Gluten Free Roti Recipe (2024)

Learn how to make roti that is gluten free. It's soft, flaky, delicious, fool proof and tastes just like traditional sada roti using only a handful of ingredients.

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I'm so excited to share this recipe with my amazing readers. Trust me, this recipe is well overdue and has been heavily requested for quite some time now.

It's taken me a few years (on and off) to finally perfect this gluten free roti recipe. I cannot emphasize how important it is to follow this recipe to the tee.

It's really important to measure your ingredients, to my island folks, I know we have a tendency to eyeball the amount of ingredients from passed down knowledge and/or experience.

I grew that way too, but as a food blogger I have to measure my ingredients in order to share them to guarantee accuracy and precision.

Gluten free recipes, tend to need more adaptations to yield success so this is why it's so important to adhere to the recipe at hand.

Speaking of which, slightly off topic, but have you tried my Vegan Empanadas recipe yet? This is another example of a "dough" recipe that is very much foolproof.

What is roti?

In short roti is a round flatbread that is made from stoneground wholewheat flour (atta), oil (this is optional) and water.

The aforementioned is made into a dough, the dough is then divided into smaller balls that are rolled out quite thin.

A tawa (flat pan) or an open flame is used to cook the roti. This flatbread is native to the Indian subcontinent.

Roti in the Caribbean

Roti doesn't just play a crucial role in India, due to the indentured Indians that came to the Caribbean, roti is very popular on the islands especially Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana.

There are different variations of roti here with paratha (buss up shut) and dhal puri, being the most popular.

One thing about the Caribbean Indo style roti that differs from the subcontinent Indian version is the use of baking powder.

Which means the Caribbean roti is leavened (meaning rising agents are used) whereas this isn't used in the Indian version.

Never the less, depending on what roti you're making, it still puffs up whether this is done using an open flame, the damp cloth method or roti grill.

If you are a roti lover, then please don't forget to check out my Gluten Free Naan Bread and my Gluten Free Dinner Rolls which is a bread recipe.

Making roti that is gluten free

Now that I've given you a brief explanation on what roti is and how it connects to the Caribbean. Let's talk gluten free!

First of all, making foolproof gluten free roti isn't easy, the struggle is real. If you have tried then you will feel my pain!

As I said, it took me years to perfect this recipe after copious amounts of trial and error and I'm going to share with you the do's and don'ts of making good roti that's free from gluten.

Just for the record, roti making is a skill that comes with time. It comes with lots of practice, so if you are a beginner or this is your first time making roti, then don't be so hard on yourself.

I'm going to show you how to make sada roti, which is the most basic and beginner friendly roti that you will find.

If you follow my instructions then you will be left with roti that is very much foolproof.

• It's soft
• It flakes
• It bends and folds!

From my trial and error the key element to making good roti that is gluten free is to use flour that is naturally doughy when water is added to it (I will explain more later).

I tried using flour blends such as millet, sorghum, brown rice, amaranth, buckwheat without and without starch and the results were terrible.

The roti didn't rise even with the use of baking powder. The overall texture was very tough and more like cardboard.

Needless to say I was very disappointed I wanted to give up but with so many of my readers asking for this specific recipe, I continued with more trial and error.

Ingredients that you will need

As we are dealing with a gluten free version, adaptations need to be made. Using a combination of cassava flour, tapioca starch, brown rice flour and other ingredients creates roti heaven.

Cassava flour - You MUST use cassava flour, this is NOT the same as tapioca starch, they are two separate things.

Cassava flour is naturally doughy when combined with water. In other words, it acts as a pseudo "gluten" the protein in flour that creates that binding element.

Cassava flour is made by grating and drying out the entire vegetable. In other words, we are using the whole vegetable not certain parts of it.

Tapioca starch - this is the extract namely from the roots of the cassava which is dried and milled. This is another essential building block that keeps the structure of the roti.

Brown rice flour - this helps to offset any gumminess from using both tapioca starch and cassava flour. Without this the roti would be very chewy and gummy, so do not skip this ingredient!!

Psyllium husk - Another binding agent, that is more gut friendly than xanthan gum.

Baking powder - This will help your roti to rise and puff (the amount of puff/swelling is subjective).

Olive oil/Pink salt - both are used to enhance the flavour and taste of your roti.

Hot water - This is a must!! Very very important, especially for this gluten free version. Hot water will keep the dough soft when you are forming it making it easy to roll.

The steps

• Place all of the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl - cassava flour, tapioca starch, brown rice flour, psyllium husk, baking powder and pink salt.
• Use a whisk or large spoon to evenly combine all of the dry ingredients.
• Drizzle in the olive oil then start to pour in the hot water, a little at a time, so in other words, do so in increments using a spatula/spoon to form a big pliable doughball (you won't need all of the hot water).
• The dough should be soft, firm but not too sticky.

