Naram Phulkas (step-by-step video) & Bhindi Aloo Subzi (Soft Rotis & Okra-Potato Curry)

One of the basics that many don't get right- Naram phulkas or Soft Roti/Unleavened bread. All through out my childhood I have seen my mother making phulkas for dinner and serve it to us with smeared ghee. It was our daily dinner, Roti-subzi-dal-salad. I had taken the art of making rotis/ phulkas for granted until the day I started making them. For one week, each successive day, I burnt every roti I made. Every time I would crib about it to my mother, she would say , "banate banate aa jaayga", which meant, "you would eventually get it, just go on trying". Which is true. It is also practice that make your rotis puff up and not only heat. I am sure many of you are nodding in agreement. It is not difficult to cook edible food, but it is painstaking to cook a delicious and a healthy balanced meal.
I am so grateful to my mother for every small thing she has done for me without expecting any appreciation or even spelling them out.

Coming back to Naram Rotis. My couz Fay (nick) was disappointed with her rotis last week and told me that she was sick of eating rice. So I made a nice short video for her and  for some of you who are novice in making phulkas/rotis. Click to see the youtube link below. The recipe will follow after the link.
Tip before you start:-  Don't give up, you will eventually get it right.

Phulkas/Roti:-

Ingredients:-
1.5 cups of whole wheat flour/atta
2/3 cup warm water
1 tsp of oil to collect crumbles at the end
Some extra wheat flour for dusting

Method:-

Go on adding water little by little into the flour as you need the knead.
Knead the dough well with your fingers till it is pliable. The dough shouldn't be too tight.
If you feel the dough is sticky to be rolled  then add a tbl spn of wheat flour to the dough and knead it one last time.
Add the oil and collect all the crumbles and let the dough sit for 15 mins.

Take a golf ball sized dough and roll it into a 4 inch diameter circle having even thickness (come out of practice). Dust the rolling surface with flour so that the roti doesn't stick to the surface.
Heat the tawa on medium high flame. Add the roti.
Wait till heat spots appear on the surface and then flip the roti.
Start lightly pressing the roti with a kitchen tissue or a spatula. (Make sure it is done softly and you don't make any holes in the roti. If holes are made, it will not puff up)
The heat spots on the roti shouldn't be darker than light brown or else you will end up burning the roti. Go on flipping the roti and pressing it lightly in order to cook both the sides.

Once the light brown spots appear on both the surface, increase the heat to high and keep the roti directly on the flame for a few seconds so that it can puff up. If you do not have a flame gas, keep a wire rack on top of an adjacent metal coil and make sure the coil is heated at high before the roti is put on the wire rack to puff up. Do this step with a heat resistant tong or else you will burn your fingers.

Remove and cool. Smear a dollop of ghee on the roti and serve hot.

Bhindi Aloo:-

Ingredients:-
2 cups of slit okra
1 cup of diced potatoes
1 pod of garlic grated
1/2 tsp of jeera/cumin seeds
1 tsp of red chilli powder (According to taste)
1 tsp of coriander powder
1 medium sized onion chopped
salt to taste
2 tbl spns of oil

Method:-
Heat a pan with 1 tsp of oil. Add the jeera.
Add the onions and garlic. Fry till onions get transparent.
Add the okra and potatoes. Sprinkle some water and cook closed in low flame till veggies gets soft. Stir every 1 min to avoid burning, If the pan gets dry, sprinkle some more water.
Add the coriander powder, red chilli powder and salt.
Add another 1 tbl spn of oil and fry them till crisp in medium heat.
Serve hot with hot naram phulkas :)