Roti is eaten with almost everything
Across most of Pakistan, bread rather than rice is the everyday staple. A family of five can easily get through twenty rotis at dinner, which is why so many homes still knead fresh dough every day, and why neighbourhood tandoors sell hot naan and roti to anyone who doesn’t. Rice is for special meals, but roti is every day.
The dough decides everything
Soft roti starts with soft dough. Use (fine whole-wheat flour), add water gradually, and knead until the dough is smooth and springs back slowly when pressed. As a rough guide, 2 cups of atta take about ¾ cup of water, depending on the flour. Then rest the dough, covered, for at least 20 minutes. Rested dough rolls out thinner and puffs better on the tawa.
Which bread for which meal
Roti or chapati goes with daal, sabzi and salan. Parathas are richer, made with ghee folded into the layers, and belong at breakfast. Puri, deep fried and puffed, is for halwa puri mornings. Naan is leavened and soft, made for karahi, nihari and kebabs. Makki ki roti, made from maize flour, is a Punjabi winter bread with only one real partner: sarson ka saag.
Keeping bread soft
Stack rotis as they come off the tawa, with a thin smear of butter or ghee between them if you like, and wrap them in a clean cloth inside a covered basket. The trapped steam keeps them soft for an hour. Leftover rotis can be reheated on a hot, dry tawa for a few seconds on each side.