• Slice the dough into 4 quarters then roll each piece into a small ball then cover the bowl with a damp cloth.
• Lay some parchment paper on a clean surface and place one of the doughballs on the paper while keeping the rest of the dough covered.
• Lightly dust a rolling pin with cassava flour then proceed to roll the dough as thin as possible to make a disc. Use a pizza cutter or knife to trim around the edges or to form a small-medium sized circle if you are finding this difficult.
• Repeat the above step placing each disc on some parchment paper until 4-6 discs (depending on size) are made. Shake off any excess dust if needed
• Heat up the tawa/crepe pan or skillet on high heat, you want the pan to be piping hot before starting. Hover your hand over the pan to determine it's readiness.
• Place the dough on the hot pan then reduce the heat so it is slightly below high heat (not medium but not high so the roti burns, just in between).
• Leave the dough to cook for about one minute, until small bubbles, start to form and the side directly exposed to the tawa starts to brown a little (use an egg spatula or tongs to check this)

• Once the first side is ready, flip it over until the other side is slightly brown.
• Flip the roti again, reduce the heat to low and then push your tawa/pan slightly to one side so only half of it is on the burner/stovetop and push the roti so it is hanging slightly off the edge of the tawa.
• Use a damp cloth to apply gentle pressure while moving the roti in a counter clockwise motion while it starts to puff up (the amount of swelling will vary, some will completely while others only a few bubbles, this is normal especially being gluten free).
• As soon as it puffs put the tawa/pan directly back on the heat.
• Leave the roti for about 30 seconds before removing.
• Coat both sides of the roti, lightly with some melted vegan butter then place each roti skin on a plate lined with a damp cloth and cover.

Frequently asked questions

Why won't my roti puff up?

First of all, NOT every single roti skin will puff up. However, you should always see some bubbles in your roti, that is a given.

There are a few reasons as to why your roti doesn't puff up. First of all make sure you measure out your ingredients. You need the exact quantity to yield the results that are shown.

Also, as I said not every roti skin will puff up, some will show a few isolated bubbles while others will turn into a giant puff.

Make sure your tava/skillet is hot and never gets cold, ideally you want to cook your roti on heat is just below high heat and keep the temperature constant.

Also make sure that you pre-heat your pan, as this will effect whether or not your roti will bubble/puff up.

The dough needs to be rolled out evenly, meaning the same thickness all around and rolled as thinly as possible. I find that thicker roti (gluten free) doesn't puff up as much a thinly rolled roti does.

Can you freeze the roti once it has been cooked?

Yes, you can although, I wouldn't encourage this practice where possible. The roti skins do hold up in a freezer that doesn't produce any freeze burn (ice).

If you plan on freezing the roti, wrap them up (when completely cool) individually with parchment paper and aluminium foil for up to a month (I haven't test them longer).

Simply thaw them out before heating up (see notes), they should thaw out quite quickly when left on the countertop at room temperature.

Notes and tips

• Make sure you're using hot (boiling) water NOT warm, it must be hot in order to make this roti.
• To make roti making easier I do recommend investing in a Roti Grill especially with an induction hob or electric burners.
• This recipe makes about 4-6 roti skins, depending on the size.
• Roll out the dough of your roti as thin as possible, if it tears, it's too thin, you want it to be very thin and the texture very soft as this increases the likelihood of swelling.
• Don't substitute any ingredients unless they are listed. If I haven't listed an alternative that means either I haven't tried it or I do not recommend it.
• Use good quality ingredients i.e Bob Red Mills Cassava flour and Tiana (for the UK based) Cassava flour.
• Cassava is NOT the same as TAPIOCA STARCH. They are NOT interchangeable, they have been listed separately because they play different roles (see my post, for details).
• For best results, serve the roti while it is still warm.
• If you need to re-heat the roti then wrap it in aluminium foil and warm in the oven for a few minutes.
• If you want to double the recipe then do so SEPARATELY, make 2 individual batches. I haven't tested this with any other way.
• If you are a beginner then make your roti skins small, small roti is much easier to work with. I like mine quite large but to keep this beginner friendly I purposely made them small (as pictured).

Recipes to pair with your roti

• Jamaican Curry Goat
• Slow Cooker Curry Goat (Coconut Milk Version)
• Coconut Curry Chicken
• Refried Gungo Peas (Vegan)
• Tomato Choka (Vegan)
• Baigan Choka (Vegan)
• Curry Channa and Aloo
• Jamaican Stew Beef
• Trinidad Stew Chicken

Other bread recipes to try

• Gluten Free Naan Bread
• Dhal Puri Roti
• Gluten Free Dinner Rolls
• Vegan Gluten Free Hot Cross Buns
• Brown Rice Flour Bread

Other roti recipes to try

• Dhal Puri Roti
• Sugar Roti
• Sweet Potato Roti

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