Have you seen roomali lately?

From the tiny village called Tungana in Tehri Gharwal learning the art of tandoor in small kitchens Rajendra Singh Doriyal has mastered the twist of wrist needed to make the gossamerthin roomali roti One needs fine motor skills to spin the diaphanous flatbread in air until it stretches into the required shape thinness and texture before being folded like a handkerchief hence roomalAnd yet Doriyal who joined the kitchens of Gallops at Mahalaxmi Race Course more than 20 years ago credits the dough for the potential to become a perfect roomali roti ldquoThe dough ball has to be kneaded well for high elasticity and shaped into perfectly smooth round ballsmdashone slight dent and you will never get the shape First mould it with your palm roll it with just the right pressure and toss it in the air until it starts spreading outwards by itselfrdquo he demonstrates as we watch in aweChefrestaurateurYajush Malik tells us that there are various claims to roomalirsquos origin but it is widely believed to have been brought to India by the Mughals ldquoAnother school of thought is that it originated in India and when the Mughals brought their kebabs to the country a perfect symphony was bornrdquo says Malik Some argue that roomali rotis could only have been brought in by the Mughals because they brought maida to Indiamdashwe didnrsquot consume it before that The nawabs gave it their patronage in their time and with their decline their khansamas royal chefs made it available to the masses by creating it in restaurants with their own iterations where it has been a staple with kebabs and curriesSome guests at weddings skip the gravies and prefer to only have roomali roti and ghee says Hasan Mansuri of Jaffer Bhairsquos Delhi Darbar Catering divisionAn X formerly Twitter user S Harikrishnan a journalist drew attention to the gradual disappearance of the roomali roti from menus calling it a crisis It ended up stirring the pot on the microblogging site with many immediately acknowledging the problem at hand and most especially from Kolkata Delhi Mumbai and Bengaluru dismissing it outrightMalik points out that translucent roti is exiting the cityrsquos catering menus because it requires a dedicated staff to make it often leading to long buffet queues ldquoItrsquos different when you are sitting down at a restaurant and savouring a mealmdashyou have more time at hand and the roti can be served hot and fresh When catering to a larger audience one needs to churn the rotis in quick succession and thatrsquos not always feasiblerdquo he addsThe kadak roomali roti with chana dip is a signature dish at Copper Chimney right Palak RoomaliAditya Hegde founder of Gymkhana 91 and RhinoRolls who also leads catering at Willingdon Catholic Gymkhana Garware Clubhouse and Chembur Gymkhana agrees with Malik ldquoStaffing and space is a real challengerdquo he says ldquoYou need one person stationed at a dedicated counter and it has to be fastmovingmdashit doesnrsquot make commercial sense Around 20 years ago tandoor chef salaries were at Rs 2000 to Rs 3000 itrsquos more than 10 times that rate now and profit margins havenrsquot grown at that rate Making roomali roti is an art that not everyone can master It has to be perfect and wersquod rather not have it on the menu than serve mediocre foodrdquo One of the othermdashsomewhat controversialmdashreasons for the vanishing roti is that the original recipe calls for adding eggs banana and milk to the dough ldquoBananas and milk make it soft whereas eggs give it elasticity The vegetarian option that we adopt across our tandoori rotis is to use highquality glutinous flourmdashthen you donrsquot need eggsrdquo says MalikYajush MalikJaffer Bhairsquos catering division is one of the few caterers left in the city that still offer roomali rotis at events Hassan Mansuri son of legendary Jaffer Mansuri of Jaffer Bhairsquos Delhi Darbar fame feels that spinning roomalis at weddings in the air adds drama that many patrons prefer ldquoIt gives guests something to look forward tordquo he says ldquoMost healthconscious guests these days just have roomali roti with ghee for dinner instead of the elaborate faremdashitrsquos fillingrdquo Malik lists out the innovations in roomali over the years From flavouring it with ingredients such as spinach and tomato which add vibrant colours to changing the texture by crisping itmdashchefs have been experimenting with it all Mansuri tells us that at private events they have also made almond flour roomalis on request for those on a glutenand grainfree diet ldquoOne has to move ahead with the timesrdquo Mansuri says ldquoand as people are getting more and more conscious of what they eat we as caterers have to ensure that it is offered to them at their special events Food at catering events is also a dipstick for food trendsrdquoIt is said that Copper Chimneyrsquos founder J K Kapur loved his rotis crisp and asked for soft paper thin roomali roti to be crisped to his liking giving birth to what the city calls the kadak roomali roti that resembles a crispy basket or masala papad and is now served with a chana dip Over the years the other variation at their restaurant have been roomali chilli butter masala The chefsmdashustaads as the chain calls themmdashare trained in making roomalis by senior ustaadsOn a rollAditya Hegde uses roomali for rolls at Rhino Rolls These are different in taste and texture than the rotis of the signature kathi rolls of Kolkata which are thicker ldquoIt works as a perfect combo and doesnrsquot get chewy in delivery either We did try the glutenfree flour option but that didnrsquot work for us because it does get hard and you canrsquot make it in advance and keep it The rice variants sucked way too much oil making us rethink those options While the wheat variant exists someone ordering for the roll isnrsquot overthinking about health optionsrdquo he adds