Khasta Roti

Khasta roti recipe with step by step photos. Khasta Roti is a leavened crisp and flaky bread made from whole wheat flour (atta), ghee and cumin seeds. It can be a nice change from your regular chapattis, rotis or even phulkas, when paired with dals, curries and sabzis. The methodology is more or less similar to that of rolling out a chapatti, it’s the composition of the dough that makes it ‘khasta’ or flaky, crispy as compared to the softness of a usual chapatti. Absolutely worth a try!

Khasta roti is one of the flatbreads from the Indian cuisine which is not very popular unlike Tandoori roti, Roomali roti and Naan.

The word ‘khasta’ means ‘flaky and crisp’. So the texture of these flat breads are crisp and flaky. Its not that they are crisp like papads. The crispness in the rotis is accompanied by softness too. Also the flakiness is not like the flakiness in a Kachori or Samosa. But some flakiness is there.

I have been making khasta roti for years now. The recipe comes from my home science notes and that’s where I learnt that such a roti existed. The original recipe uses eggs and milk. I skip both when making these rotis.

When I make some nice North Indian paneer or veggie or mushroom dishes, then occasionally I make these rotis. Though most of the time I end up making our regular homely Roti or chapati.

So if you want to enjoy having crisp rotis, then do give khasta roti a try. They do taste good when accompanied with a North Indian gravy or curry like paneer butter masala or palak paneer or chana masala.

Also goes well with lentils based dishes like rajma masala, dal makhani, dal tadka or dal fry.

This recipe can be easily scaled as per your requirements.

How to make Khasta Roti

1. In a bowl take 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 teaspoon slightly crushed cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon baking powder and ½ teaspoon salt.

2. Mix very well with a spoon or with your hands.

3. Now add 3 tablespoons of ghee.

4. Rub the ghee in the flour till you get a breadcrumb like texture in the flour.

5. When you press a portion of the flour mixture, it should hold itself and not break or fall down.

6. Now add water in parts and knead. First add ¼ cup water.

7. Mix and begin to knead.

8. Add more water as required and knead to a semi soft dough. Not tight/firm and soft. I overall used ½ cup water for kneading.

Add water as required while kneading. Do note that if you end up making a soft dough, the crisp and flaky texture won’t be there. 

Cover the bowl with a lid and allow the dough to rest for 15 or 20 minutes.

Rolling Khasta Roti

9. Later divide the dough in equal medium sized balls. Cover the bowl with the lid, when you are rolling and roasting the khasta roti.

10. Place the dough on rolling board. No need to sprinkle any flour while rolling.

11. Roll to a regular chapati size, about 8 to 9 inches in diameter.

Cooking Khasta Roti

12. Heat a tawa and keep the heat to high. Let the tawa become hot. Then place the khasta roti on it.

13. When you see bubbles appearing then flip it using a spatula.

14. This first side of the roti has to be ¼ cooked.

15. When the second side is half cooked and you see golden spots, flip again.

16. Press the edges of khasta roti with the spatula so that they get roasted well and become crisp.

17. Flip again and press the edges with a spatula. Ensure that the edges are also cooked.

18. Roast till you see golden or lightly charred spots on the khasta roti.

19. Place them in a roti basket or casserole or a plate. Spread some ghee on top. You can serve the rotis hot or stack them up and then serve later. Once you are done making all the rotis.

20. Serve khasta roti hot with any North Indian paneer curry like kadai paneer, paneer lababdar, paneer makhani or veggie gravy/curry dish.

It also goes very well with rajma recipe, dal makhani, dal fry and dal tadka.

If you are looking for similar recipes then do check:

• Jowar roti
• Bajra roti
• Makki ki roti
• Missi roti
• Dibba rotti

Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter.

This Khasta Roti post from the archives first published in September 2013 has been republished and updated on December 2022.