Tandoori Roti Recipe

Tandoori roti recipe is a special roti or flat bread typically cooked in a tandoor or clay oven . You can easily make these delicious restaurant style tandoori roti at home using a regular tava. It is also known as tandoori butter roti.

With some tips and tricks you can indeed make best tandoori roti with typical chars and smoky flavor at home 🙂 My recipe will help you make perfect tandoori rotis at home in minutes.

For more special Indian breads please check butter naan, vegan naan, aloo paratha, lachha paratha recipes.

Next to butter naan, tandoori roti is our favorite flat bread while dining in a restaurant. It goes very well with navratan korma, paneer butter masala, palak paneer, paneer kalimirch, pindi chole types.

I got few requests from my readers for this stove top tandoori roti when I shared dhaba naan recipe. So here it is for you all 🙂 This is one of those classic Indian bread recipe that you will love recreating at home.

This is my keeper recipe for this whole wheat flour roti that I have been making for many years. It is always a hit with all those who taste it.

Piping hot roti topped served with a blob of butter is pure bliss. I make it extra special by topping the roti with finely chopped onions and cilantro leaves.

What Is Tandoori Roti?

Tandoori roti is Indian flatbread traditionally made in a tandoor (clay oven) at very high temperature. Cooking in a closed oven at very high temperature imparts its signature chars and smoky flavor to the tandoori recipes.

Roti is the Indian name for whole wheat flour flatbread made in Indian homes. There are many varieties of it.

Tandoori roti is a super popular dish in the restaurants, especially in Punjabi restaurants or dhaba, the roadside eateries. The tandoor in those restaurants are super hot and produce 100s of rotis in minutes.

At home as we do not own a tandoor these recipes can be made on stove top or an oven. With some tips and tricks we can indeed make restaurant style tandoori roti and other tandoori recipes at home easily.

Making tandoori roti is more of a technique than recipe. The dough remains the same as regular roti dough. With right kind of tava and some trial and error you can easily master this.

These are slightly thick soft rotis with signature chars, that taste wonderful when served hot. Smear them with butter  just before serving.

I also top these tandoori roti with finely chopped coriander leaves and onions. There are also more topping options, I have mentioned in the recipe.

These are wonderful variation to butter naan when you want something festive yet lighter. As these are made with wheat flour and not all purpose flour, these are lighter. You can however make tandoori roti with all purpose flour.

We love this roti with dal makhani, raita and a simple salad. Wonderful satiating meal.

This Homemade Tandoori Roti Is

Soft, with signature chars

Soy, nut, egg free

Made easily at home on stovetop or oven

100% whole wheat flour recipe

Vegetarian and can be made vegan easily

Delicious with dal and paneer curries.

Ingredients 

To make tandoori roti you need less than 6 ingredients. Yes, very less ingredients, as I said before this recipe is more of a cooking technique. The roti is made with regular wheat flour dough with a bit of baking powder and yogurt only.

Flour– I have used whole wheat flour here completely. If you prefer you can also use a mix of plain flour and wheat flour. As another option you can also make this with plain flour alone.

Baking powder– A small pinch of baking powder will help the roti to get cooked thoroughly in brief time.You can also add a pinch of baking soda.

Yogurt- Adding yogurt will make your tandoori roti super soft and light. Use plain yogurt that is thick and fresh. You can also use plain greel yogurt. 

Oil- Along with yogurt, oil is also added to make the rotis super soft. You can use ghee to in place of oil.

Salt– To season the dough.

Butter– to smear on the cooked rotis, while you can also use ghee here, I prefer to use salted butter for flavor.

Toppings- Topping are optional but they definitely add to the taste and flavor. Here I have used onions and coriander leaves. Your other options are

• sesame seeds
• nigella seeds
• kasuri methi

How To Make Tandoori Roti On Stove Top- Step by Step

Combine 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 tsp baking powder, baking soda if using, 1/4 cup yogurt and 1 teaspoon oil in a bowl, mix well. 

Add water gradually and make a smooth and soft dough. Knead the dough very well just like we do for rotis. 

Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel and rest for 30-60 minutes. Now divide the dough into 10-12 equal parts. Make each part into a small smooth ball.

Take a dough ball and roll into a oval or round shaped roti. 

Do not roll it very thin though. While rolling just dust very little dry flour to ease the rolling. Do not use too much dry flour as it will make the roti hard as well as it will prevent the roti from sticking to the cooking surface properly. Apply water on one side of the roti using a basting brush or fingers.

Mean time heat a iron tava. Once the tava is hot maintain medium flame. Place the rolled roti on tawa, water side down. This will make the roti to stick on the tava while you cook the other side on direct flame.

Cook for 40-60 seconds. Bubbles will appear on the roti now. Once bubbles appear flip the tava and cook the other side on direct flame.

Cook for a minutes till chars appear the edges turn very slightly crispy. Remove the cooked roti from flame and apply butter ghee liberally. 

Serve tandoori roti hot. Serve hot with your preferred curries.

Oven Method

For making tandoori roti in oven first of all knead the dough as mentioned in the recipe.

Preheat your oven at the maximum temperature for 15 minutes.

Roll the rotis according to the size of your baking tray.

Arrange the rolled rotis and place in the center rack. Bake for 8-10 minutes. This is just like how we do got pita bread.

The rotis will puff up and slightly change color. Do not leave unattended as the rotis will burn fast. Brush butter before serving.

Recipe Notes and Tips

• Tandoori roti tastes best when served hot.
• You have to apply water on side of the roti generously. This produces a smoky effect on the hot tava and as well as the roti sticks to the tawa while flipping it upside down.
• You can use regular roti dough in this recipe.
• Use a good sturdy tava for uniform cooking. Make sure to use cast iron tava or walls of pressure cooker for best results. Do not use a non stick pan as it is not very sturdy.
• Next do not use vegetable oil or ghee or butter to cook the roti on tawa. Brush the rotis liberally with ghee, butter just before serving.
• Serve tandoori roti hot with any Indian curry.

Variations- Tandoori Garlic Rotis.

To make tandoori garlic roti, you can either add peeled and minced garlic to the dough or smear garlic butter to the cooked roti. I often make garlic roti by adding 3-4 minced garlic cloves to the dough.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Flatbread Recipes

Poori

Thepla

Kulcha

Are you making this veg hakka noodles recipe and enjoy as much as we did. Do snap a pic and share on Instagram with hashtag #cookclickndevou and please give a star rating ★ in the recipe card below. Follow us on Pinterest , Instagram, Facebook   for more recipes and ideas.

Recipe