rotis and keep it soft. Otherwise the rotis which are the at the bottom of the container will become soggy.

Serve the delicious phulkas with a spicy curry!!