My mother-in-law makes her roti—a sort of Indian flour tortilla that goes especially well with northern Indian food, like butter chicken—perfectly round. I'm getting better, but the first year mine were all over the place, more likely to look like a Mickey Mouse head than a circle.

For the most authentic flavor, your best bet is to find whole wheat flour, called “atta,” from an Indian supermarket. They usually come in huge bags, like 20 pounds. So I typically use organic whole wheat flour from Whole Foods, which works fine as well.

I like to cook this in an Indian pan called a tawa, which I got from my mother-in-law, though a cast-iron skillet works great too.

Roti, an Indian tortilla

Yield: 10-12 palm-size roti

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup water

1. Mix flour gently in a medium bowl. Slowly add ½ cup water and mix the dough. Once the dough absorbs all the water evenly, add another ½ cup, and repeat this process until all the water is used. (The dough should be not too sticky, but not too dry. If it's too sticky, add flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. If it's too dry, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time.)

2. Knead the dough in the bowl until the ingredients are fully incorporated. Remove from the bowl and knead on a lightly floured countertop until the dough is smooth. Cover the ball of dough with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.

3. Divide dough into 10 to 12 portions, about the size of a ping pong or golf ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a palm-size circle. If the dough sticks on the surface, sprinkle on a little more flour.

4. Heat the tawa cast-iron skillet over high heat—the pan should too hot to touch—and place one rolled-out dough piece on the pan.

5. Once a few brown spots appear on the bottom, flip it and cook the other side. When there are brown spots on the other side, flip it again. The roti is done, ideally, when it puffs up. (At this point, if you are cooking on a gas stove, you can place the dough directly onto the flame to puff it up quickly. You might not get this on your first try.)