Roomali Roti | Soft and Thin Rumali Roti, is a popular flatbread from the regions of India and Pakistan. The texture and the fold of the roti resembles the Handkerchief and hence called the Handkerchief roti.
Roomali Roti, the soft and thin Handkerchief flatbread was on my to do list for a very long time. Growing up, any time when eating out, I was fascinated by the name of the roti and how thin it was and ordered it quite often. The chewy and soft roti was a perfect flatbread to eat with rich paneer gravies.
Rumali Roti is a popular flatbread from the regions of India and Pakistan. Roomal / Rumal means handkerchief and since this bread is as thin as a handkerchief, it got the name as Roomali / Rumali Roti. It was interesting to read that during the Mughal period, the Roomali / Rumali roti was used as cloth at the end of the meal to wipe the grease off the hands.
Let's talk tools
I am a big fan of kitchen tools and gadgets and it can be anything as simple as a simple Wok. I love my wok! It is nothing extraordinary and I made sure I got an all metal wok with no coating and I have been using it to make literally everything.
If you are looking to buy a wok, go ahead and buy one. I use it not just to make Asian stir fry and Noodles, but also to make subzi, large quantity of mixed rice and now to make this Roomali / Rumali Roti.
I shortlisted the Roomali Roti for the alphabet R but was confused on what pan to use inverted and cook these rotis in. That is when my husband said, why don't you use your wok.
It is all Iron and large and will be perfect to cook these Roomali Rotis. There we go... I spent no extra time thinking about the recipe and went ahead making it for dinner.
It was so much fun rolling the rotis really thin and stretching them as best as I can and then placing it on the inverted pan. The large wok gave me enough room for mistakes and the result was this amazing soft and thin Roomali Roti that I ate in restaurants.
My Other recipes in the A-Z International Flatbread Series –
A for Aish Baladi
B for Boulanee Katchalu
C for Chickpea Flatbread / Socca
E for Emirati Khameer
F for Fruit Focaccia
G for Gozleme
H for Himbasha
I for Indian Fry Bread
J for Janta Roti
K for Ka’ak
L for Lepinja
M for Mahjouba
N for Norwegian Crisp Bread
O for Onion and Poppy Seed Pletzel
P for Pol Roti
Q for Qutab
Preparation time - 15 minutes plus 30 minutes of Resting time
Cooking time - 30 minutes
Difficulty level - Easy
Ingredients Needed
- Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
- All Purpose flour - 1 ½ cups
- Salt - 1 tsp
- Oil - 2 TBSP + 1 TBSP
- Water - as needed to make the dough
Process steps
- Add the flours, salt and oil in a mixing bowl and add water slowly to make a very soft and slightly sticky dough.
- I used my stand mixer to make the dough. Knead the dough until it is elastic. The dough has to be slightly sticky as that will help in rolling it out thin.
- Grease the dough with the remaining 1 TBSP of oil and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. If you can let it rest longer, it is even better.
- When ready to cook, make even sized 10 to 12 balls from the dough. If you have a large wok to work with, then the dough ball cab be slightly larger. If your cooking surface is smaller, make smaller balls so you can make smaller Roomali roti.
- Dust the dough balls with flour and roll it as thin as possible. If the dough retracts back too much when rolling, let it rest for 5 minutes and then roll again.
- In the meantime, heat a wok or any wide wok shaped pan inverted on the flame. We will be cooking these Roomali Rotis on the outer side of the pan.
- When the pan is nice and hot, place one of the thinly rolled roti on the pan and cook until bubbles appear.
- Flip it once and let it cook on the other side as well. Fold the cooked roti on the pan and then place in between layers of kitchen towel to keep it warm and soft until we make the rest.
- Serve warm with some rich Subzi.
Expert tips and FAQ's to make the best Rumali Roti
- Knead the dough very soft to help roll better.
- Rest the dough. This helps relax the protein and stretch the dough better.
- Roll the dough as thin as possible to get the best handkerchief feel. If the dough retracts when rolling, rest it for couple of minutes on the counter and then roll again.
