Rumali roti

Name: Rumali roti
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 2 h 10 min
Ingredients: 150 g all-purpose flour; 100 g whole-wheat flour; ½ tsp salt; ½ tsp sugar; 80 ml milk, lukewarm; 90 ml water, lukewarm; 1 tbsp neutral vegetable oil; 30 g all-purpose flour; ¼ tsp salt

Vegetarian

रूमाली रोटी · rumali roti

A soft, handkerchief-thin bread stretched over the hands and cooked in seconds on the dome of an upturned wok. A Mughlai-style restaurant classic for kebabs and rich gravies.

Rumali roti is an Indian bread, ready in about 2 hours 10 minutes and made with all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour and sugar. It serves 8 and is rated advanced to cook.

Start cooking

No licensed photograph of this dish yet.

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 15 min
Rest: 1 h 30 min
Total: 2 h 10 min
Serves: 8
Level: Advanced
Calories: 138

Ingredients

8 rumali rotis

150 g All-purpose flour (opens in a new tab)Contains wheat, gluten
100 g Whole-wheat flour (opens in a new tab)Contains wheat, gluten
½ tsp (3 g) Salt (opens in a new tab)
½ tsp (2 g) Sugar (opens in a new tab)
80 ml Milk (opens in a new tab), lukewarmSwap: WaterContains milk
90 ml Water (opens in a new tab), lukewarmAbout 64% hydration; the dough should be soft and very stretchy.
1 tbsp (14 g) Neutral vegetable oil (opens in a new tab)

For dusting

30 g All-purpose flour (opens in a new tab)Only part of the dusting flour ends up in the bread.Contains wheat, gluten

For the wok

¼ tsp (1.5 g) Salt (opens in a new tab)Dissolved in 3 tbsp water to sprinkle on the hot wok.

Equipment

Method

1
Step 1
Mix the flours, salt and sugar (opens in a new tab); add the milk (opens in a new tab), water and oil and knead 10 minutes until very smooth, soft and elastic. Cover and rest 1½ hours — longer rest means thinner stretching.
- 12 min
- Mixing bowl (opens in a new tab)
How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels
2
Step 2
Turn a large wok (opens in a new tab) upside down over a gas burner on high heat (or use a large flat iron griddle) and heat for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the dome with a little salted water — it should sizzle away at once; this stops the roti sticking.
- 5 min
- high heat
- Wok (opens in a new tab)
- Griddle / tawa (opens in a new tab)
Food safety: Use a heavy carbon-steel or cast-iron wok that sits steadily upside down over the burner; never invert a non-stick wok.
How it looks · Photo: Aesthos AR. Photography on Pexels
3
Step 3
Divide the dough into 8. Dust and roll a ball as thin as you can, about 25 cm. Then drape it over the backs of your hands and toss or stretch it outwards gently until it is near-translucent, 35–40 cm.
- 10 min
- Rolling pin (opens in a new tab)
Rolling on a well-floured surface and lifting often prevents sticking.
4
Step 4
Lay the sheet over the hot dome and cook 20–30 seconds until bubbles and faint spots appear, flip and cook 15 seconds. It should stay soft and pale.
- 1 min
- high heat
- Wok (opens in a new tab)
5
Step 5
Fold into quarters (like a handkerchief) while still soft and pliable, and keep wrapped in a cloth while you cook the rest.
- 8 min

About this dish

Origin: North India (Delhi, Lucknow, Hyderabad), India · Commonly attributedAssociated with Mughlai and Awadhi kitchens; also made in Pakistan.Also popular in PakistanMore food from India
Dish: Lunch · Dinner · Breads & flatbreads
Cooking method: Toasted
Taste: mild
Diet: Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
All labels
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · DASH-style
With the listed swaps: Vegan, Plant-based, Ovo-vegetarian, Dairy-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Cook more with: All-purpose flour · Whole-wheat flour · Sugar · Milk
Techniques: Toasting · Spice roasting (dry-roasting) · Kneading

Allergens

Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom milk
Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour
Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

138 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 50 g · recipe makes 8

Where the energy comes from

Protein 12%
Carbohydrate 72%
Fat 16%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g
Energy	138 kcal	275 kcal
Protein	4 g	8.1 g
Carbohydrate	25 g	50 g
Net carbohydrate	23.1 g	46.3 g
Sugars	0.9 g	1.8 g
Added sugars	0.3 g	0.5 g
Fibre	1.9 g	3.8 g
Fat	2.5 g	5.1 g
Saturated fat	0.4 g	0.8 g
Trans fat	—	—
Cholesterol	1 mg	2 mg
Sodium	224 mg	448 mg
Salt equivalent	0.6 g	1.1 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 80 mg
Calcium: 20 mg
Iron: 1.4 mg
Magnesium: 23 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 5 µg
Vitamin C: 0 mg
Vitamin D: 0.1 µg
Vitamin B12: 0 µg
Folate (DFE): 64 µg

How these numbers were made

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
“—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

On a flat griddle the roti will be slightly smaller; roll to the size of the pan.

Common mistakes

Overcooking: rumali roti should bend and fold, not crisp.

Serve with

Wrap round seekh or reshmi kebabs with onions and mint chutney, or serve with korma.

Storage

Best within 30 minutes, kept wrapped.

Reheating

Warm folded rotis in a covered pan for 20 seconds.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 29 Oct 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Compare with

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

All-purpose flour150 g
Whole-wheat flour100 g
Milk, lukewarm80 ml · 82 g

Used in steps 1, 3

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

Mix and knead · about 40 min
Knead until smooth and soft; it should feel like an earlobe.
Rest · about 1 h 30 min
Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.
Start to finish: about 2 h 10 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

If something goes wrong

Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Tough or chewy flatbread
Likely causes
- Dough too stiff
- Not rested
- Cooked too slowly on too cool a pan
What to do
- Add water until the dough is soft and slightly tacky
- Rest 20–30 minutes covered so the gluten relaxes
- Cook on a very hot tawa or pan — quickly

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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