The Ultimate Guide to Buying the Best Roti Maker Machine for Home in India and Abroad

by Rotimatic Team June 12, 2023

By Ruby Singh, Ashutosh Bharadwaj, Kimaya Wagle, Vibhuti Sharma & Vikashini Rao

We tested all types of roti makers available in the Indian and international markets (United States, Canada, Australia, and the Middle East) to determine the best roti maker machine that you can buy.

Roti making is a chore for many, and they wish that there could be a way to make rotis faster and more conveniently, and they turn out as good and even better than the average handmade ones. It is about time that technology helped in developing a solution to ease this task that till some time ago was impossible for machines to achieve.

Fortunately, solutions are available in the market in the form of roti-making machines that vary from basic roti presses to advanced A. I powered fully automatic roti makers and electrical roti presses in the middle. All these options can be confusing, and buying the best roti maker machine can be daunting. So, to make it easy on you, we bought and tested every roti maker machine to bring you this blog.

You can either read this blog in its entirety (highly recommended 😊) or jump to any section using the index below

Table of contents

What is a roti maker?

Different types of roti makers and how they work

Do you need a roti maker?

Pros and cons of a roti maker or why you might need one in your life
Are there any health hazards of using a roti maker?

Roti maker comparison

Roti/chapati press or manual roti makers - Bornix roti press review

Electrical roti makers - Prestige electrical roti maker review

Fully automatic roti makers - Rotimatic roti robot review

What Is A Roti Maker, And What Are Its Types?

The answer is in the name. A roti maker is a kitchen appliance that helps you make rotis and sometimes other flatbreads like jowar and bajra rotis, puris, and even parathas. The degree to which they can help you with your roti-making work depends on the type of roti maker used.

Let us explain

There are four essential steps in making a Roti

Make the dough by mixing atta and water in just the right proportion. Knead the dough for the right consistency
Roll/press the dough into the shape of a roti
Cook the roti till it is semi-cooked (Done on a tawa)
Puff the roti (usually done on an open flame)

We need to reiterate these roti-making steps to understand the types of roti makers available in the Indian and international markets, as the various types vary by the degree to which they perform these four steps.

Types Of Roti Makers

The various types of Roti makers do these four roti making steps tasks to various degrees. For example, as the name suggests, a fully automatic roti maker will do all these steps, so all you need to do is add the ingredients, and it will make the dough, roll the rotis, cook, and puff them.

An electrical roti maker is essentially a press with a heating element. You must prepare the dough and then put a ball into the roti maker, pressing it into shape. The electrical roti maker also has a heating element that cooks and even puffs the roti.

The roti press or mechanical roti maker is the simplest of these devices. Like an electrical roti maker, you have to prepare the dough. The roti press simply helps you press the dough to shape it into a raw roti. You still must do the last two steps using a tawa, so in a way, this is only a substitute for the rolling part of roti making.

Here is a table that explains this better

Roti maker type	Makes dough	Pressing/rolling	Cooks the roti	Puffs the roti
Roti press	No	Yes	No	No
Electric roti maker	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fully automatic roti maker	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Reasons you need (and maybe do not need) a roti maker

If you make rotis for your family

The answer seems to be a firm yes, and the reason is also quite intuitive. Making rotis and that too multiple times a day is hard work. Indeed, one gets better with practice, but even then, it is a chore, and if there is a better way to make rotis, it would be welcome.

You may enjoy making rotis for your family; even in that case, there would be days when you'd be too tired or preoccupied to make rotis, and on those days, a roti maker would be a blessing.

If you have help making rotis

Even if you hire someone else to cook for you, this person might come once in the morning and cook rotis for multiple meals in one go. In that case, you will end up eating cold rotis made in the morning all day, and it would be a blessing to have a roti maker using which you can at least make fresh rotis for meals.

Advantages and disadvantages of roti makers

Roti maker pros	Roti maker cons
Saves time	Cleaning could be an issue
A healthier option to frozen rotis	Non-automatic ones need practice to perfect
Just as good as homemade rotis	Some types might not make good-quality rotis

Are roti makers safe for health?

Electrical and automatic roti makers cook the roti using heated plates. There have been health concerns related to nonstick coatings used on such appliances, so it is natural for people to have health concerns about roti makers. Overall, it is best to know if the roti maker you buy is made of food-grade materials so that you can be assured that there are no health concerns.

Nonstick coatings in roti makers

There has been much concern about the ill effects of using Teflon for nonstick coatings. This is because PFOA, a chemical used to make Teflon affects the liver, stunts growth and development, and even causes cancer. Fortunately, this chemical has been banned, and most of the Teflon made after 2013 is safe.

