Last weekend, I picked up two shapely little butternut squashes at Animal Farm’s farmstand at the Urban Harvest market. Incorporating vegetables into roti and other bread doughs is a longtime, much-loved practice. As I started to peel one half before grating it, a co-worker piped in: “Roast the squash.”
120 Min
V
Butternut Squash Roti
I slid it onto a baking pan, placed it in the oven and forgot about it for an hour. After it cooled, I used the mash to make roti, marveling at how much easier and tastier the entire process was. I went on to add mashed roasted carrots, pumpkin and sweet potatoes to flatbread doughs in subsequent preparations.
Last weekend, I picked up two shapely little butternut squashes at Animal Farm’s farmstand at the Urban Harvest market. Incorporating vegetables into roti and other bread doughs is a longtime, much-loved practice. As I started to peel one half before grating it, a co-worker piped in: “Roast the squash.”
I slid it onto a baking pan, placed it in the oven and forgot about it for an hour. After it cooled, I used the mash to make roti, marveling at how much easier and tastier the entire process was. I went on to add mashed roasted carrots, pumpkin and sweet potatoes to flatbread doughs in subsequent preparations.
Cook Time
2 Hours + Rest & Cooling Time
Serves
8
Directions
Step 1
Cut the butternut squash lengthwise and place it cut-side up on a baking pan. Roast in a 350-degree oven, leaving the fibrous pulp and seeds intact. After 1 hour, turn off the oven but leave the squash inside for another 30 minutes to 1 hour; it will continue to cook. Once it has cooled enough to handle, scoop out and mash the flesh, discarding only the skin.
Step 2
In a bowl, combine the squash mash with the roti flour, olive oil, salt and black pepper. Add 1 cup water to make a soft dough. If the dough appears dry, add 1 or 2 tablespoons more water. Cover and let the dough rest for 1 hour, or refrigerate it for a few hours.
Step 3
Divide the dough into 8 to 10 balls. Working with one ball at a time and using a little dry flour, roll each into a 6-inch circle. Dry-roast the rotis on both sides in a hot flat sauté pan or skillet. Rotis are best eaten immediately.
Notes & Variations
- The rotis will keep at room temperature for a few hours, but they are best frozen; refrigeration will dry them out. To warm them, place them directly on an oven rack in a preheated 300-degree oven for 2 to 3 minutes, or flame them directly over a gas stove.
- Instead of water, you can use milk to bind the dough, a common practice in India that makes rotis extra soft. Either way, make sure the dough is soft, or the rotis will be tough.
- Roti flour is available at Indian grocers and online. If you can’t find it, use whole-wheat flour, though the rotis may be slightly tougher because roti flour is usually ground much more finely.
Ingredients
Step 1
Cut the butternut squash lengthwise and place it cut-side up on a baking pan. Roast in a 350-degree oven, leaving the fibrous pulp and seeds intact. After 1 hour, turn off the oven but leave the squash inside for another 30 minutes to 1 hour; it will continue to cook. Once it has cooled enough to handle, scoop out and mash the flesh, discarding only the skin.
Step 2
In a bowl, combine the squash mash with the roti flour, olive oil, salt and black pepper. Add 1 cup water to make a soft dough. If the dough appears dry, add 1 or 2 tablespoons more water. Cover and let the dough rest for 1 hour, or refrigerate it for a few hours.
Step 3
Divide the dough into 8 to 10 balls. Working with one ball at a time and using a little dry flour, roll each into a 6-inch circle. Dry-roast the rotis on both sides in a hot flat sauté pan or skillet. Rotis are best eaten immediately.
Notes & Variations
- The rotis will keep at room temperature for a few hours, but they are best frozen; refrigeration will dry them out. To warm them, place them directly on an oven rack in a preheated 300-degree oven for 2 to 3 minutes, or flame them directly over a gas stove.
- Instead of water, you can use milk to bind the dough, a common practice in India that makes rotis extra soft. Either way, make sure the dough is soft, or the rotis will be tough.
- Roti flour is available at Indian grocers and online. If you can’t find it, use whole-wheat flour, though the rotis may be slightly tougher because roti flour is usually ground much more finely.
Tags:
120 Min
V
Tags:
120 Min
V
BUTTERNUT YOUR WAY.
Every way is the right way.
