Rumali Roti or Roomali Roti or Manda is a vegan, soft and thin tasty flatbread popular across India. It is quick and super easy to make. It is prepared using combination of all purpose flour and wheat flour. This flatbread can be served with any curry or gravy of your choice.
What is Rumali Roti or Roomali roti?
Rumali / Roomali means ‘handkerchief’. This bread (roti) is so thin that you can fold it like a kerchief and hence the name. These breads are so popular that it is a common feature in most Wedding lunch/dinner menus. Anyone who has seen it being prepared in restaurants have a feeling that it is a difficult flat bread to prepare at home.
This is because experienced chefs do not use a rolling pin to make these rotis, instead they toss them in air similar to how pizza is made in pizzerias. Also, at restaurants they are cooked on the inverted side (convex side) of a kadhai on high heat (generally over a tandoor – a coal fired oven). So there is a misconception that one requires fancy equipment and specialized skills to prepare this bread.
However, since the dough for rumali roti is soft and elastic, it can be rolled easily into thin flatbreads using a rolling pin. After coming to the US I have made them at home countless times as they are super easy to make and are perfect combination with spicy Indian curries.
Compared to the rumali rotis we get at restaurants home made rotis are just a tad smaller. There is no difference in their taste, texture, and softness whatsoever! If you love flat breads and rolling, then this is another super easy bread that you should try at home.
This is my old blog post. I am re-posting it again with new pics and a quick video of my husband trying to prepare roomali rotis. Hope you guys find it useful.
SOME OF MY FAVORITE, BEST AND EASY, POPULAR FLATBREAD RECIPES
- Pita Bread – popular on blog
- Thai roti bread – popular on blog
- Garlic Butter Naan bread
- Tava Naan
- 12 Vegan flatbread recipes
- Amritsari kulcha
- Corn Flour Bread
- Oats Chapati
- Garlic Cheese Naan
WHAT DO YOU EAT OR SERVE WITH FLATBREAD? (SOME ACCOMPANIMENTS FOR FLATBREAD LIKE NAAN, ROTI, PITA BREAD)
Any Indian dishes – gravy or curry tastes great with naan bread, roti or any flatbread. Some of my favorite accompaniments
- Grilled meats like Tikka and kebabs
- Hummus
- Butter Chicken
- Chana Masala (chole or chickpeas curry)
- Chicken Tikka
- Paneer Tikka Masala (Tofu Tikka Masala)
- Spicy Garlic mushrooms – popular on blog
- Mushroom Butter masala – popular on blog
- Mushroom in black pepper sauce (mushroom kali mirch)
- Tandoori Gobi (Oven Roasted Cauliflower)
- Palak Paneer
- chicken kali mirch
- cauliflower lababdar
My husband tries his hand at making rumali roti. Do check it out!
See, I told you it was easy!! If he can make it, you can make it 🙂
DEtailed recipe for quick and easy homemade rumali roti (roomali roti) – vegan flatbread

Rumali Roti or Roomali Roti or Manda is a vegan, soft and thin tasty flatbread popular across India. It is quick and super easy to make. It is prepared using combination of all purpose flour and wheat flour. This flatbread can be served with any curry or gravy of your choice.
- 2 cups All purpose flour or Maida
- 2/3 cup Whole wheat flour or Atta
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 1/3 cup Warm water
- 3 tbsp Rice flour (check tip for substitute)
- 2 tbsp Vegetable oil or any cooking oil
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In a bowl, add all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, salt and mix well.
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Now add water little by little to form a soft dough. The amount of water required may vary depending on the brand of flour and weather conditions.
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Cover the dough and keep it aside for 30 minutes.
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Divide the dough into 20 equal portions.
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Take two balls of dough and make small roti out of it. Approximately 3 inch in diameter.
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Spread oil and rice flour on top of one of the roti. Place another roti on top of this like a sandwich. Now roll this using rolling pin to form thin roti.
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Heat the tava / non-stick pan. It should be very hot.
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Transfer the roti to the tava. When you see the bubbles flip on the other side. This process should be completed in few seconds else your roti will turn crispy and not soft.
