Roti
Roti is a round, soft, unleavened flatbread from South Asia, baked on a hot griddle.1,2,3,4 Chapati is a thin kind of roti, usually made from whole wheat flour.4,5,6
Also known as Rotli
Roti is the Hindi and Urdu word for bread and goes back to the Sanskrit roṭikā.1,4 In northern India, roti is made on a griddle, while naan is baked in a tandoor, a clay oven.3,7 It is typically eaten with dal and vegetables.3
What is roti vs chapati?
Chapati is a thin kind of roti, usually made from whole wheat flour. Roti is the broader word: in Hindi and Urdu it simply means bread.4,5,6
What is the difference between naan and roti?
Roti is unleavened and cooked on a hot griddle. Naan is usually leavened with yeast, whose air pockets make it fluffy, and is traditionally baked in a tandoor.1,3,7,8
Recipes with Roti
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Sources
- Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). roti. In Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
- Cambridge University Press. (n.d.). roti. In Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
- Pai Raikar, S. (2026). Indian cuisine. In Encyclopaedia Britannica.
- Platts, J. T. (1884). roṭī. In A Dictionary of Urdu, Classical Hindi, and English (p. 604). Digital Dictionaries of South Asia, University of Chicago.
- Platts, J. T. (1884). ćapātī. In A Dictionary of Urdu, Classical Hindi, and English (p. 421). Digital Dictionaries of South Asia, University of Chicago.
- Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). chapati. In Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
- Murtoff, J. (n.d.). naan. In Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
- Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). naan. In Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
Cite this entry
MLA
“Roti.” Indian Culture Glossary, Indian Culture, https://www.indian-culture.de/en/glossar/roti.
Chicago
Indian Culture Glossary, s.v. “Roti,” https://www.indian-culture.de/en/glossar/roti.
APA
Indian Culture. (n.d.). Roti. In Indian Culture glossary. https://www.indian-culture.de/en/glossar/roti