Garlic Chard Roti/Flatbread
Roti (pronounced roh-tee) is the most popular sort of unleavened bread in the Indian subcontinent.
Summer time brings in the fresh greens, giving us the chance not only to spice up the plain flat breads that forms an integral part of an Indian meal, but also to make it more wholesome and complete. I love chard. I have incorporated the red Swiss Chards here with the whole wheat along with some spices to make these rotis.
There are lot of side kicks to the Indian unleavened breads, some of them having different names in different regions. To name a few:
Parathas/Parantha/Parotta:Layered and flaky flat bread, sometimes stuffed and oil/ghee is used most of the time. There are different kinds with different ways to layer them.
Dosti Roti: Two rotis cooked in layers together in a skillet.
Batiya/Batia: Rustic, crusty layered flat bread, sometimes spiced and topped with butter or ghee. Usually eaten in the north western parts of India.
Puri/Poori: Deep fried puffed breads.
Luchi: Deep fried puffed breads, similar to puri, but made with enriched flour/maida instead of whole wheat. Luchi usually comes in a lighter shade than puri and is popular in the eastern regions of India.
Bhakri/Dhebra: Usually made from coarse cereal flour, giving the bread a stiff crusty texture; considered as rustic and popular in the western regions of India.
Poli: Stuffed flat bread. This is popular in the western and south western region of the country. The stuffing could be sweetened.
Missi Roti: Made with whole wheat flour, chickpea flour, and various spices. These breads are cooked in a similar way that I have done mine. Usually conusmed in the northern and northwestern parts of India. (courtsey Spice of Spicebuds)
Pathiri: Bread made of rice flour and probably the very different from all the above mentioned. It is also called a pancake, though it is cooked on a griddle the same way roti is cooked. Pathiri is a local cuisine of the Muslims in Kerala – a Southern State in India. After it is cooked, the bread is sometimes soaked in coconut milk to keep it soft and also to improve the flavors. There are different variations of pathiri, where they are fried or stuffed. (courtsey Sweatha of CurryLeaf)
Roti: In the most basic form, roti is usually made from wheat flour/atta and cooked over an iron griddle/tawa on the stove top. The roti happens to be the staple accompaniment with most curries (dry or with gravies) in most states across India. As the culture varies in the different states, the preparation of the roti varies too, as does the name by which it is called. In the northern parts of India, the roti may be called phulka (Pronounced- Fool – ka); they are half cooked on the griddle and then puffed directly on the fire. In the other parts the roti goes by other names as chapati, rotli etc. The making of roti would allow a lot of variations, from mixing different flours together, using spices or greens along with the flour. While most of the times no oil/fat is used to make the roti, it is not uncommon in some places to use a little bit of ghee or cooking oil in the skillet when cooking the rotis.
Personally if I use any kind of fat while cooking the Roti, it makes me call it Paratha more than a Roti, but again Paratha has layer. I did use some oil/ghee to cook the chard Rotis, and have not layered them. The dough can be layered and made in to parathas as well, if you have enough time.
If you know about any other regional kind of Indian flat breads, let me know and I will add it to the list with due credit.
Garlic Chard Roti/Flat bread
Ingredients:
- 6-8 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 3 cups finely chopped chard
- 2 cups whole wheat flour + more for rolling and dusting
- 1 tablespoon oil
- salt
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 tablespoon red chili powder/or cayenne/or red chili flakes (or as per taste)
- water (about 1/2 cup)
- oil, to fry the parathas
- 2 teaspoons garam masala (optional)
Preparation:Combine all the above ingredients in a big bowl . Combine while pressing gently. The chard and the garlic will release some water and the dough will get sticky. Add water to it in little quantities till you can gather everything together to form a bread like dough.
Using your hands make a dough, which would be soft but not sticky. Adjust the amount of water if it gets too dry and crumbly (add more) and add more flour if it tends to get too sticky. You will need to knead the dough for about 5 minutes.
