Rotis

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent, typically made from whole wheat flour and cooked on a flat or slightly concave griddle; also refers to this bread served as a staple food with various dishes; occasionally used to denote similar unleavened breads in adjacent regional cuisines
2. An unleavened flatbread common in South Asian cuisine, prepared by rolling dough made from wheat flour and water then cooked over a hot surface; commonly eaten alongside vegetables, meats, or lentils; sometimes the term applies generically to comparable traditional breads in neighboring areas
3. A traditional wheat-based unleavened bread cooked on a flat iron skillet, central to meals in India, Pakistan, and surrounding countries; serves as an everyday accompaniment for curries and vegetables; occasionally the name extends to similar flatbreads in nearby culinary traditions

Etymology: "Rotis" is simply the plural of "roti," so its story is the story of the bread itself. The word "roti" comes from Hindi and Urdu, where it is written रोटी and روٹی, and those languages in turn descend from the Sanskrit "roṭikā," meaning "bread." The Sanskrit form is the older ancestor, so an Indian flatbread name has been carried through the subcontinent's languages for centuries before reaching English. Because "rotis" is only the plural, the English word keeps the Hindi-Urdu spelling of the singular, with the final -s added in the English manner rather than any change within the Indian languages themselves.

Synonyms: flatbreads, chapatis, breads, Indian breads, unleavened breads