tandoori roti recipe with step by step photos – sharing a no oven and no tandoor method of making tandoori roti on stove top.
once in a while, when we go out to dine in restaurants, we always order tandoori roti or naan or rumali roti. since we often opt for punjabi food, rotis or naan make an appearance on the table. tandoori roti go very well with rich curry dishes like bhindi masala, dum aloo, rajma, veg kadai etc.
traditionally tandoori roti are made in a tandoor (a pot shaped clay oven). at homes not all of us have tandoors. yet without a tandoor we can make a really good tandoori roti on stove top.
the method of making the dough is same as the way we make our regular chapati dough. no secrets there. in fact i make tandoori roti at times with the chapati dough too. what works here is the method or technique of preparing the rotis.
sharing 2 methods to make tandoori roti
1. making tandoori rotis on an iron tava or griddle
- in this method (the top pic) you get a soft as well as chewy texture. the taste is like that of tandoori rotis you get in restaurants. there is some charring with a a crisp texture in the rotis.
- you have to use an iron tava/griddle or a steel one. please don’t use a non stick tava.
- you need little experimentation to get the knack, like how hot should be the flame and rotating the tava evenly so that the corners of rotis are cooked well.
- make small rotis so that the burner flame reaches out. keep flame low to medium or as needed. you need to experiment with the burner flame to get the perfect rotis. as it depends upon your tava thickness and burner capacity. for me it worked on medium flame.
- you need to eat the rotis fresh and when they are hot. since as they cool, they become more chewy and dense after some time. given an option we prefer these roti made on tava, provided they are served hot.
2. making tandoori roti on rack
- easy and simple method. but taste is just a bit like tandoori roti you get outside.
- these rotis stay soft and can be eaten later also.
- make the size of rotis depending on the size of the rack you are using. below is a pic of the tandoori roti made on rack.
tandoori roti goes well with any gravy or sauce based indian dishes. these butter roti also go well rich curry dishes or with paneer curry recipes like paneer butter masala or kadai paneer.
how to make tandoori roti recipe
1. seive 2.5 cups atta or whole wheat flour along with 1 tsp salt in a bowl or a large plate. you can also mix the flour and salt together.
2. add ½ tbsp oil. you can also skip the oil if you want.
3. then add ¾ cup to 1 cup water.
4. mix everything and gather the mixture to begin kneading.
5. knead to a smooth, soft and supple dough. add water if required while kneading. cover and allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes.
6. make small to medium sized balls from the dough.
7. now on a rolling board, flatten a dough ball and sprinkle some flour on it.
8. roll it into a small to medium sized round like that or a regular roti or chapati. don’t roll very thin, like we do for phulkas.
rack method to make tandoori roti
1. take a fire proof wired rack and place it on a low to medium flame.
2. place the roti on the rack.
3. when you see bubbles appearing, flip the roti.
4. you will see a few brown black spots on the roti. cook the other side now.
5. flip again and you will the second side cooked well enough.
6. flip once more for an even cooking.
7. lastly flip again. the whole roti has to be cooked well. you should not see any rawness in the tandoori roti.
8. keep the tandoori roti in a roti basket or casserole. take some butter or ghee to spread on the roti.
9. spread the butter or ghee evenly. if you want you can skip the butter or ghee.
tava method to make tandoori roti
1. after you are done rolling the roti, spread water evenly all over the roti. you can use your fingers to spread water or use a pastry brush.
2. place the roti, watered side down on a hot tava. use a cast iron tava. don’t use non stick as the roti will fall off in the next step. as soon the roti, gets heated up, you will see huge and sometimes even large bubbles on the roti.
3. allow to cook for about minute on a low to medium flame. be patient and allow the roti to cook well. otherwise the roti gets stuck to the tava and you need some skills to remove it. the water has to dry up completely, so that the roti comes out easily. Â i keep at least for a minute for the roti to cook well. but the cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the tava/griddle and the intensity of the flame source. you can also use this technique to cook naans on stove top.
