Missi Roti 3, Made With Wheat And Bengal Gram Flour Mix And Fenugreek Leaves
Missi Roti 3, Methi Wali
Mamta Gupta
Missi roties are nice by themselves but become extra special with the addition of methi leaves to the dough. You can experiment with adding other leaf vegetables or onions, chillies, coriander etc. to the dough instead of methi.
It is the Bengal gram flour they are made of, not besan. You can also make them with soaked and ground Bengal gram, sometimes incorrectly called chickpeas.
Serve with a dal of choice or any Saag.
Serve 10-12
Ingredients
For the dough
2 cups black chickpeas (kala chana) or Bengal
2 cups chapatti flour or atta
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
1/2 tsp. chilli powder-optional
1 tsp. carom or ajwain seeds
1 cup fresh fenugreek leaves or 2 tbs. dry leaves (kasoori methi)
1/4 teaspoon Garam Masala
Salt (As per taste)
Water
For rolling out
2-3 tbsp. flour for dusting during rolling out
For serving
A little Ghee or Clarified Butter (not for vegans)
Instructions
Wash and soak Bengal gram overnight or at least 3-4 hours.
Grind to a thick paste, with a little water.
Place all the dough ingredients in a bowl. Add water little by little and prepare a soft to medium firm dough. Experienced cook prefer softish dough, which gives softer roties.
Keep aside for 10 minutes or so and then knead again to make it smooth. Do not over knead.
Heat tava or griddle.
Place dusting flour in a plate.
Dip/dust each ball into the dry flour covering all sides and roll out into 7 inch or 16-17cm circle with a rolling pin. It should be rolled from centre out, with a flicking movement of the wrists, so that the edges are thinner than the centre. This helps them to blow up during cooking. You will need to dip/dust it in dry flour, on both sides, a couple of time during this process.
Cooking:
Put the chapatti on hot griddle.
Turn it over when it becomes slightly darker or you can see a few blisters on the surface.
Cook the other side until there are a few dark spots on the under surface.
Next step can be done either on a direct flame or in a grill. To cook on a flame, pick the chapatti with tongs, flip over and place directly on a medium flame, it will balloon up. Move it around and flip it over continuously, or it will burn.
Cook on the other side the same way, moving it from side to side. It should be cooked evenly all over. If you are serving straight from the griddle, make the surfaces quite crisp.
Serve with a thin film of ghee on top. If you are serving later, stack them one on top of other*.
It is easier to cook a roti under a hot grill, but you have to watch it, because it cooks very fast and can burn. After step 10, place the roti under a pre-heated grill As it balloons up, turn it over and cook the other side. Serve with a film of ghee on top.
Notes
*I often undercook them slightly and jeep them in a stack. I heat them, 4-5 at a time, under a hot grill sand serve them crisp and hot.
Serve hot with curries or dal. You can put a thin film of ghee or butter on one side before serving.
Keeping chapatti soft: I am often asked how to keep chapatties soft. Try these things: 1. Leave the dough for approximately 10-15 minutes to 'prove', before you roll chapatties out. If you make dough immediately before making the chapatties, they tend to be stiffer. 2. If the dough is too firm, chapatties will get tough. Correct dough should be soft to touch and 'give' a little, when pressed with a finger. 3. The tava or pan should be heavy bottomed and quite hot but not burning hot, before you place your chapatti on it. Cold tava will make stiff chapatties. 4. When you make chapatties, put them in a pile, one on top of other, immediately. Once finished, wrap the whole pile in a cloth towel or wrap in an aluminium foil. Some of my friends spread them out to cool. In my view, this hardens them. 5. I use tap water to make dough. In winters, when tap water is very cold, lukewarm water might help. 6. If you don't mind fat in your chapatties, smear a thin layer of ghee on each chapatti after it is cooked and before it is put on the pile. This also keeps them soft
Cooking on electric hobs:If you do not have a gas cooker or a grill, roties can also be cooked entirely on a tava. After step 10, press the chapatti gently with a folded kitchen towel, coaxing it to balloon up, from the edges in, until the whole chapatti swells up into a ball. Continue to press it very gently all over, turning over on the other side too, until all areas are cooked.