These pretty looking vegan tortillas with a blend of flours, herbs and spices are a quick and easy way to amp up the flavors! Pair it with condiment of your choice and voila! and super healthy and delicious meal is in your hands! 😍
I am a HUGE fan of homemade tortillas / flatbreads/ roti. Store bought ones have so many additives! Therefore, increasingly, I find myself avoiding store bought flatbreads. I mean, why should I, when making them at home is so easy!
This vibrant and beautiful flour tortillas recipe is up there in the list of my favourite flatbreads, ever, closely followed by this spicy flatbread and gluten free naan.
If you are not already, I urge you to switch to making tortillas at home. It may sound complicated and time-consuming to make them, but trust me, it is not difficult at all! The aroma of homemade tortillas is so comforting!
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Ingredients for making vegan tortillas
The flours: You might be familiar with corn tortillas. You might also be familiar with flour tortilla. These ones are extra special as there are two flours in this recipe - whole wheat and chickpea. The whole wheat flour is the base while the chickpea flour adds additional flavor and nutrition to the tortillas.
Herbs: Fresh cilantro it is for me! Use the leaves and the stems for that extra crunch, flavor and fiber! You can use other herbs if you wish (see the notes section below for more details on that).
Spices: All the wonderful gut-healing spices (read the section below for more about the goodness of these spices) - carom / caraway seeds; turmeric; coriander and black pepper.....your house will be filled with their lovely aroma. So good! 😋
The healing spices in this tortilla recipe
Carom / Caraway Seeds: Also known as Ajwain in Hindi, these tiny seeds look like miniature cumin seeds. They are strong in flavor and can take some getting used to! However, they are such a powerhouse of goodness and especially good for the gut.
Turmeric: This spice is more than just a spice for me (as for most Indians!) - it is an emotion! The distinctive bright hue that turmeric adds to a dish is something that my cooking is incomplete without! Curcumin - the active ingredient in this spice - has numerous health benefits.
Coriander: Ubiquitous to Indian cooking, I love the earthy aroma of coriander seeds! Ayurveda, the ancient healing science, hails coriander seeds as a spice that has a cooling effect on the gut.
Black pepper: This spice does not need any introduction! Apart from adding that spicy punch to this dish, as mentioned in the sweet potatoes soup post, black pepper and turmeric together in any dish are so good!
Sesame seeds: These tiny, off-white seeds are filled with good oils! Sesame seeds add a delicious nuttiness to these tortillas. You can skip this ingredient if you have any allergies with sesame.
What is so good about this recipe?
For starters, this recipe is a flavor bomb!
And then these reasons:
Quick
Easy
Warm and soft
Gorgeous colour
Savoury
Yeast free
No baking powder
No dairy or eggs
Packed with healing spices and herbs
Kid friendly
Can be made in bulk
If you have struggled with making bread in the past then tortillas or flatbreads is a great place to start.
Making these tortillas
Let's get in the kitchen and make these delicious and easy vegan, no yeast tortillas together, shall we?
The detailed recipe is below in a separate, printable recipe card.
STEP 1: Measure all the ingredients.
To make the dough, start by setting 100 ml of water to boil.
While the water is boiling, in a large bowl, add the herbs and spices - chopped cilantro, turmeric, salt, carom seeds, ground coriander, crushed black pepper and sesame seeds. Mix them.
Crush the carom seeds between your palms before adding them to the bowl. This will help release their oils and aroma of the seeds.
Step 2: The salt will begin to extract the water from the cilantro. That is exactly what we want!
Now add in the two flours - whole wheat and chickpea - and mix them well.
Add the (hot) water. While the mixture is hot, begin by mixing it with a ladle. When it is cool enough to handle, get your hands in and give the dough a good mix.
The dough should come together with the amount of water we measured. Add in a little bit more water, if needed, to make a dough that is soft, yet firm.
Cover and let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
Step 3: While the dough is resting, let us do two things:
1) Set a skillet / frying pan on medium-low heat and
2) Set up the counter space to roll out the tortillas. We will need some extra whole wheat flour for dusting and rolling them.
Step 4: After the dough has rested for about 5 minutes, knead it with the base of your palm for 3 - 4 minutes. This is important.
Step 5: Pinch the dough into equal portions.
Roll each portion, between your palms, to a smooth ball.
Dip the dough ball in some flour and on a well dusted surface, roll out each ball to a round shape. Do not roll them out too thin - 5 inches diameter should be good enough.