- A large really hot surface helps cook the roti evenly. Wok works great for this purpose.
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Roomali Roti | Soft and Thin Rumali Roti
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- wok
- Stand Mixer
Ingredients
- 1 cup Whole wheat flour
- 1 ½ cups All Purpose flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- 3 tbsp Oil
- Water - as needed to make the dough
Instructions
- Add the flours, salt and oil in a mixing bowl and add water slowly to make a very soft and slightly sticky dough.
- I used my stand mixer to make the dough. Knead the dough until it is elastic. The dough has to be slightly sticky as that will help in rolling it out thin.
- Grease the dough with the remaining 1 TBSP of oil and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. If you can let it rest longer, it is even better.
- When ready to cook, make even sized 10 to 12 balls from the dough. If you have a large wok to work with, then the dough ball cab be slightly larger. If your cooking surface is smaller, make smaller balls so you can make smaller Roomali roti.
- Dust the dough balls with flour and roll it as thin as possible. If the dough retracts back too much when rolling, let it rest for 5 minutes and then roll again.
- In the meantime, heat a wok or any wide wok shaped pan inverted on the flame. We will be cooking these Roomali Rotis on the outer side of the pan.
- When the pan is nice and hot, place one of the thinly rolled roti on the pan and cook until bubbles appear.
- Flip it once and let it cook on the other side as well. Fold the cooked roti on the pan and then place in between layers of kitchen towel to keep it warm and soft until we make the rest.
- Serve warm with some rich Subzi.
Notes
Expert tips and FAQ's
- Knead the dough very soft to help roll better.
- Rest the dough. This helps relax the protein and stretch the dough better.
- Roll the dough as thin as possible to get the best handkerchief feel. If the dough retracts when rolling, rest it for couple of minutes on the counter and then roll again.
- A large really hot surface helps cook the roti evenly. Wok works great for this purpose.
Padmajha PJ says
Rumali Roti has turned out so well Sandhya. Now I need to buy a wok! Here in almost all the wedding receptions Rumali roti and paneer butter masala is there on teh menu and its my kids fav. Never made it at home though!
code2cook says
yoo super cool idea to make rumali roti. so innovative and creative way to make rumali roti. You know rumali roti is my husband's favourite and if I will show it to him he will make me do asap. bookmarking this post for my reference.
Ritu Tangri says
I too wanted to make roomali roti for letter R, but opted for Rajasthani khoba roti in the end. You have made it perfectly. Just need some dal to enjoy this roti
Renu says
Roomali roti looks so nice and yum. Would love to have them with some spicy curry.
Srivalli Jetti says
Fantastic choice Sandhya, just for the lack of the pan, I am yet to try this at home. I had infact shortlisted this one for my list but again changed it for something else..you have done it so beautifully done..now I will check out if my wok is like this as well..:)
preeti garg says
Love your technique, same I used. Roomali roti looks so perfect and goes with any gravy.
Mayuri Patel says
Just love the whole technique of making roomali roti and ofcourse love to have it too. Its amazing how the professionals keep on throwing the disc of dough in the air to enlarge it. Using a wok to make the roomali rotis at home is a good suggestion.
Vaishali Sabnani says
I have always loved these Rumali rotis , but never tried my hand on these . Yours look beautifully made , thin as a kerchief !
Perfect with any curry these are definitely a feast for me .
M.Gayathri Raani says
These are perfect roomali rotis. Using wok for as the pan is a wonderful idea Sandhya. I need to find one now. I love roomali rotis but never tried to make them at home.
Sowmya says
Never thought roomali rotis can be made at home!! Love the idea of an inverted pan to make them...hats off to you
harini says
Very interesting history Sandhya. I have never cooked in this method of using an inverted pan. Sounds intriguing. You have done a fabulous job with these rotis.
Priya Suresh says
Just love roomali rotis very much, its not an easy task for us to dish this paper thin rotis at home. You have got them prefectly Sandhya, well done with your wok yaa.. They are just prefect.