Leftover chana dal makes delicious missi rotis the next day, for breakfast or for lunch. Serve them with a knob of butter on top, some creamy natural yogurt and a spicy mango pickle, with a cup of chai to wash it all down with. A traditional and easy breakfast.

The concept of this is, to knead the dough using the dal without having to add any additional water. However, if the dal is too thick, then you would need to add some water or some yogurt if you want to make it softer. I added water in this one.

Approximately a cup and half of leftover chana dal from the night before – start with us in the mixing bowl and add the following –

1 medium red onion, finely chopped

3-4 green chillies, finely chopped (adjust to taste)

1 tbsp grated ginger

handful of fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped

2-3 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)

1 tbsp ajwain (carom seeds)

1 tbsp coriander powder

1/2 tbsp garam masala

salt, red chilli powder to taste

1/2 cup chickpea flour (besan)

1 – 1.5 cup wholewheat flour (atta)

Knead into a tight dough using the dal and if necessary add a couple of tbsp of natural yogurt or water to get the dough together. Since there are raw onions in the dough and salt, it will start releasing water, so a tight dough helps. I didn’t add any salt and was able to save the dough overnight in the fridge. With the salt, you should just let it rest for 20 minutes before making the rotis. Use 1 tbsp cooking oil on the dough when it is ready and set aside until ready to use.

To make the missi roti – roll out a parantha size dough ball into a thicker chapatti and cook like a parantha. The dough is too thick to do folds like a parantha, so a flat roti and use a little oil on the tawa to make it. The dough will be dry and will absorb oil and butter like a sponge!

These rotis freeze well – just parcook them (without the oil) and separate them using parchment paper in a freezer bag. Take out a missi roti whenever you want and just heat on the tawa using some oil or ghee. They really are a meal by themselves, and you definitely need the tea to wash them down.