roti

The tradition & historical record

Roti (IPA: [ɾoːʈiː]) is a round flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is commonly consumed in many South Asian, Southeast Asian, Caribbean, East African, and Southeast African countries. Roti is made from stoneground whole-wheat flour, known as atta, combined with water to form dough. Its defining characteristic is that it is unleavened. Naan from the Indian subcontinent, by contrast, is a yeast-leavened bread, as is kulcha. Like breads around the world, roti is a staple accompaniment to other foods. ¹

The word roti is derived from the Sanskrit word roṭikā, meaning "bread". ¹

Makki roti: corn flour roti served with sarson ka saag, a classic dish of Punjab. Akki roti: Rice flour roti with grated vegetables and spices, served with chutney, a famous dish of Karnataka. Thalipeeth roti: Maharashtrian roti is made with bajra, jowar, rice, chickpea, and spices, served with yogurt or ghee, also popular in Karnataka. Missi roti: Rajasthani roti similar to chapati with added spices like red chili, cumin, and turmeric, served with gravy or vegetables. Kuttu roti: Buckwheat flour roti with potatoes, gluten-free and common during Navratri fasting. Rumali roti: Thin, soft roti foldable like a handkerchief, popular in Awadhi, Mughlai, and Hyderabadi cuisine, best served with gravy. Gur roti: Jaggery and whole wheat flour roti, small and thick, also known as meethi (sweet) roti. ¹

Roti is made from a mixture of flour, water, and optionally salt and butter or oil. The ingredients are mixed together to create a dough which is left to rest. The dough is then divided into balls which are flattened with a rolling pin to form rotis. The rotis are then cooked on a tava or pan. ¹

Many variations of flatbreads and roti are found in many cultures across the globe, from the Indian subcontinent to Africa to Oceania to the Malay Peninsula to the Americas. The roti is a traditional flatbread from the Indian subcontinent. It is normally eaten with cooked vegetables or curries; it can be used as a carrier for them. It is made most often from wheat flour, cooked on a flat or slightly concave iron griddle called a tawa. Traditionally, rotis have also been made from the flour of millet, maize, jowar, bajra, and even rice. Tandoori roti is cooked by sticking the flattened dough to the inside wall of a tandoor oven, where it bakes quickly at a high temperature. Chapatis are made of whole-wheat flour known as atta, mixed into a dough with water, edible oil and optional salt in a mixing utensil called a parat, and is cooked on a tava (flat skillet). It is known as phulka in Punjabi and Saraiki, and maani in Sindhi. ¹

In Sri Lanka, there is a variant of roti called pol roti (coconut roti), made of wheat flour, and/or kurakkan flour, and scraped coconut. Sometimes, chopped green chilis and onion are added to the mixture before cooking. These are usually thicker and harder than other roti types. They are usually eaten with curries, or some types of sambol or lunu miris and considered a main meal rather than a supplement. Another variety of roti popular in Sri Lanka is kottu roti, which is made up of paratha or godamba roti, These are cut into small pieces, small in size and rectangular or square in shape. Then on a square heating pan, vegetables and onions are fried. Eggs, cooked meat, or fish are added to fried vegetables and heated for a few minutes. Finally, the pieces of cut paratha are added. These are chopped and mixed by repeated pounding using heavy iron blades/spatula, the sound of which can be heard from a long distance. Depending upon what ingredients are used, the variations are vegetable, egg, chicken, beef, mutton, and fish kottu roti. It is sometimes prepared and served as a fast food dish. Godamba roti is another variety found in Sri Lanka. Plain godamba roti is eaten with curry or it can also be wrapped around a savory filling. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Roti”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

roti is South Asian rounded flatbread, characteristically unleavened, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 4 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²