I can’t seem to make them right at home.. they always come out hard..
Here is what I do in my Kitchen Aid.. mix water, salt, a little oil, and flour - I think I have chakki atta.. will have to double check. And mix it in there for a while. I have heard to keep it on the softer side so the rotis come out soft too, but that doesn’t help too much..
Any suggestions pleeeease?? What am I doing wrong? And what brand/type atta should I be using?
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I also use kitchen aid mixer to make ata. It took me a little while to get the hang of it with the mixer, sometimes it was hard, sometimes too soft. Now it's just right.
This is how I do it: I rinse the bowel with water, and add a little water on the bottom of the bowel so the ata doesn't stick. Add ata, attach it and mix on low, add enough water slowly so you don't see dry ata anymore. After about 4-5 minutes, turn off the mixer, and let the ata rest for 2- minutes, and then restart it again, ata will begin to come together, add water as necessary to get it softer and mix for another 5 mins or so. At the end, the ata should be elastic so that if you take a big pinch and pull it, it doesn't come away easily. The ata should also be nicely formed around the dough hook, if that makes sense.
For softer rotis, ata is key, as is wrapping them in cloth and putting them in a hot pot, as soon as they are off the tava.
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I know what you mean about the atta formed around the dough cook, I always make sure to have it at that consistency... but still.. hard rotis :(
1 out of every 3 rotis for example, turns out good...
what brand atta should I be using?
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I dunno if it helps coming from another roti novice - as far as I can tell, the more wholemeal or whole wheat flour you are using the the more difficult is to get the dough right and the rotis are a bit harder regardless. My mum has always used a mixture of half white flour and half wholemeal, so that what I use. When I eat fully white flour rotis at other people's houses they are really quite different in softness and texture and in my own experiments with making roti I have found that the roti dough is a lot more stretchy when there is more white flour and the roti rolls out more easily (like when you roll puff pastry) and thinner which makes a difference in cooking as well.
I would say, try the half and half (half chakki) and also try just making a small amount of dough in a mixing bowl and manually mix with a metal tablespoon. Add tiny amounts of water and keep mixing especially near the end. When the dough is 'right', it will be a bit damp but if you press it with your finger it will come away clean... it won't stick on your hands when you make the balls. Once you have figured out how the dough should be it will be easier to recognise in the mixture.
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Oh and if you can make full chakki atta rotis then it is the best... they are much healthier than white flour rotis.
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How are you rolling it out? Are u using rolling pin or a tortilla press?
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OP, use 'Golden Temple AaTaa' available in Indo, Pakistani and some Canadian/US supermarkets. my Bhabhi uses them and roTis come out perfect...soft and round! :)
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A rolling pin gathers no moss.
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Put oil at the end after the dough is formed and turn kitchen aid on.
Don't use too much powder/loose flour when rolling
Cook on high heat.
Don't keep turning roti on the pan.... need to flip it only twice.
Put cooked rotis on top of new ones at the end to help rise it up.
Idk if this makes sense but idk how to explain as I am no expert
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How are you rolling it out? Are u using rolling pin or a tortilla press?
rolling pin. i make the round balls of atta, then roll it out and pat off the excess dry atta, and put it on a desi thava to make
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thanks ! I will go buy this brand and see what happens.
uff, I want to be able to make decent, edible, soft rotis at home. buying them ready made is way too expensive and a waste.
is that too much to ask for? 
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Practice practice practice! There's no fool proof method to rotis, it's a lot trial and error, but you WILL get it. Watch some videos on YT.
Chakki ata is fine, I've used Golden Temple in past. For last couple of years, I've been using either Sujata or Swarna ata.
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OP, have you been using open flame on a roTi grill right off the pan? if not, do that. it will puff the roTii evenly if you turning clockwise/anti-clockwise and then flip it and do the same until the edges are puffed.
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OMG I had the same problem and everyone kept telling me it’s the dough that needs to be soft. No matter how much I tried, and I kneaded with hands, still the rotis were HARD!!! I even tried using oil or even yogurt but to no avail. Finally, I figured through a youtube video, that I was not cooking them properly. You put it on the tawa, wait for the bubble like texture on the top which takes a few seconds and flip the roti. Let the roti cook COMPLETELY on the bubble side. You can lift a little from the side to check. Then flip to the uncooked side and let cook completely. The uncooked side can go straight on the flame to puff it up if you have one of those stoves.
This video was a life saver, really goes through each detail with you so there’s no messing up. Tell me how it turned out. 
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And yes, never cook it on low heat 
I put it on low medium the first couple of times, so I get to eat fully cooked roti. Well, the roti cooked, too bad I couldn’t eat it because it was so hard, the edges could have been used as murder weapon.
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I made roti again last night.. came out super hard and just fell apart into crisps when i touched them 
I wonder how much for that practice I need damnit
I’m gonna buy the Golden Temple atta in a few days and try that
I use Sujata Chakki Fresh atta... works well.
When i knead my dough, i keep it sort of hard so it rolls out easier and doesn't get too thin easily. Softer dough (ie more water) means the dough gets thinner much easier and can become crispy and hard faster.
Make sure the tava is screaming hot when u add the roti, as soon as u see the dough change color and firm up, flip it. Leave it alone for a minutr and then flip again and press the center and spin the roti. If u have a gas flame, when the center is cooked, move the tava off the center of the grate just so the flame is visible at the edge. Cook the edges of the roti by 'spinning' it over the little bit of exposed flame.
I hope that makes sense... but it works for me, and the flame cooking thing makes it cook much faster.
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I am having the same issue. Although I am only on my second batch so I still have hope. This thread came at exactly the right time for me. Will try the tips. I have found dusting off as much flour which I put down for rolling it out helps.
Any tips on the clean up.? I find that the hardest. What do you use to roll it out? I mean what do you use underneath? I hope.that makes sense
Idk abt others, but i just roll it out on my clean countertop =/ The 'mess' is just khushka, easily wipes off. My MIL used to have this round wooden thing that came with her bailan, she would roll out her roti on that. I think it's available at desi shops.
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Hmmna, I use a silicone pastry mat, so when I’m done I fold it up and take it over to the sink to shake off and wash. Before that though, I first wash the rolling pin with bare hands and initially using cold water… my hands and the pin get washed simultaneously.
Also, might just be me, but I found paratha’s are less difficult to get wrong (doesn’t matter if they turn out a bit crispy) so I started off by making them daily and over time I figured out the right consistency for the dough so it’s moist enough but you don’t need to use too much aata for rolling.