Roti: The Everyday Indian Flatbread You Need to Know

When you think of Indian food, roti, a simple, unleavened flatbread made from whole wheat flour and water. Also known as chapati, it’s the quiet hero of every Indian meal—served with dal, curry, or just ghee and salt. It’s not fancy. No yeast. No sugar. Just flour, water, and heat. Yet it’s the one thing that ties together breakfast in Punjab, lunch in Uttar Pradesh, and dinner in Tamil Nadu. You won’t find a single Indian household that doesn’t make roti at least once a day.

Roti isn’t just bread—it’s a skill. Getting it soft, fluffy, and perfectly round takes practice. Too much flour? It gets dry. Too little kneading? It tears. Too hot the tawa? It burns. But once you get it right, nothing compares. The smell of it puffing up on the stove, the sound of the first crackle, the way it soaks up gravy like a sponge—these are the small joys of Indian cooking. And while some call it chapati, others say phulka or bhakri. The names change, but the idea doesn’t: it’s food made by hand, for hands.

What makes roti different from naan? No oven. No dairy. No yeast. Roti is the people’s bread—cheap, fast, and endlessly adaptable. You can make it with atta, bajra, or even jowar. Add a pinch of salt, a dash of oil, or roll it thin for crispiness. It pairs with everything: spicy chole, creamy paneer, tangy pickles, or just plain yogurt. It’s the sidekick that never steals the show but makes the whole meal better.

And if you’ve ever tried to make roti and ended up with a hockey puck, you’re not alone. Most of us do. But that’s why this collection exists. Below, you’ll find real guides from real cooks—how to get the perfect puff, how to store roti so it stays soft for days, how to fix dry dough, and even how to make roti without a rolling pin. You’ll learn what kind of flour works best, why some swear by a cast iron tawa, and how to tell if your roti is truly done. No fluff. No theory. Just what works.