Easy-peasy spinach roti and some useful tips

Being a south-Indian, it took me a while to learn the art of making good rotis. I once had a Gujarati roommate and her mom used to make these awesome chapattis for dinner. I picked up some tips from her, but when I tried it by myself it wouldn’t work. Always ended up tearing while rolling out the dough, a total mess! Practice and learning from relatives and friends over the years has made a lot of difference. They are not the perfect circles that my dear north-Indian friends can make, but I will get there one day. 🙂

As with most kids, I have trouble getting mine to eat their greens. I have been successful in making these green rotis that they really love. These days I do not make plain chapatti at all, always mixed with pureed/cooked greens.

These are some techniques that I use for green rotis:

1. Adding some spices helps with flavor. Even slightly bitter greens can be used.

2. Kneading a very warm dough. I use a stand mixer for this purpose. Can be kneaded by hand too.

3. Letting the dough rest for a while in a closed container. It actually makes better rotis after a day in the fridge!

4. I use a cast-iron skillet at medium-high heat, no oil. Keeping this skillet dedicated for flat breads makes it easy to maintain and keeps the quality of rotis excellent.

5. Storing the bread wrapped in a cotton towel in a casserole till serving time.

Spinach roti

• Servings: 15-20
• Time: 1 hour + dough resting time
• Difficulty: medium
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Ingredients:

baby spinach- 8 oz. (half of a big box)

whole wheat flour (atta)- 3 cup

turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp.

red chilly powder- 1/2 tsp.

cumin powder- a pinch

coriander powder- 1/4 tsp.

salt- to taste

ghee/ clarified butter- for smearing the finished roti (optional)

Method:

* Wash spinach and puree in a blender with about 1/4 cup water.

* Heat the pureed leaves in a pan and bring to a boil with the addition of spices and salt.

* Measure out wheat flour in a stand mixer, add hot/warm cooked greens and knead with dough hook. Add additional water to form a ball of dough.

* Let the dough rest in a closed bowl for a few hours. You could prepare the side dish during this time.

* Roll out thin circles on a floured surface. Use additional flour.

* Transfer to a pre-heated skillet. Wait for 30 seconds or till the roti picks up heat. Flip.

* Gently press with a cloth and let it puff or wait till brown spots appear. Repeat on the other side.

* Transfer to a cloth-lined casserole. Smear with ghee (optional). Stack more rotis the same way.