Khamiri roti is a traditional Indian bread that was a staple in the Mughal era. It is made with whole wheat flour, yeast, and milk and is extremely soft and spongy. Do try this one for your festive meals.
Here is some more Indian bread, that you can make for your festive meals – Naan, Tandoori Roti, Garlic Naan, Missi Roti, and Masala Jowar Roti.
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About This Recipe
Khamiri roti is a super soft and spongy fermented roti that was said to be a staple in the Mughal era.
Khamiri roti is a rich Indian flatbread that is made with whole wheat flour and is still a staple bread in the Muslim household, which resides in the old parts of New Delhi. It is even a popular bread among Pakistani homes.
Yeast or khamir is added to this roti, which makes it extra soft and spongy. Along with whole wheat flour and yeast, other ingredients such as milk, sugar, and salt are added to make it softer and add a little hint of sweetness to it.
Yeast is also called as khameer in Urdu and thus the name, khamiri roti.
In olden times, people used to leave the dough overnight to ferment it, but with the yeast and baking soda available nowadays, it has become a fast process to make these rotis.
Traditionally, it is cooked in a clay tandoor, but if you don’t own one, you can even make it in an oven. I often make them in the oven and then cook them on the direct flame to give them a nice smoky flavor.
While serving, don’t forget to add some desi ghee on top of the roti, as it adds more taste to this fermented roti.
This roti is,
- Healthy
- Soft
- Easy to make
- Prepared with whole wheat flour
- Perfect for festive meals
Ingredients
Whole Wheat Flour – Khamiri roti is prepared with whole wheat flour, which is used for our everyday roti too. But this tastes a bit different, due to the fermentation.
Active Dry Yeast – Yeast is used to making the dough rise and also makes the rotis soft and spongy. You can easily find this active dry yeast at your nearby grocery stores or online.
Warm Milk – Make sure that the milk is warm and not hot, to get the perfect yeast results.
Other Ingredients – Some more ingredients that are required to prepare this roti are sugar, salt, and water.
You can also add in a little fennel powder to add some richness and a royal touch to it.
How to make Khamiri Roti?
Mix ½ cup warm milk, 1 tsp sugar, and 1 tsp active dry yeast in a bowl or a measuring jar. Keep it aside for about 5 minutes. The yeast will bloom during this time. If it doesn’t bloom, it means that either the yeast has expired or the milk was too hot which killed the yeast. Adding sugar is important to feed the yeast and help it grow.
Bloomed yeast.
Mix 2 cups whole wheat flour and ½ tsp salt in a large bowl. You can also take a parat (Indian large shallow utensil) for this process.
Add the mixture we made with milk and yeast in the bowl and mix everything well using your fingers. Add warm water little by little and knead to make a soft dough. The amount of water will depend on the quality of the flour. Do not add a lot of water at once otherwise, the dough will become sticky.
Once the dough is made, knead it for 2-3 minutes using the knuckles of your hands. Transfer it to a bowl and cover the bowl with a kitchen towel. Keep the bowl over the counter for 30 minutes.
Preheat an oven to 250 degrees C (480 degrees F). Divide the dough into 10-12 equal parts and make small balls from each part.
Dust and roll the ball to make a 5-6 inch disc. Keep the rest of the balls covered with a kitchen cloth to avoid drying.
Arrange the disc on a baking sheet. Bake your roti for 3-4 minutes on the upper rack of the oven.
Remove from oven and cook on the direct flame from both the sides till brown spots form. Smear with ghee and serve hot.
Frequently Asked Questions
To make this roti without an oven, just follow my procedure to make Missi Roti on ulta tawa. Make the dough as mentioned below and then cook the roti on ulta tawa. The results are fabulous.
You can make homemade roti without yeast too. Just substitute the yeast with the right amount of baking soda and acid to ferment.
For one cup of flour, add ¼ tsp baking powder and 1 tsp lemon juice.
Both these Indian bread uses yeast, which helps to ferment the dough and almost all the ingredients are the same to make this bread.
But there is one major difference in the ingredients! While khamiri roti is made with whole wheat flour, naan is made with all-purpose flour.
Thus the texture of both the rotis is different! Khamiri roti is soft and spongy, on the other hand, naan has a slightly chewy texture. Check out my amazing Naan Recipe here.
You can avoid adding warm milk to the recipe. Instead, you can mix the sugar and yeast with warm water.
I would suggest you store the dough instead of roti. Once the dough is ready, punch it down and store it in an airtight container. It will last in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Serving Suggestions
If you have ever visited the streets of Old Delhi, you would have seen that the locals serve this chewy Khamiris along with nalli nihari or with a rich Mutton Korma. It makes for an exceptional combination!
Other than North Indian kormas, I also like to serve it with rich and creamy Indian curries and dals.
Serve it along with your festive meals, it tastes great with almost everything, even simple raita.
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Recipe Card
Khamiri Roti Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- ½ cup milk (warm)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- ½ teaspoon salt
- warm water to knead the dough
Instructions
- Mix ½ cup warm milk, 1 tsp sugar, and 1 tsp yeast in a bowl or a measuring jar. Keep it aside for about 5 minutes. The yeast will bloom during this time. If it doesn’t bloom, it means that either the yeast has expired or the milk was too hot which killed the yeast. Adding sugar is important to feed the yeast and help it grow.
- Mix 2 cups whole wheat flour and ½ tsp salt in a large bowl. You can also take a parat (Indian large shallow utensil) for this process.
- Add the mixture we made with milk and yeast in the bowl and mix everything well using your fingers. Add warm water little by little and knead to make a soft dough. The amount of water will depend on the quality of the flour. Do not add a lot of water at once otherwise, the dough will become sticky.
- Once the dough is made, knead it for 2-3 minutes using the knuckles of your hands. Transfer the dough to a bowl and cover the bowl with a kitchen towel. Keep the bowl over the counter for 30 minutes.
- Preheat an oven to 250 degrees C (480 degrees F). Divide the dough into 10-12 equal parts and make small balls from each part.
- Dust and roll the ball to make a 5-6 inch disc. Keep the rest of the balls covered with a kitchen cloth to avoid drying.
- Arrange the disc on a baking sheet. Bake your roti for 3-4 minutes on the upper rack of the oven.
- Remove from oven and cook on the direct flame from both the sides till brown spots form. Smear with ghee and serve hot.
