How to Make Phulkas/ Roti on an electric hob – Indian Flat bread

  Phulkas are really a great way to cut down on your calories, Not much oil goes into making phulkas . As opposed to chapatis, phulkas are lighter and smaller. 

As a Desi I did not enjoy cooking on electric hobs, one reason is we are used to cooking on a gas stove especially to make my rotis. However, I might have overcome my fear to cook on an electric hob.I would still love to have gas stove, meanwhile I really have to make peace with it and continue cooking.

And honestly it is not that bad, So let’s start with simple phulkas, they are light and healthy. Making phulkas is a breeze, if you master to make the dough right. So this recipe is perfect if you have never made it before or just skip the method and look at how to make the phulkas.

Ingredients:

Wheat flour/ Atta for the dough and some more for dusting

Salt to taste

Water

Oil (optional)

What you will need:

Pan/ Tawa, rolling pin and a cooling rack/baking rack.

 Method:

To make the Dough:

I have never measured the flour or water to make phulkas in my life, however this is really a rough measurement that you could use as a guideline,

In a bowl, add 1 cup of flour to it add a pinch of salt and drizzle some oil( say ½ tsp.) add water spoon by spoon, you might need less than or more than a half cup and start kneading till the dough leaves the sides of the bowl  and the bowl looks  clean, if the dough looks too dry just dip your fingers in water, and lightly dab your fingers on the dough cover it and let it rest for 10 to 15 min, after which with greased palms knead the dough again and rest it till ready to use. Kneading is the key to make soft dough, not too soft not too hard just pliable.

I find the resting step crucial to make soft Phulkas.

To make the Phulkas:

Now, place the rack on the hob on high heat and place the tawa on top of it,

make small balls from the dough (making it in the beginning  you can be assured all the phulkas will be  the same size) and using some dry flour roll it out not too thin as a papad or not too thick as a nan just medium thick, dusting some flour as needed.

Place it on the hot tawa( getting rid of as much dry flour as you can by flipping it in your palms)

and within seconds turn it over and cook till you can see the phulka bubbling ( you might not see it, but just till the side facing the pan is cooked).

This is the time you lift the tawa and flip the phulka on the rack (uncooked side facing the rack) and it should fluff up almost immediately, and that’s it, it is ready.

 Follow the same with the rest. Keep a check on the heat, if the pan is too hot your phulkas might start burning so keep a check. Even if it doesn’t fluff up it will still taste fine and might just be a matter of practice.

Wrapping it in a foil you can be assured it stays fresh longer and applying a little oil it will stay fresh and soft till lunch time. I skip this step and wrapping it in the foil also works well for me. Remember if you are going to reheat it don’t heat it more than 2 to 3 seconds as that would turn them hard. Leaving the left over dough wrapped in a cling film and placing in the fridge, you should have it fresh for the next day.