Kuttu roti

Kuttu roti comes out of North Indian vrat kitchens, where the everyday roti of wheat flour is set aside and the flatbread is made from kuttu ka atta instead. Buckwheat flour does not stretch the way wheat flour does, so a kuttu roti that is rolled and lifted tends to crack, and it is patted into shape instead.

This version kneads in the two things that hold the dough together: a boiled potato, mashed smooth, and warm water added a little at a time. The warm water swells the flour so the dough binds, where cold water leaves it crumbly, and the potato keeps the rotis soft after they come off the tawa. The dough is then patted with wet palms on a plastic sheet rather than rolled.

The cooked roti is soft and pliable, carrying the nutty flavour buckwheat is known for, speckled with brown spots from the ghee. Pat the ball a little thicker and cook it slowly over a lower flame, turning twice, and the same dough becomes a kuttu paratha. Left without the potato, the dough needs all the warm water and the rotis are patted smaller and thicker. On a vrat day the pair to this is the kuttu khichdi made from the whole groats.