Toor dal roti
Preparation Time
30 minutes
Cooking Time
25 minutes
Difficulty Level
moderate
Meal Type
Breakfast
Serves 4
Key Ingredients
- Toor dal (arhar)
About This Recipe
In Karnataka, toor dal is not only cooked as dal: soaked and ground, it becomes the dough for a flatbread, where the dal carries half the roti. This is that home version, roughly half dal and half atta, with the wheat flour there for a reason: dal has no gluten, and the atta is what lets the dough roll thin without tearing.
The grind decides the texture. The soaked dal is ground coarse, just past a paste, so the roti keeps a little grain and tastes nutty rather than pasty; a smooth batter makes the dough sticky and the roti dense. Cumin, green chilli and ginger season the dough, and a spoon of ghee keeps the rotis soft after they cool.
The same method works with yellow moong dal or chana dal in place of the toor, with the same soak and grind; moong gives a lighter, milder roti. Serve it at breakfast with chutney, or pack it for lunch, where it holds up better than a plain chapati. The toor dal guide covers the dal itself, from names to nutrition.
Ingredient List
Serving Size:
1x
2x
3x
Roti dough
- Toor dal (arhar) — 1/2 cup
- Whole wheat flour (sharbati atta) — 1 cup
- Ghee — 1 tbsp
- Cumin Seeds — 1 tsp
- Green chilli, finely chopped — 1 piece
- Ginger, grated — 1 tsp
- Fresh coriander leaves, chopped — 2 tbsp
- Salt — 1 tsp
- Water for grinding (plus a little for kneading, if needed) — 1/4 cup
For cooking
- Groundnut oil (for the tawa) — 1 tbsp
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Serving Suggestions
Serve straight off the tawa with coconut chutney, a tomato-garlic chutney or any pickle; a bowl of curd or raita turns it into a full breakfast. Fold one around a dry sabzi for lunch, or pair it with a bowl of sambar. More ways to cook the same dal are in the toor dal recipes roundup.
Tips for Cooking Toor dal roti
Grind the soaked dal with only as much water as the blades need; a coarse, thick paste is the goal. Knead before adding any extra water, because the paste already carries moisture, and add it a teaspoon at a time if the dough feels dry. Roll on a light dusting of flour and keep the rolled rotis under a cloth, then cook on a medium flame so the dal inside cooks without the surface scorching.
Chef’s Note
The soak decides the texture: a dal that has sat for three hours grinds smooth enough to blend into the atta, and the roti stays soft even when it cools. A serving of two rotis comes to about 246 kcal with 8.6 g of protein and 5.6 g of fibre, most of the protein from the dal and the atta together.
Per serving (approx.): 246 kcal, protein 8.6 g, carbs 33 g, fat 8.3 g, fibre 5.6 g. Computed from IFCT 2017 / USDA values for the listed quantities. Measures: 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 tbsp = 15 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml.
Happy Cooking
!!
ByCOWBERRY
May 01, 2026
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