Step 6: The pan should be evenly hot by now. Turn the heat up (from medium-low) to medium.
Place the rolled out tortilla to the pan.
Roast the tortillas on one side for 40 - 50 seconds. Flip over (when you see bubbles appear) and drizzle 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil.
Roast again for 40 - 50 seconds (press with a spatula to help the sides cook well. When you see brown spots appear on both sides, that is a sign that the tortilla is well roasted.
On a plate place a clean tea towel. Place the cooked tortilla on the tea towel and wrap it up. The steam will keep them soft and warm.
That's it, easy and quick homemade tortillas are ready for you to enjoy with your family! 😎
Serve with dip, curry, soup or stew of your choice. See serving suggestions below.
Tips, notes and substitutions
Follow these tips and notes to make super soft, failproof homemade tortillas.
Water: Use hot water for mixing the dough. The hot water will help release the gluten from the flour and the make tortillas super soft. So do not forget this step.
Roasting the tortillas: One of the critical steps to making tortillas that will stay soft for long, is to get the pan evenly and well heated. So make sure you heat your pan enough.
Kneading the dough: Kneading the dough well will work the gluten and give us soft flatbreads. Knead the dough for 3-4 minutes. consider it as arm exercise 😀 While kneading, apply the pressure from your shoulder. You will know that the dough is well kneaded when it is smooth and without any cracks.
No wheat flour? You can use all purpose flour instead.
Herbs: You can use other herbs such as dill, oregano or mint in place of cilantro. You can also add chopped spinach.
How to keep the tortillas soft? The best way to keep them soft is to wrap them in a tea towel. The steam will help keep them soft and warm.
The best way to avoid cracked, dry tortillas: is to knead the dough well. This will help make the dough soft and pliable.
Storage and reheating
These fresh homemade tortillas will stay good at room temperature for 1 day and in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Wrap them in a tea towel (as mentioned above) and while they are stills warm, place them in a zip lock bag (or a box with tight lid) and keep them in the fridge.
Reheat the tortillas: The tortillas will become hard and stiff in the refrigerator and therefore your must reheat to soften them. You can reheat them in a microwave or in a skillet.
To reheat them in a microwave, place them on a damp paper towel, cover them with another damp paper towel and microwave them on high for 30 - 40 seconds.
To reheat them in a skillet, place them on a hot skillet. Dab them with a damp tea towel and let them heat gently on medium heat. Flip them over, dab them again with a damp towel and reheat for another 30-40 seconds.
Serving suggestions
These tortillas are so handy one for everyday use and can be enjoyed in so many ways!
I love rolling it up and having it, on its own, with a cup of steaming hot chai (Indian tea).
If you want to make it more wholesome, use it as a wrap with a filling of garlic butter mushroom stir fry.
or with this crunchy carrots and daikon pickle......so yummy!
This flatbread makes a perfect based for dipping into this delicious cucumber raita. Lush!
Frequently Asked Questions
Parsley will work well in this recipe. Dill or mint will work well too. A combination of all these herbs will make this recipe an incredibly flavourful one. Try it!
Yes, of course! if you are not a strict vegan, then roasting these roti with some ghee will take the taste up by several notches and make it healthier too! 🤩
Traditionally, tortillas contain some sort of animal based fat such as lard, tallow or butter. Therefore unless it specifies as being vegan, most tortillas are not vegan.
These days most tortillas that are made are vegan. In the old days, traditionally tortillas were not made vegan. They has either lard, tallow or butter as one of the ingredients.
If you have made these vegan tortillas, please take a moment to leave a comment and /or a rating below. This will make me super happy and motivate me to create more good content for you! xx Padma
Tasty Vegan Tortillas with Herbs and Spices
Equipment
- 1 wide bowl for mixing the dough
- 1 skillet for roasting the flatbreads
- 1 spatula
- 1 ladle to mix the flour when it is still hot
- 1 kettle or saucepan for boiling water
Ingredients
For the dough
- ½ cup water (hot)
- ½ teaspoon neutral oil (only if needed i.e. if dough is sticking to your fingers)
- 1 cup whole wheat flour 150 -180 grams, approximately + extra for dusting
- 2 tablespoons chickpea flour 30 grams, approximately
Herbs and Spices
- 1 cup fresh cilantro - leaves and stems (50 grams, approximately)
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
- ½ teaspoon carom seeds (caraway/ ajwain)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon crushed black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon salt (or as per taste)
For roasting flatbreads
- 8 teaspoons neutral oil (1 teaspoon per roti)
Instructions
Prep the cilantro
- Wash and pat dry the leaves and stems. Chop them finely.
