Chapati: The Essential Indian Flatbread and How to Get It Right

When you think of Indian meals, chapati, a simple, unleavened flatbread made from whole wheat flour, water, and salt. Also known as roti, it’s the quiet backbone of countless meals—from lentils and curries to pickles and yogurt. Unlike fancy breads, chapati doesn’t need yeast, sugar, or butter. Just flour, water, and heat. Yet, so many people struggle to make it soft, fluffy, and round. Why? It’s not about skill. It’s about understanding the dough, the heat, and the roll.

The secret to good chapati starts with the flour. Not just any whole wheat flour—but finely ground, high-protein atta. If your chapati turns out hard or cracks when you roll it, you’re probably using flour that’s too coarse or too low in gluten. The water matters too. Cold water makes the dough tight. Lukewarm water? It helps the gluten relax. And don’t skip resting the dough. Twenty minutes isn’t optional—it’s what lets the flour absorb moisture and the gluten stretch. Skip this, and you’ll end up with tough, rubbery chapatis every time.

Heat is the next big piece. A cast iron tawa or griddle needs to be hot—not smoking, but hot enough that a drop of water sizzles and vanishes fast. Too cold, and the chapati soaks up oil and turns greasy. Too hot, and it burns before it puffs. And puffing? That’s not magic. It’s steam trapped inside the dough, expanding when the heat hits. Press it gently with a cloth as it cooks, and you’ll see it balloon up like a little pillow. That’s when you know it’s right.

People often think chapati is just bread. But it’s more than that. It’s the tool that scoops up dal, the wrapper for paneer, the base for spicy chutneys. In northern India, families eat it three times a day. In homes across the country, it’s the first thing cooked in the morning and the last thing on the plate at night. It doesn’t need garnish. It doesn’t need a fancy name. It just needs to be made right.

Below, you’ll find real fixes for real problems—why your chapati won’t puff, how to keep it soft for hours, what flour works best, and how to fix dry or sticky dough. No fluff. No theory. Just what works in kitchens from Delhi to Mumbai to small towns where chapati is made every single day.