Any good tips please? My rotis are never round , and how do you get them to puff up into a big fat baloon? Any tips really appreciated
Re: How do you get rotis round and soft?
getting your rotis round takes lots of experience! I’ve just grasped the technique and trust me.. unless u do it day in and day out.. u wont be able to get a hang of it just by reading tips…
make sure u knead the atta until its soft .. hard atta makes hard rotis… it shouldnt be goeey .. but it shouldnt be stiff either.. lots of punching… once ure done, put some ghee in aswell.. for 2 mugs of atta i use 1 tbsp of ghee… it makes ure rotis very very soft… punch some more… leave for 30 mins…
make pairay… and then start making rotis… the trick is to make the roti go around in a clockwise direction.. for a good circle… this is tricky and will take lots of pratice…
for phulkas… what ive realized is, rotis dont blow up completely on our electric stove.. but balloon up if cooked on gas stoves… again.. if ure roti is stiff and hard, it wont balloon up…
the first tiem u throw the roti onto the tawa.. as soon as u see edges changing in color, flip over and cook the side completely… sometimes if u dont make that first flip, rotis can go hard …
i have no idea if that made any sense… but i tried 
good luck.. its a slow and tricky process… but once learned.. very very joyous! .. i can make rotis and parathe all day now :D.. which is saying a lot cuz only until last yr i was turning out maps of india and italy .. hehe
Re: How do you get rotis round and soft?
Khawateen, thanks so much for your expertise on this matter. Very much appreciated:) I'll try and follow as much as i can, the thing i hate is actually mixing the dough, as i seem to get in a mess with it, i kneed the dough, my hands get sticky, so then i dip my hand in a bit of water, then i'm able to manage the dough, then my hands get sticky again, so i apply more water:( I think if i got the dough mixing part right, i'd be happy
Re: How do you get rotis round and soft?
Khawateen gave you really good valuable tips:) Just make sure you use less khuskha (dry atta) when rolling out the roti. As that can also make rotis hard and not make them puff up.
Re: How do you get rotis round and soft?
You can’t avoid the stickyness, and you are supposed to apply water to ur hands as you knead the dough. Have a separate big bowl of warm water next to you, and when your hands start getting sticky, dip them in the bowl. Just make sure you aren’t adding a whole lot of water to the dough when you dip ur hands, just enough to make them un-sticky. Khawateen gave great tips. The thinner the roti is, the more it will puff up. Make pairas of a size you can work with. My mom can handle pairas slighty bigger than mine, my cousin on the other hand makes smaller pairas and thus smaller rotis. Freshly kneaded ataa is hard to work with so keep it in the fridge for a bit before you make rotis, it becomes more firm and easier to deal with. Above all, a lot of practice makes perfect. Good luck!
Re: How do you get rotis round and soft?
Thanks everyone!
Re: How do you get rotis round and soft?
If you're having trouble with kneading the atta then it might be worthwhile to get a dough mixer, we've got a Kenwood Chef machine and it takes less than 5 minutes to make the atta.
Khawateen - that's exactly how I get my roti's to puff up though they're still not perfectly round yet.
Re: How do you get rotis round and soft?
kwazy.. hang in there love.. took me 25 yrs ... slowly but surely u'll get there too.. practice makes perfect ;)
Re: How do you get rotis round and soft?
Khawa...you add ghee after kneading...or during the process...???
Re: How do you get rotis round and soft?
after kneading... add ghee.. and knead a bit again.. just so the ghee mixes with the atta...
Re: How do you get rotis round and soft?
Sorry to interupt masturat
Gol roti bailain gee to goll haun gee
Simple :)
BTW j/k aside it takes practice and the basic theme is to keep balance in the centre of balance so that all side are equally thick.
I knew that trick when my amma was not here, not now :(
Re: How do you get rotis round and soft?
Add some yougurt or butter-milk when making atta. Rotis will be soft and delicious.
As for round rotis, I make them a little bigger than I want, then cut them nice and prefectly round with a dhakkan.
Re: How do you get rotis round and soft?
:S My dough is either too watery, or too dry, or too oily :S hope I can improve myself someday.
Bao Bihari, I know i am totally off the topic here but after reading your location i just couldn't keep myself from asking you, do you know a good recipe of bihari kababs by any chance?
I have been looking for a good tried recipe for so long. I have tried a few but couldn't get a perfect one. So if you know of one Plz plz let me know.
Re: How do you get rotis round and soft?
Very simple, experience. The more you make the better you will become at it.
Re: How do you get rotis round and soft?
I agree with Niksik and Khawateen.....it takes experience and a lot of practice to make perfect rotis, unfortunately there's no shortcut!
Re: How do you get rotis round and soft?
experience!
my first experience with a roti/paratha etc…was making aloo wala paratha …the 1st one turned out like a calzone 
the more i kept making them, the more they resembled actual rotis.
But I wonder, does anybody use that dough making machine that Kwazy Kitty mentioned? i saw it on a cooking show once, it seems pretty simple ???
Re: How do you get rotis round and soft?
Yes, i have that machine and it is amazing. I've had the Kenwood for over ten years now and its still going strong! You still need judgement as to how much water to put in but the machine kneads the dough beautifully.
As the other posters said, practice is the key. And Khwateen is absolutely right, the 'first flip' is crucial! ...this gives you the little black dots, rather than the larger markings which are just not right! The final cooking over the exposed plame without the tawa gives you the balooning of the roti.
Re: How do you get rotis round and soft?
also don't press the roti when it's cooking, i used to do that sometimes to make sure it's cooked through, ,just keep rotating it while it cooking then at the end press a little. mine's will fluff up if i keep rotating them around and don't press them
Re: How do you get rotis round and soft?
PRACTICE, PRACTICE PRACTICE! You will get it eventually!
Few tips -
*freshly gunned atta is easier to make roti with. When it isn't fresh it goes very soft and can be difficult to handle.
*When you have gunned your atta leave it in the fridge to rest for a bit - I leave mine for a couple of hours if I have enough time.
*flour the rolling pin and ball of flour well to avoid it sticking to the surface
get the roti to roll by itself as you use your belan to roll it out - this way all the edges get evenly rolled out and you won't get a roti that's flat in some places fat on the others!
don't roll your roti out too thin as this can make it dry out when you cook it
*cover the roti immediately when it is cooked and layer the rotis on top of each other. The steam from each fresh roti you put on the pile will keep the others soft and warm until you are ready to eat
*have the tava really hot when you put the roti on to it
Those are a few things that work for me! I hope that helps you in some way.