Divide the dough into 8-10 portions and roll them between the palms of your hands into spheres. Gently press them down to slightly flatten them.
Dust each portion with some wheat flour and roll them out into circles with a rolling pin. If they stick, dust the flattened rotis with more flour. You might have some trouble as the dough contains the greens and the spices. Do not fret if they are not perfect circles. It will taste the same when finally done.
Heat an iron skillet/tawa. If you do not have an iron skillet make the best use of your non stick pan. Gently pick up the rolled bread and place it on the hot skillet. Cook for a minute and flip it over with a spatula. Each side should have tiny brown spots .
Spray /drizzle one teaspoon of oil on each side and cook the bread while gently pressing down on them. They will get slightly crisp and dark with more brown spots on them.
Wrap the cooked rotis in a towel and store them in air tight containers.
They are the best when served immediately, but if you need to reheat them, you can wrap them tightly with a foil and warm them in the oven, or place them in ziploc bags, let the air out of the bag, seal it and heat them for about 30 seconds to a minute (depending on the microwave). Serve immediately and do not expose all of them to the air – which means serve them one at a time and keep the rest zipped in the bag till ready to use.
Serve with raita (spiced yogurt) or any curry dish.
Note that Roti features a prominent place in the West Indian cuisine too, esp. Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname.
This is being sent to WHB#247, hosted by Marija of Palachinka.
Related Posts:
Mixed Flour & Root Vegetable Parathas
Ajwain Dal Paratha/Spiced Lentil Stuffed Flatbread
A lot of info here about roties, and these ones just looks super yumm.
uff…first click ta asadharon, soma…roti/paratha jai balo..darun dekhte hoyeche..khete o tatotai tasty habe, and healthy, too.. no doubt…
Soma, prothomoto opurbo chhobi abong recipe….new kind of dish to me…bookmarking it…
secondly, very much informative post….got to know a lot about various kinds of breads….
Love Love love the first pic. Absolutely delicious. will make your Ajwain Dal Paratha to night for dinner.
Cheers,
Siri
Thanks Siri! I hope you like it!
Mm I love flavored flatbreads! Wish I were better at rolling them, though :).
Oh super duper yumm rotis and awesome clicks!!
A great piece of info on indian breads and those garlic chard rotis looks super yumm! Awesome Clicks!
Man! Those look sooo good! Did you use Atta or the 100% w.w. flour? These are really soft.
Anu I used 100% whole wheat flour.
this is such a flavourful roti..just feel like grabbing them 🙂
I am a big fan of Indian flat breads. The texture is what draws me in, and the flavour is what keeps me going back for more. Shameful I’ve really made them before. I will have to try.
Such a flavourful and great looking rotis..
Garlic and flat bread is magnificent combination! These golden Roties with ham or similar must be spectacular 🙂
All the best,
Gera
Can almost feel the flavors……nice informative post, just in case if U want to add “Missi Roti” a very common & popular in Punjab & Rajasthan but it does use besan alongwith Whole wheat flour & usually served with ghee or butter as otherwise it can be little dry to eat…..
Oh fantastic looking parathas Soma. Swiss Chard rotis must be delicious. I have a few left in the garden which will be used soon.
Wow Soma, I never thought of using swiss chard to make roti/ parantha. This is fantastic! I stick to methi leaves and sometimes spinach and that’s about it. Have you thought of adding some sesame seeds to it? I bet it would taste good.
garlic chard rotis looks yummy …very unique combo …thanks for sharing
Satya
http://www.superyummyrecipes.com
Lovely rotis. I would love them with some pickle and curds. I made similar ones using Manisha’s thepla recipes but with meti leaves.Great pics and info as usual soma 🙂
Fantastic recipe. When I lived in Barbados, “roti” was a common food, but it was actually a dough stuffed with chicken or potato curry and then baked or fried. I think the origin is Indian but it’s evolved a bit along the way.