4. now carefully hold the tawa upside down on the flame. the flame has to be on low to medium or else the roti might bet burnt. rotate the tawa for even roasting. keep tongs near by, in case the roti falls off from the tawa, then you can just quickly lift it up with the tongs.
5. bring back the tawa to it original position on the stove top. this is our tandoori roti done and roasted very well. remove the roti with a spatula or a tong. in case the roti sticks and not coming out, then cook the roti for some more seconds.
6. this is the watered side of the roti, which has been cooked.
7. the tawa will have a few particles of cooked atta, which you can scrape or wipe off.
8. spread some butter or ghee on the tandoori roti. you can also serve the tandoori roti plain without adding any butter or ghee.
serve tandoori roti hot with rich curry dishes like paneer lababdar or chana masala or paneer tikka masala or dal makhani or mushroom masala.
few more roti varieties for you!
Tandoori Roti
INGREDIENTS
- 2.5 cups whole wheat flour
- ½ tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon salt or add as required
- ¾ to 1 cup water for kneading or as required
- some butter or ghee or oil for spreading (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
kneading dough
- seive the atta or whole wheat flour along with 1 tsp salt in a bowl or a large plate. you can also mix the flour and salt together.
- add 1 tbsp oil.
- then add 3/4 cup to 1 cup water.
- mix everything and gather the mixture to begin kneading.
- knead to a smooth, soft and supple dough.
- make small to medium sized balls from the dough.
- now on a rolling board, flatten a dough ball and sprinkle some flour on it.
- roll it into a small to medium sized round.
rack method to make tandoori roti
- take a fire proof wired rack and place it on a low to medium flame.
- place the roti on the rack.
- when you see bubbles appearing, flip the roti. you will see a few brown black spots on the roti. cook the other side now.
- flip again and you will the second side cooked well enough.
- flip once more for an even cooking.
- lastly flip again. the whole tandoori roti has to be cooked well.
- keep them in a roti basket or casserole. take some butter or ghee to spread on the roti.
- spread the butter or ghee evenly. if you want you can skip the butter or ghee.
tawa or griddle method to make tandoori roti
- after you are done rolling the roti, spread water evenly all over the roti. you can use your fingers to spread water or use a pastry brush.
- place the roti, watered side down on a hot tava. use a cast iron tava. don't use non stick as the roti will fall off in the next steps. as soon the roti, gets heated up, you will see huge and sometimes even large bubbles on the roti.
- allow to cook for a minute on a low to medium flame.
- now carefully hold the tawa upside down on the flame. the flame has to be on low to medium or else the roti might bet burnt.
- rotate the tava for even roasting.
- this is our tandoori roti done and roasted very well.
- this is the watered side of the roti, which has been cooked.
- the tava will have a few bits of cooked roti, which you can scrape off.
- spread some butter or ghee on the roti.
- serve tandoori roti hot with any dal, vegetable or paneer curry.
NOTES
- best to serve these rotis hot.
Dear Dassana
I follow your many recipes.i have a question.
I have electric stove how can I make tandoori on this stove?
o u reply to personal email? or can I write to yr email,if u let me know yr email?
thanks,
arusha
arusha, use a wired rack stand on top of the electric stove. when you turn the tawa the roti has to touch the rack. we usually reply to all comments in the website within 48 hours.
Hi Dassana
Hope you doing good!
Can you please tell me of any method to make naan or tandoori roti on a coil like top, i actually live outside india and i hope you aware of kind of stove tops people use here made like a coil ( no fire ). so could you please.
thank you
samrinder, you will need to use a rack on top of the coil. then keep the roti or naan or phulka on top of the rack. the roti will puff up this way and get cooked too. you can just lift the naan or roti when half done on both sides and keep on the rack.
Hi, i love cooking n keep on searching different recepies online.. I happened to see this tandoori roti recepie n I tried it … it was awesome. My husband loved it a lot n was amazed that I made this . Thankyou for sharing this lovely recepie.
