Do Parathas, Naan, and Roti have to be burnt a little?
On asking the owner of a restaurant, he told me that the Tandoori chicken I was served was meant to have burnt edges because it is roasted on charcoal. I checked, and found it to be true.
But, I see restaurants all over India serving parathas, naan, and roti with black spots all over them and customers happily chew away on it. They laugh at me (and say it is normal to eat the burnt parts) when I pluck out all the burnt spots and keep them separate because I get stomach pain when I eat them. I don't understand why anyone would eat burnt food! Even when food is roasted over a camp fire, I assume people throw away the burnt portion of the meat that's exposed to the fire and smoke, and eat the cooked meat inside.
So is it an understood part of cooking parathas, naan, and roti, that it has to be cooked until it gets burnt spots? Or is there a way to cook it fully without it developing burnt spots? Whenever I've seen a restaurant serve these without burnt spots, I've also noticed that the inner layer (and sometimes the outer edges) of the paratha, naan, or roti is still raw.
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Best Answer
The charring is crucial to both the flavor and the texture. The charred part itself brings a bitter note to the flavor. If you don't like it, you can cut it out, but many people would miss it. It's also crunchy, which provides a pleasant contrast to the chewy parts of the bread.
It's also incidental to the way it's cooked. In order to get the flavorful Maillard reactions (the brown spots), you need to subject it to very high heat. Because you're cooking it without fat, some parts are closer to the pan than others. So some parts become brown, while other parts remain white, and a few spots become black.
Similarly, that high-heat cooking is important to the texture. It's what gives you a crispy outside without drying out the inside. If you cook thin breads like this at lower temperature, they will eventually become brown without burning, but they'll also become hard.
If you don't like it, discard it.
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Quick Answer about "Do Parathas, Naan, and Roti have to be burnt a little?"
They do not have to be burnt. Burning it is a sign that you need to adjust your cooking technique. Roti's and parathas can develop brown spots which are ok and very dark brown spots which are also ok. But if it is black and has a burnt taste, you can be sure the person cooking it has not exercised due care.How do you not burn naan?
Better to use a slightly lower heat and a longer cooking time, than a higher heat than your pan can handle \u2013 your naan will burn before they cook through. If you have to use a lower heat for the sake of your pan, you won't get as much bubbling and puffing as you will with higher heat.What is the difference between paratha and naan?
Paratha, while definitely bread, is not baked the way that naan is. Rather, it's fried in a tawa, a stone frying pan, using butter or cooking oil. While naan is generally rolled out once and slapped up against the side of the tandoor, paratha often gets rolled out multiple times, creating a very flaky bread.What is healthier roti or naan?
Roti is low in calories. In fact, it has zero saturated and trans fat and cholesterol. Naan is a high-calorie flatbread.Whats the difference between naan and roti?
Flour type SBS Food's India Unplated co-host, Sandeep Pandit, says that the fundamental difference between roti and naan is the type of flour they contain. "In roti, it's always wholemeal that we call 'atta' in Hindi\u2026 Naan on the other hand is made with 'maida', which is the Hindi word for plain flour."Paratha , How to make paratha , three easy ways
More answers regarding do Parathas, Naan, and Roti have to be burnt a little?
Answer 2
No. They do not have to be burnt. Burning it is a sign that you need to adjust your cooking technique. Roti's and parathas can develop brown spots which are ok and very dark brown spots which are also ok. But if it is black and has a burnt taste, you can be sure the person cooking it has not exercised due care.
Burning/charring till black spots are visible, is not an inherent part of the recipe.
For those who love the smoky, burnt flavour: Yes, there are recipes of other dishes (like the burnt cake or the smoked brinjal) where the recipe explicitly mentions burning or smoking, so that you get that flavour. But that's not the case with parathas, naans and rotis.
Here's what you need to know:
Parathas:
Recipe1: Mentions "...make sure you keep on regulating the temperature while frying as too hot the tava may burn the paratha".
Recipe2: Mentions "If the paratha sticks to the tava, it is not hot enough, if it become too dark quickly or burn it means it is too hot adjusting the heat accordingly".
Recipe3: Mentions "Ensure that oil is sufficient and paratha does not burn".
Naan:
Recipe1: Mentions "The secret to cooking a good naan is to cook it as fast as you can without burning it!".
Recipe2: Mentions "Do not let garlic naan get burned. Cook till it gets golden brown color".
Roti:
Recipe1: Mentions "Use your judgment as not to burn the roti off".
Recipe2: Mentions "cook the side down keeping an eye that it doesn't burn the roti on side down".
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Terry, Pixabay, Andrea Piacquadio, Pixabay