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Now slowly separate the two rotis from the sealed edges. Fold it into triangle and repeat the process for the remaining dough
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Rumali Rotis are now ready. Serve hot and enjoy.
- Dough should be smooth enough to make thin rotis.
- Tava should be very hot and the rotis should be cooked in few seconds on both the sides to keep it soft. I have used non-stick pan.
- The amount of water required may vary depending on the brand of flour and weather conditions.
- if your are not able to find rice flour, you can use corn flour (cornstach) or tapioca flour.
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Preparation time : 45 minutes
Serves : 20 rotis or flatbreads
Ingredients for Rumali Roti
All purpose flour / Maida – 2 cup
Whole wheat flour / Atta – 2/3 cup
Salt – 1 tsp
Warm water – 1 1/3 cup
Rice flour – 3 tbsp
Vegetable oil – 2 tbsp
Steps to Prepare Rumali Roti
Step I
- In a bowl, add all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, salt and mix well.
- Now add water little by little to form a soft dough. The amount of water required may vary depending on the brand of flour and weather conditions.
- Cover the dough and keep it aside for 30 minutes.
Step II
- Divide the dough into 20 equal portions.
- Take two balls of dough and make small roti out of it. Approximately 3 inch in diameter.
- Spread oil and rice flour on top of one of the roti. Place another roti on top of this like a sandwich. Now roll this using rolling pin to form thin roti.
Step III
- Heat the tava / non-stick pan. It should be very hot.
- Transfer the roti to the tava. When you see the bubbles flip on the other side. This process should be completed in few seconds else your roti will turn crispy and not soft.
- Now slowly separate the two rotis from the sealed edges. Fold it into triangle and repeat the process for the remaining dough
- Rumali Rotis are now ready. Serve hot and enjoy.
Tip:
- Dough should be smooth enough to make thin rotis.
- Tava should be very hot and the rotis should be cooked in few seconds on both the sides to keep it soft. I have used non-stick pan.
- The amount of water required may vary depending on the brand of flour and weather conditions.
Awesome..love that video. 🙂
Thank you Sri 🙂
Great post…thanks for sharing the video, too! (And great job with the photos…roti seem like they would be hard to take pictures of!) So I’ve never made roti before, but I always steal my wife’s roti when she goes out for Indian food. Perhaps I just need to learn how to make them myself instead! Thanks, Kushi!
Thank you so much David 🙂
Excellent.. This is just outstanding…
Thank you Jeena 🙂
Papery soft Rumali roti.. Looks so good..
Thank you Sharmila 🙂
Superb dear 🙂 I make Rumali rotis the same way too, except for rice flour I use whole wheat flour.
Thank you dear 🙂
Excellent job, Kushi. These flatbread look stunning!
Thank you Angie 🙂
Mmmmm, bread! I love Indian breads but have yet to make them homemade…definitely will be trying this recipe soon!! So excited!
Thank you Joscelyn 🙂
Rumali rotis are looking too good Kushi
Thank you Nidhi 🙂
I love this bread. It looks so soft. Yum. Looks delicious!
Thank you April 🙂
Awesome post . Love it
Thank you Beena 🙂
N Gujarati we called it be padi roti jo aam rus k sath khane k liye banate hey
Thank you Mina 🙂
The rotis look awesome Kushi and so perfectly done, very tempting pictures..
Thank you Hema 🙂
I always wanted to try it out one day.. Let me see.. Perfect rotis and also awesome clicks..
Seena, thank you so much. This is a super easy flat bread. When you get a chance to try it, don’t forget to let me know how it turned out.
Looks so good and easy. Thank you.
I’ve never made a thin bread like this before – sounds like a tasty recipe to try out this weekend!
I have always wanted to try making my own roti and these look really easy. I can’t wait to try.
I love roti, I remembering having them at a small place in Malaysia where the chef made them just as you say, tossing them from hand to hand. It was fascinating to watch. These look lovely and look forward to trying myself.
This handkerchief roti looks so incredible for mopping up curries. And so quick to make, too!