Rajasthani khoba roti

Yes yes this is a roti. Looks like a piece of art indeed. Rajasthani Khoba roti is the prettiest of all Indian breads. Don’t get intimidated by the pictures. You can make it too by following easy step by step instructions given below.

One more reason I am excited  to share this one is – I have changed things a bit here. Actual Khoba roti looks like the picture below  – i make it almost every other weekend.

Though its beautiful in itself, i have changed the design a bit and presenting it in a all new avatar. 

Its more intricate and i loved how it turned out to be, hence couldn’t resist from sharing with you.

Let me slow down here.  If you aren’t familiar with khoba roti let me brief you up quickly – 

This roti is known by different names- some call it khoba roti, some call it jadi roti and some rot.

Khoba Roti comes from the state of Rajasthan (India).

Rajasthan means land of Kings . This state is renowned for its rich art ,architecture, culture and heritage . It’s artistic flair is very much reflected in its food preprations  too.

The word Khoba means deep indentation . This roti is traditionally made by pinching the overall surface to create an interesting design. One more logical reason for this design could be  that khoba roti is a lot thicker than the regular rotis , so I think to cook it evenly and assure that it isn’t uncooked from inside – its pinched overall .. well this is my logic.

Its cooked in a gas tandoor or baked in an oven . You can even cook it on the skillet on low heat which takes some amount of patience. I prefer baking.

How does it taste

Its got a crispy crust just like a pie or a butter cookie and its soft from inside. Words fall short to explain further . You have to try it and experience the taste yourself 🙂

How do you eat it

Traditionally Khoba roti is smeared with lot of ghee ( clarified butter) and is served with a side of dal or kadhi, veggie and chutney.

The beauty of khoba roti is that you have it any time of the day – be it breakfast, lunch , snack or dinner.

I always make extra rotis and enjoy it the next day at breakfast with tea or simple pickle.

Believe me you need to try this one at least once in your life time.

Being a rajasthani myself, I have grown up eating a lot of traditional Rajasthani meals . Khoba roti is a staple at my place. The main problem being away from home is that I crave ‘maa ke haath ka khana’ a lot. My mom makes this at least twice a week and continuing the trend I make it too but once a week – over the weekends.

The inspiration for this new look

my son 🙂 yes . 

We play a lot of imaginative and make believe games. 

So the  other day we were playing ‘ bakery’ . My son loves to play with real baking supplies. Yes I have 2 closets full of baking stuff. He loves  play dough – roll and shape them , use my rolling pin , cookie cutters and lately he has fallen in love with my pearl tweezers. He calls it as pincher, lol is that even a word. We were making play dough cookies and he wanted to pinch them . I helped him creating fun shapes and I was amazed how pretty they looked . That is when I decided I will use this idea in actual cooking too . 

And thus comes this Khoba roti in a new avatar.

Easy to follow detailed step by step tutorial below- 

Start with rolling the dough.  You can make big or small rotis depending on your preference. 

I have rolled it 7- 8” wide and approx thickness 1/2 “

Start making small scattered slashes with knife  approx 1/2″ wide all over the roti – this is done to avoid roti to puff while baking.

Now carefully flip the roti and the fun part begins. Eyeball the center and start pinching with the tweezer .

Make your first circle by pinching all around – consider this design as flower petals- starting with 5 petals in the center

The second round of pinching begins between two petals – keep on pinching all the way round . 

Dont worry if you mess up alternating. – doesn’t matter , it will still look intricate and pretty. Just keep on pinching all around in an imaginary circle .

you are done .

Meantime heat the skillet and cook the roti lightly on the side slashed (this will be the bottom of the roti)

Line the baking pan with foil and grease it lightly. Ready to go in a pre heated oven at 180 degree c or 350 degree F. 

Baked golden perfection.

Highlights

tasty

easy

intricate and impressive

can be stored at room temperature

perfect on the go treat or while travelling. 

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5 from 4 votes

Rajasthani khoba roti

Impress everyone with this easy to make traditional rajasthani khoba roti with a new look-more intricate . Enjoy it for any meal of the day . Very filling and tasty .

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian - rajasthani/ marwari

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes

Adjustable Servings -3 -4 rotis

Author Khushboo Kothari

Ingredients

• 3 cups wheat flour / multigrain flour
• 3 tbsp melted ghee clarified butter*
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 water approx * for kneading a stiff dough.

Instructions

• Sift the flour in a big bowl
• Add salt to the flour and mix well.
• Add melted ghee .
• Rub the flour between your fingers so that entire flour is well coated with ghee .
• Add water little at a time to knead a stiff dough..After kneading it smooth just coat it with some ghee and let it rest covered for 15 -20 mins atleast .
• Meantime pre heat the oven at 180 degree C or 350 degree F
• Divide dough in 3-4 equal balls .
• Roll it without dusting with dry flour approx 1/2 " thick round . Trust me it wont stick on the rolling pin .
• Now make slashes with the knife on one side .
• Flip the roti and make the floral design with the tweezer.
• Place it on a warm non stick skillet, slashed side down only . (follow step by step pictorial above). The idea is to only semi cook slashed side only on the tawa/ skillet.
• Once it's lightly cooked from one side transfer it to a baking sheet lined with foil and greased lightly.
• Place the baking tray/sheet on the middle rack of the oven .. Bake for 25 -30 mins .
• No microwave mode please - Only convection .
• After baking , transfer the baking tray carefully on top most rack and broil on high for 4-5 mins or until you see beautiful brown color on top- watch closely after 2 mins broiling mark to avoid burning . If you don't have a broiling option simply turn on only upper heating element.
• Take it out of the oven once done .
• Drizzle some ghee on the top .
• Enjoy with Dal, subzi or choorma 🙂

Notes

Traditionally ghee is used , you can use oil if you prefer so.
Add water little by little to make a stiff dough - tad stiffer than poori dough.
Always use oven safe gloves while handling baked goods.

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Vegan substitute

instead of ghee use olive oil. If you love the taste of coconut, coconut oil tastes good too.

Can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container up to 2 days.

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