Set the water to boil
- Hot water will help work the gluten in the flour better and make the roti soft. This is an important step.
Keep the rest of the ingredients measured and ready
- FloursOilSpices and herbs
Mix the spices and herbs
- In a wide bowl, add all the dry spices, sesame seeds and chopped cilantro. Add salt. Mix well.Crushing the carom seeds between your palms. This with release their oils and aroma.Massage these herbs and spices with your palm. The cilantro will begin to release its moisture. This will help in bind the flours.2 teaspoons sesame seeds, ½ teaspoon carom seeds (caraway/ ajwain), ½ teaspoon turmeric, ½ teaspoon crushed black pepper, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 cup fresh cilantro - leaves and stems
Make the dough
- The salt will further extract the water from cilantro. That is what we want! Now add in the two - whole wheat and chickpea - flours. Mix well.1 cup whole wheat flour, 2 tablespoons chickpea flour
- Add the hot water and mix with the ladle. Careful! the dough will be hot. When cool enough to handle, get your hands in and mix the dough well till it all comes together and looks like a ball.½ cup water
- The dough should come together (see picture above) with the amount of water we have measured. The dough should be soft, yet firm. Feel free to add in a little bit more water (1-2 teaspoons), only if needed, to bring the dough to that consistency.
- Cover and let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
Roasting the tortillas
- While the dough is resting, set a skillet on medium-low heat.One of the critical steps to making soft roti - that will stay soft for long, is to have a skillet that is evenly and well heated. So make sure you heat your skillet well.
Prepare the surface for rolling the tortilla
- Clean the work surface.Keep ready the extra flour that is required for rolling the flatbread.Have the oil handy.
Knead the dough
- By this time the dough should have rested well. Now knead it for 3-4 minutes. Grease your palm with a few drops of oil, if needed. Use the base of your palm and your knuckles to knead. The pressure should be exerted from your shoulder.You will know that the dough is well kneaded when it is smooth and without any cracks.½ teaspoon neutral oil
Roll the tortillas
- Pinch the dough into equal sized portions. Roll each porting between your palms to a smooth, round ball.Dip a ball into some flour and on a well dusted surface, roll it out to a round (ish) shape.Do not make the roti too thin. 5 inch diameter is a good size.
Roasting the tortillas (see the video below)
- Turn the heat up to medium (from medium-low) and place one rolled out tortilla on the skillet. Let it roast till you can see tiny bubbles appear.Now flip it and almost immediately you will see bubbles appearing on the other side as well. Add ½ teaspoon of oil.Flip again and add ½ teaspoon more oil. Press gently with a spatula to make sure every part of the flatbread roasts evenly.Continue the same process with the rest of the tortillas.8 teaspoons neutral oil
- Serve warm with dip, curry, soup or stew of your choice (see section above for some suggestions).Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Cilantro: Not a fan of it? No worries! Use parsley, instead. Dill will work well too.
- Sesame Seeds: I love the nuttiness of sesame seeds in this recipe. If you do not like them or are allergic, it is ok to omit them entirely from this recipe.
- Carom Seeds: Known also as Caraway seeds or Ajwain (in Hindi), these are tiny seeds that look like miniature cumin seeds! They have quite a strong aroma! If you not want to use them either because you do not like how they smell or because you do not have them handy, do not fret! Use cumin seeds instead. Or dried oregano leaves. Fresh thyme will be good as well!
- Want to make this gluten free? You can! use any millet flour of your choice. If you want to make this gluten free and grain free, then you can use flours such as buckwheat, maize (corn meal) flour. Tip: In the absence of gluten, the dough will need extra help for binding. Use 1 boiled and mashed potato to help it along.
- Not a strict vegan? Use ghee for roasting: Using ghee with lift the flavour profile of these flatbreads by a few notches!
- Serve this to your toddler: This is such a good way to include all the good things (herbs and spices) that will otherwise be difficult for a child to have. Cut the flatbread into small pieces and let your little one enjoy it as finger food.
- Enjoy this as a snack: While you can serve these flatbreads with the dish of your choice as part of a main meal, you can enjoy them on their own as a in-between-meals snack. I love to roll it up and have it with some masala chai. 😊
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