Roti (Chapati) Recipe

Name: Roti (Chapati)
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Cuisine: Pakistani
Ingredients: 2 cups Whole wheat flour (atta), chakki atta if you can get it; ¼ tsp Salt, optional; adjust to taste; ¾ cup Water, lukewarm, add gradually; ¼ cup Whole wheat flour (atta), for dusting; 2 tbsp Desi ghee, for brushing

روٹی (چپاتی) بنانے کا طریقہ

Soft everyday roti: whole wheat atta kneaded soft, rested, rolled thin and cooked on a hot tawa, then puffed over the flame so it stays soft for hours.

Prep

15 min

Cook

20 min

Marinate / soak

30 min

Serves

Difficulty

Easy

Spice

Mild

Roti is the daily bread of Pakistan, eaten with nearly every salan, daal and sabzi. It needs only atta, water and a pinch of salt, so everything depends on technique: a soft, well-kneaded dough, a proper rest, even rolling and a hot tawa. When it puffs into a ball over the flame, the steam inside cooks it through and keeps it soft.

Ingredients

4 servings

For 4 servings

Cups & chamachGrams & ml

2 cups Whole wheat flour (atta), chakki atta if you can get it≈ 240 g
¼ tsp Salt, optional; adjust to taste
¾ cup Water, lukewarm, add gradually
¼ cup Whole wheat flour (atta), for dusting
2 tbsp Desi ghee, for brushing (optional)

Method

Put the atta and salt in a wide bowl. Add the water a little at a time, mixing with your fingers, until the flour comes together into a rough dough.
Knead with your knuckles for 5 to 7 minutes, wetting your fist now and then, until the dough is soft, smooth and slightly sticky. Cover and rest.
⏱ 30 min
Heat a tawa on medium-high heat. Divide the dough into 8 balls, dust one with flour and roll it evenly into a thin 7-inch circle.
Shake off the extra flour and lay the roti on the hot tawa. Cook until small bubbles appear and the underside has a few light spots, about 30 seconds, then flip.
⏱ 1 min
Cook the second side for about 30 seconds until spotted. Lift the roti with tongs and hold it over an open flame, first side down, until it puffs up, then turn for a few seconds. Without a gas flame, press the edges with a cloth on the tawa so it puffs there.
⏱ 1 min
Brush with ghee if you like and stack in a cloth-lined chhabba or hot-pot. Repeat with the rest.

Tips for the best result

The dough should be softer than you think, almost sticky. Stiff dough gives hard rotis that never puff.
Roll from the centre outwards and turn the roti a quarter turn often. Even thickness is what makes it puff fully.
Dough keeps a day in the fridge and often makes softer rotis than freshly kneaded dough.

Common mistakes

Leaving the roti too long on the first side. It dries out and won't puff; flip as soon as bubbles appear.
Using too much dry flour when rolling. It burns on the tawa and makes the roti dry and dusty.

How to serve

Serve hot with any salan, daal or sabzi, with raita and salad on the side.

Storing and reheating

Rotis stay soft for several hours wrapped in a cloth. They keep 2 days in the fridge in a bag and a month in the freezer; warm on a tawa.

Nutrition and cost

Worked out from the ingredients, not measured in a lab. Treat both as a rough guide.

Per serving Estimate

Calories: 225kcal
Protein: 6g
Fat: 1g
Carbs: 50g
Fibre: 8.8g
Sodium: 150mg

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018), public domain values for the raw ingredients (100% of the recipe by weight had data). Deep-frying oil is counted at 20%; bones and water lost in cooking are not subtracted, so bone-in and fried dishes can read high. Not medical advice. Method

Cost per servingEstimate

≈ Rs 10

Whole dish ≈ Rs 40 · 100% of ingredients by weight priced

Prices in

From the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics weekly SPI, week ended 29 Oct 2026. Spices, herbs and some vegetables are not in the SPI and are left out unless you add your price, so the real cost is a little higher. How this works

Roti (Chapati): questions people ask

Why doesn't my roti puff up?

The common causes are a stiff or unrested dough, uneven rolling, a tawa that isn't hot enough, or cooking the first side too long. Fix those and it will puff over the flame.

How do I keep rotis soft for a lunchbox?

Brush them lightly with ghee while hot and wrap them in a cloth and then foil before they cool. Dough made with a spoon of oil or a splash of milk also stays softer.

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