Roti, Kapda, Aur Makaan

In the Indian equivalent of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs -- Roti, Kapda, Aur Makaan are the basic needs of food (Roti/bread), warmth (Kapda/clothing), and safety (Makaan/home). Now, Indians living in predominantly rice-eating regions of the country may argue that, for them, rice is more symbolic of food than rotis. So, for them, the hierarchy would be more like Chawl (Rice), Kapda, Aur Makaan, but for majority of India, roti is synonymous with food, comfort, and well-being.

Since I come from Bengal, the rice bowl of India, cooking rice comes more naturally to me than making rotis. It also helps that rice is a pretty forgiving thing to make. You can cook it in a rice cooker or in the stove top. You can even stick it in a microwave, a pressure cooker or Instapot. It is edible even when it is a little undercooked or overcooked. Rotis -- the wholewheat flatbreads that are made fresh in most Northern and Western Indian households -- take some effort. You have to make the dough and let it rest for a while for optimum results. Then comes the rolling to get those perfect round shapes. Lastly, the roasting on top of an open flame to puff up the rotis. Unless you have regular practice, it is difficult to pull off all these steps and produce the perfect roti every time. Even though I have been cooking for more than twenty years now, I have never had the desire or the need to learn how to make rotis at home. Lucky to live in an area where I have easy access to Indian grocery stores where I can get pre-made/frozen rotis, I never bothered to get any practice in making this Indian staple.

On March 9th, New York Times published an article on Ten Essential Indian Dishes by food critic Tejal Rao. One of my friends forwarded me the article and asked, "How many of these have you made?" I replied, "Everything but the roti and kachori. I don't have the patience to roll dough." Little did I know that I would be eating my words and making fresh rotis at home within a month! Under the shelter in place order, trips to the grocery store became few and far between and pre-made rotis were precious commodities that only those with connections in high places could procure. We had enough rice to last the next three months, but the kids were like, "Why are we eating so much rice? Do we not have any rotis?"

I thought, what the heck, how difficult can this be? May be I won't get the perfect round shapes, or get the rotis to puff up, but whatever roti I could roll off would be better than no roti at all. So, I pulled out the rarely-used rolling pin from the back of the kitchen drawer and started making rotis couple of times a week. While the results are not always perfect, I am getting better and faster every time I make a batch. It is clear that with some time, patience, and practice, making rotis is not as difficult a task as I had made it out to be. Now, I still don't get perfectly round shapes every time, but the taste of freshly made rotis more than makes up for their sometimes irregular shapes. I think I am spoiling the family -- they may never agree to go back to the store-bought kinds.

Tonight, I even made Mooli (Radish) Paratha -- pan fried whole wheat flatbread stuffed with grated radish. I had half of a giant radish left over after making a vegetable stew. The remaining radish was well past its prime after sitting in the fridge for over a week. So, I decided the best use for it would be to grate it up and use it in this flatbread. With pickle on the side, it made for a lovely meal.

What You Need (For 10-12 parathas)
2 cups grated radish
3 cups whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup for rolling
2 cups water
1/2 tsp ajwain seeds (optional, can replace with cumin seeds)
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp chopped cilantro leaves
2 Thai bird chilies, chopped (optional)
1 tsp neutral oil
Ghee or butte for frying

Directions:
Place grated radish in a strainer placed on top of a bowl for 30 minutes. Press the grated radish to release its fluids.

Take the strained, grated radish and put it in a big mixing bowl. Add salt, ajwain seeds, cilantro and chilies. Mix everything with your fingers.

Add water to the dough 1/3 cup at a time. Knead every time you add water to make sure it is fully incorporated into the dough before adding more water. Knead with knuckles and base of your palm till the dough comes together in a smooth ball (about 10-12 minutes). Smear 1 tsp oil on the dough and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes. Cover mixing bowl with damp paper towel(s).

After 30 minutes, massage the dough one more time and shape into a cylinder. Tear off golf ball size balls of dough from the cylinder. Roll each dough ball between the palms of your hands and flatten them out a little into thick disc shapes.

Lightly dust a chopping board with flour. Place a dough disc in the middle of the chopping board and sprinkle 1 tsp of flour on the disc, covering the whole disc with a light coating of flour.

Lightly flour a rolling pin. Roll out each disc into a 6 or 7-inch circle of uniform thickness. Move the dough in clockwise direction as you roll and flip over to roll both sides.

Do not worry if you do not get a perfectly round shape. It is more important to roll out the dough in uniform thickness so that the flatbread cooks evenly.

Stack the rolled parathas on top of each other. Once all the parathas are rolled, you are ready to fry.  Flip the stack of rolled parathas over, so that you start by frying the paratha that you rolled first.

Place a skillet over medium high heat. Place one paratha on the heated skillet. Gently press the parathas with the back of a wooden spoon. When you see little bubbles forming on the surface of the paratha, flip it over.

Cook for another 20-30 seconds, or till you see more bubbles forming. Take 1/4 tsp ghee and smear it on the paratha. Flip it over, and smear 1/4 tsp ghee on the other side.

Remove from heat. Repeat with remaining parathas.

Serve hot with pickle.