Welcome Kanchan. Glad to know this.
How to get that smoky smell from chappati as we get from outside,do u have any tip for that?
sabita, thats due to the charcoal or wood being used in the tandoor. that aroma will be difficult to get while roasting or grilling rotis on stove top or in the oven.
If you add fresh cream instead of oil while kneading the flour, it might make it even better.
thanks for this tip injila.
I made tandoori roti today on the tava and it turned out absolutely amazing. My kidsloved it. Thank you very much. Your recipes are extremely easy to follow, especially in the pictorial format. Absolutely enjoy trying out your recipes. Thanks again 🙂
thanks rahila for sharing your experience. and also thanks for the positive feedback.
Hey Dassana, I’m a big fan of your recipes. My daughter really enjoys the food that I cook with your help…. Thanks a lot!! I can see that you are great food lover yourself….. 🙂 I enjoy cooking more and more looking at your recipes…..thanks once again…. 🙂
Radha.
pleased to know this radha 🙂 thankyou for your kind and encouraging words. have fun always while cooking and you are always welcome.
Very Much Like all the receipes
Thanks Mrs Pushpa
Hi, i really loved most of your recipies and i find them very easy to cook. Thanks for sharing all these delicious recipies.
welcome naimisha. glad to know this.
Hi dassana amit
Your recipes are too good and tasty. I try many recipes and some are made so testy. I’ll try this..
thanks anamika for sharing positive feedback. nice to know that you liked the recipes.
hi dassana, i also wanted to comment on your paneer capsicum recipe,.. there is no option to give a comment .. so im doing it here… the paneer capsicum turned out very delicious and so simple to make and the cream added in it changes the taste completely .. very nice .. all 5 stars … thanks fr sharing …..
regards
marina
welcome marina. thanks for sharing positive feedback on paneer capsicum recipe. the comments are closed on most posts for few days. will open the comments soon.
hi dassana,
had tried this long time back when you posted this recipe… needs a lot of practice to make on the tawa…. but excellent way to cook TANDOORI rotis at home .. i will keep trying to get a perfect roti …
rgds marina
thanks marina for sharing your positive feedback.
My bua taught me to cook it in a pressure cooker, you do the same where you wet one side of the roti, stick it to the inside of a pressure cooker (this way you can line up 2-3 rotis at a time). flip the pressure cooker over (no lid) onto the open low flame. flip it back and take them out and cook the other side.
i know this method. i just don’t do it as inverting a tawa is less heavier than inverting a pressure cooker 🙂
hi,
Today i tried under rack method.. First time itself it came out gud. Will become an expert once i do it everyday. Thanks alot. Have u heard of bhajra kofta curry? If yes, please post the receipe
welcome savitha. good to know this. i have not heard of bhajra kofta curry.
Brilliant! Never knew you could get this affect on the stove. My first batch was good and I’m sure they will get better. Mostly they fell off my anodised tava but it didn’t seem to matter, just rotated them on the flame for a few seconds to cook the top. Good thing about tandoori roti is you can make them nice and thick which means you don’t need so many of them.
thanks james for sharing positive feedback. it will fall from anodised tava as well as from non stick tawa. best is to use iron tava. i agree we can change the thickness of rotis as per how we want it.
hi i tried your recipe for tandoori roti but the roti got stuck to the tawa it even tore whole trying to remove it. plz help
this happens as the bottom is not roasted well. if the bottom is roasted well, then the roti does not get stuck as the water evaporates. once you char the roti on the burner, then keep the tava back on the flame and allow the watered side to cook more. it won’t get stuck. also don’t make thin rotis, but medium to thick rotis.
V.nice.recipies…….
thanks lita
Hi,
Looking at the curry beside roti. It is tempting. Which curry is that?
sreedevi, it is kaju butter masala. i will post the recipe soon.