Thats an interesting one,sounds really awesome!
thank you, thank you! The vocabulary at the top is awesome for someone who doesn’t know much about the cuisine like me! And the roti is awesome!
Thank you for the detailed explanation about the different versions! I’ve always wondered if they were related and how so. I love roti and the recipe seems do-able!
Informative Post soma.There is also another flatbread called ‘pathiri’ made from rice flour in Kerala.Wiki says pathiri is a pancake,but the way it is made is same as rotis except that rice flour is used.You can get pathiri recipe here – http://www.salkkaaram.com/2007/06/kerala-pathiri-and-kozhikkary.html. OR a google search reveals the different versions. 🙂
I never ever thght of adding chard in rotis.Very Innovative and healthy.
Those dough balls look so lovely Soma
Soma,
I love veggie parathas and roti but never tried using chard or to be honest I don’t even know the taste of chard 🙁
Is it bitter? I know I sound stupid but would love to try this recipe because mixing with roti/parathas is the only way I can give veggies to my daughter.
Prerna, I don’t think chard is bitter, so you little one won’t know the difference with any other leaf in a roti/paratha. I have two girls, and my little one who is 4 now had severe feeding problems, to the extent that she had NO solid food and no milk till she was 2 (don’t ask me what she ate:-( ).. so I have an idea what you are talking about. Glad to say she is fine and active now, tho’ only an itty bitty to look at:-) Chard is healthy and it does not have strong flavors like methi. my kids like it this way. I do this with whatever greens i get.. different ones at different times.
good luck 😉
Thanks for sharing the information on different type of flat breads, now I know what Luchi and Dosti Roti is. Including Chard in Parantha makes it a complete meal. I have to try this.
Beautiful and delicious roti, sounds wonderful with garlic and chard!
this is new for me ,..thnak for this,.;-)
Hey Soma,
Tried the recipe today itself and can you believe my little one ate one whole paratha!
Although I just added chard, salt and ajwain seeds in flour but still it tasted great. Thanx for introducing me to chard 🙂
I am SO glad that she ate the paratha 🙂 I think she will like it with any greens. I love ajwain!
Thanks for the informations about indian breads…they look so similar to me…
This seems super delicious.
I really don’t know what chard is, but I will discover it…
Thanks for sharing.
Wow, great looking roti! I can just eat this on its own!
Looks awesome. Love that you used Chard. I often take any leafy vegetable and do the same.
Thank you everyone. A BIG thanks to all of those who took time to leave information about other kinds of breads. I have updated the post with the info and your names.
These garlic chard rotis sound superb! I have access to a lot of chard here and that would be a wonderful way to enjoy them. I am fascinated with Indian breads, their sheer variety is mind-boggling (wish there was an Indian baker around here); got to make these rotis myself now, no question about it.
Very informative post, Soma. I love Rotis and growing up, I had to have them. Now I am little less fussy about them, and indulge myself once in a while with the different kinds of flat breads the rest of the world has to offer.
Healthya n tasty rotis
Very nice! I used a little more water, probably because I had ‘for bread baking’ whole wheat flour (more gluten). Thank you for including the tip to wrap the hot roti in towels…it did help to keep them fresh.
All the best,
-Adrian
Your chard rotis look absolutely delicious and super healthy! Thanks for participating in DMBLGIT, Sept., 2010 edition with your picture:). Wish you good luck for the contest!
DOUBLE ALL SPICES AND GARLIC… I JUST made these right now and they’re super bland. I didn’t have swiss chard so i used kale…
The spices and garlic are adjustable to taste. What is bland to some might be really spicy to others, for I have had some try it and wrote back saying that next time they will reduce the spice! The recipes are just baselines to make your own adjustments. Thanks for giving it a try!
This will go on my family’s dinner plate tonight. Looks not only delicious, but also extremely easy and nutritious.