Phulkas.

 Phulkas ...... The roti's that are puffed up on gas .....

Roti / phulka is a daily staple diet of North Indians. However relishing roti with curries and bhaji has now picked up all round India. Roti can be prepared with any dough, like wheat or millets. The most famous, convenient and easy to do being that of wheat. Dough is prepared with the help of adding water to the flour and then rolling it evenly with a rolling pin on a board to get evenly flattened roti. They are then fried with or without oil / ghee on a hot tava on both sides. 

Phulkas are roti prepared without applying oil / ghee and then putting them directly on gas flame to ball up. These are very light in texture and remain soft for a long time. 

You can watch some video on You tube to help / enable you to understand the process clearly and also help you know in detail as to how it really is made.

To prepare the dough : Put 2-3 cups of wheat flour in a large flat bowl. Add salt to taste and add some water (1/2-3/4 cup) to the flour and make a smooth dough of it. Do not add more water, you can keep sprinkling some water once it comes to binding form to make a smooth dough. Knead the dough well and keep it covered for 30 minutes. 

Knead the dough again for a few minutes and divide into equal sized smooth balls. Roll the dough ball in wheat flour and roll it to make a round chapati / roti with the help of rolling pin dusting it with wheat flour in between. 

Making Phulkas : Put a non stick tava / iron tava on heat side by side when start rolling the rotis. The tava should be hot. Keep the heat to medium. Put the rolled roti on the hot tava and allow it to cook for a few minutes. Once small bubbles start appearing on top side, flip it over and cook on the other side for few more minutes till cooked. Now flip and put the Chapati / Roti directly on high gas flame gently with the help of tongs. The roti will blow up into a round nice ball. Remove immediately and keep aside. Repeat with the remaining rotis. 

You should apply pressure evenly when making the roti. Evenly rolling of the roti helps the roti to ball up (Phulka) when you put it directly on the flame / gas. This method needs a bit of practice for a few times, but is very easy once you learn to roll the roti evenly. Also do not drop the roti on the high gas flame with force, which will instantly off the gas. Place it gently with the help of tongs. Do not keep it for long on gas flame or else it will burn. 

Apply melted ghee or butter to the phulkas and serve with any curry, bhaji of your choice.