Well, after setting up my Crypto Bot on Quadency and linking it to Binance yesterday, I am going to make this a day of rest where I don't do any trading or looking at markets/charts/candlesticks, etc... Otherwise I think I would just drive myself mad waiting to see what was going to happen.
Instead I will spend some time today with my daughter during the day making flat breads. In this case I will be making Roti.
What is Roti?
For those of you that don't know, Roti is an Indian flatbread. It is also known as a Chapati (same thing, different name from different parts of Indian - or so I am told!).
Roti is basically unleavened bread (unlike Naan bread, that is leavened with yeast).
It is the type of flour that makes it different from other flatbreads such as tortilla wraps. Roti flour is often called "Atta" flour. Atta flour is a wholemeal wheat flour and has high gluten content (which provides elasticity) so the dough made out of atta flour is strong and can be rolled into thin circles. Atta was traditionally ground in the home on a stone chakki mill.
Atta is also cheap - especially if you buy in bulk. A 10kg bag will cost about £10.00 - and that will make about 200 Roti (about 5p each). Indian Take-Aways in the UK tend to charge between £1 to £2 per Roti - what a cheek!!!
Roti Recipe
For a single Roti, my own Roti recipe is:
- 50g Atta Flour (normally Medium Elephant Atta Flour)
- 30g Hot Water
- 5g Oil (normally rapeseed oil)
Just multiply this up by however many Roti you want. I normally make a minimum of four roti for my family of four.
Mix the ingredients together in a bowl either by hand or with a spoon. As it starts to form a dough you can turn it out and kneed it on a flat surface for about 5 minutes.
This is now where advice can differ from family recipe to family recipe, but I take one portion of the dough and bash it flat with my hand into a vague circle shape. It doesn't matter if it tears at this stage. A quick sprinkling of oil, and a light during of flour, and I rip a line from the edge of the circle to the center. I then take the radial line and roll it around - basically forming a 3D triange. I then bash the top of the triange down again to form a small circle about 1 - 2cm thick. I set this aside and let it rest for 10-20 mins (depening what else I am doing). This lets the dough rest and the gluten strands settle.
Heat a pan to a hot setting. Traditionally a Tawa pan is used - a flat metal pan with no "sides" or lip - over coals. But I just use my electric hob at it's maximum setting.
I now take my dough circle, and on a lightly floured surface I use a rolling pin to roll it into a thin circle (about 17 - 20 cms diameter).
Put it into the hot pan, and after about 30s - 1 minute turn it over. Ideally you should see it "bubbling" before you turn it over. Repeat for the other side - hopefully it will "puff" up, but do not worry if it doesn't (about 10% of mine "puff" - but they all taste the same). If needed, flip it back onto the first side. This bit is the "art" of making Roti. The timings depend on your pan, your heat source, and the dough mix. But at 5p per Roti, if you make a few bad one's whilst you are learning does it really matter?
Variations
Flour - If you do not have Roti flour, try using Bread Flour (white or wholemeal). It will spring back a bit more than Atta dough, but it still makes a nice Roti.
Paratha - If you fold and layer the dough multiple times with Butter, Ghee, or Oil during the last rolling process before putting it into the pan, the layers will start to flake in the hot Tawa and you will make Paratha. Paratha is also slightly better using plain (non-wholemeal) flour - you can mix Atta and white flour togehter if you want.
Eat and Enjoy!
If you need to buy a few things to make Roti, you can get these from supermarkets, Amazon or other online/offline retailers. Here are some Amazon links to get you started if you don't want to leave home :
Flour : https://amzn.to/3dKCAue (£10 - 10kg Medium Elephant Atta Flour)
Oil : https://amzn.to/2Q1Cbf5 (£2.50 - 2L "Crisp N Dry" Rapeseed Vegetable Oil)
Tawa : https://amzn.to/3mrc6lv (£14 - This is the one that I have)