Missi roti

Missi roti is the flatbread of two flours, and the ratio is what makes it work: this recipe uses one part besan to two parts atta, two thirds of a cup to one and a third. That is the point where the roti still rolls without tearing and the besan still speaks in every bite; more besan and the dough turns brittle, less and it is just a wheat roti. It is also called missi ki roti.

The dough gets ajwain for its carom note, plus a finely chopped onion and a green chilli for bite. The onion must be pressed dry before it goes in, or its water turns the dough sticky and the rotis gluggy on the tawa. Rolling without tearing comes from a light hand: flour the board, roll from the centre out in short strokes, lift and turn between passes, and if a tear does open, press the dough back over it and roll on.

The tawa does the last of the work. A medium-high tawa gives the roti its brown spots in the first minute and puffs it in the second; too hot and the outside scorches before the middle cooks, too low and the roti dries into a cracker. Each roti is finished with a smear of ghee and stacked under a cloth so the steam keeps the stack soft. Besan is chickpea flour, and the besan hub covers the flour that gives this roti its character.