Sweet potato rotis - soft Indian bread with sweet potatoes

Necessity is the mother of invention, right? Everyone becomes creative in the face of need. This roti is one such recipe from BH's consulting days. I am sure many of you have been or are currently in the same boat with a spouse travelling on work. Eating out may sound fancy but definitely has its health deterrents, especially if you have to do it long term. In the initial days, when I wasn't used to quick cooking and needed time to plan and execute, my cooking was limited to 2-3 times a week. A large scale cooking on Sunday afternoon (some 2-3 curries and rotis/parathas) with idli or dose hittu (batter) ready for the week, supplemented by a mid week cooking on Wednesday or Thursday :-). It was a great confidence booster to come back home after work with a hungry toddler in tow and find something readily available in the refrigerator. I am older, wiser and can cook faster now so I don't do bulk cooking anymore and we sit down for a family dinner most evenings.

But back in the days when BH was travelling, he would be gone most of the week days. While he used to have lunch with colleagues, he preferred to have something light at his hotel room at night. I used to be constantly on the look out for recipes that were healthy, wholesome and had longer shelf life. We both prefer rotis to rice and curries just because of the reduced mess in eating. BH is a totally non fussy eater so pleasing him through food is a no brainer. While stuffed parathas not only taste great but also stay soft, it requires additional work preparing the stuffing. Instead you can get the same delicious (Well, almost :-)) rotis by adding the ingredients into the dough.

I usually get my brand of whole wheat flour for making rotis. Nammamma in the days when she sent cleaned wheat grains to the flour mill would also add moong dal to make rotis nutritious, that is my mom's concept of multi grain flour long before the super market isles exploded with them.

Today's roti is a tried and tested recipe with two key ingredients. Both add to the taste and nutrition value of these rotis. I won't bore you with a wiki like sermon on the nutritional benefits, a quick look up on the all powerful, all invasive internet will give you what you are looking for (and much more of what you are not looking for also). I have added flax seeds powder  - you can get this as flax seeds meal in super markets or just powder flax seeds in a dry blender and add it while mixing the dough.

What do you need to make sweet potato rotis? 
1 big sweet potato (I used the white colored, you can use the pink or red ones)
2 cups whole wheat flour + 1Tblsp for dusting
2 Tblsp milled flax seeds or powdered flax seeds
1 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)
1 green chili - chopped fine (optional)
2-3 twigs fresh cilantro - chopped fine

How do you make sweet potato rotis? 

• Trim the ends of sweet potato, cut into 4-5 pieces and boil it in microwave or pressure cooker until soft.
• Once the boiled sweet potatoes cool down, peel the skin and mash it into a paste.
• Add chopped cilantro and green chilies (if using) along with salt and mix well. 

• Add the wheat flour and flax seeds powder and mix it into a soft dough. You will not need water as the boiled potatoes generate enough water content.
• Knead for 1-2 minutes and let the dough rest for 20 minutes. 

• Pinch off golf ball sized dough, shape it into a ball and roll it into a circular roti dusting as needed with dry wheat flour.
• Heat a flat griddle and roast the roti on both sides until it is cooked and light brown spots appear. 

• Enjoy warm, soft rotis with any pickle or chutney and a side of buttermilk or yogurt.

Notes: 

• I did not use oil while roasting, you can if you prefer.
• I sometimes add a Tsp of white sesame seeds into the dough which is optional. 
• The dough tends to become softer as you let it rest, take that into account as you do not want a very sticky dough on hand. 
• Based on the quality of sweet potato, sometimes the prepared dough tends to get sticky, add dry wheat flour if needed and knead for a couple of minutes before you roll into rotis.