However, some countries still manufacture Teflon using PFOA, so if any roti maker that you had considered buying has nonstick coatings, it is a good idea to check with the manufacturer if the coating was made with PFOA.

Materials used in other components that touch the roti

You should also check with the manufacturer if the other components of the roti maker are made of food-grade materials, especially plastics that are used. If you're in the United States, it is a good idea to check if the materials are FDA-compliant (or any other equivalent rating in other countries)

Roti maker types compared

As mentioned before, the roti makers available in the Indian and international markets can be divided into three types depending on the degree of automation they offer.

The Roti press or manual roti maker is the least automated and simply presses the prepared dough to a roti shape and thickness.
Electrical roti makers are like manual roti makers but with an added electrical heating element that also cooks and puffs the roti
Fully automatic roti makers do everything. You just need to add the ingredients, and the machine will prepare the dough, press it and even cook and puff it.

To compare the features of these three types, we created a table of the main features that most concern the buyers.

	Manual roti maker	Electrical roti maker	Fully automatic roti maker
Convenience	Not very convenient.	It is more convenient than a manual roti maker.	Very convenient as you have to hardly do anything.
Ease of making rotis	Most difficult. Requires the right dough consistency and a lot of practice.	Quite difficult and needs a lot of practice as well.	Most easy. One has to just add the ingredients and it takes care of everything else.
Roti quality compared to handmade	Not that good. Roti shapes are uneven.	Not that good. It takes a lot of practice to master making rotis.	Almost as good at handmade rotis.
How long does it take to make a roti	As long or even longer than making it by hand.	As long or even longer than making it by hand.	Rotimatic takes 5 minutes to warm up and then makes one roti every 90 seconds.
Our rating	2/5	2/5	4.5/5
Price	Less than USD 30 internationally. Under INR 1000 in India.	Less than USD 100 internationally. Under INR 1000 in India.	Rotimatic Plus is USD 1599. In India this model is available for INR 1,35,000.
How long does it last	Very basic so will last as long as kitchen utensils.	The electrical roti maker is not that sturdy and would not last that long.	Lasts for years with proper cleaning and maintenance.

To create this table, our team tested all three roti maker types. You can learn about our experiences after this.

A girl testing manual roti press and an electrical roti maker

Ruby from our tested manual and electrical roti makers firsthand for this review.

Ruby tested a manual roti press and an electrical roti maker, while Kimaya tested a fully automatic roti maker, and we have compiled their experiences to create this table that will help you make a conscious choice.

All you need to know about roti presses or manual roti makers

As mentioned in the last section, the most straightforward roti maker is a fully mechanical one, a roti press. It is entirely manual and only serves the purpose of a glorified rolling pin as it just rolls the dough into a roti shape. You still have to cook it on a tawa.

Bornix Aluminum Roti/Puri Press Review

I bought a nonstick roti press on Amazon from Bornix because it was well-rated. I used this roti press for a week to learn almost everything about it.

What's in the box?

This is what the roti maker looks like. It is black and overall, I think that the make of this product is good, it seems durable and well made.

This roti maker is quite simple to build. It has two pans and a handle and that is about it.

How the Bornix Roti Press Works

This Roti press helps you flatten the roti from a dough ball. This time I wanted to make puris using this roti maker as it will flatten the puri, and then I can fry it.

Step 1: The first step is to make the dough. I prepared the dough the traditional way by mixing and kneading by hand. I saw YouTube videos on this topic that recommended that the dough be slightly lean in consistency.

Step 2: I made a dough ball, opened the roti maker, and placed it on the lower plate. Next, I closed the upper plate to press the roti. The first time I spoiled the roti, I used flour to ensure that the roti did not stick to the plates. However, this did not work as the roti ended us sticking to the plates, and it was ruined.

Step 3: I applied oil this time to the dough, and here we get our first roti. Next, I opened the top lid to see if the pressed roti was in the right shape, and it was!

Step 3: As I have already applied the oil to the roti, I simply thought of making puris. I placed it into the preheated oil in a kadhai. And it was the same as handmade puris.

Nonstick roti maker roti/puri quality

As this nonstick roti maker/press is to flatten the dough ball and make a chapati, all you have to do is place the dough and press, so it's pretty easy to use.

I was already aware of the type of dough required for any kind of Roti press helped me to get satisfactory results.

So here is the first roti I flattened successfully using this roti press.

And here is how the rotis looked like after being cooked.

Time and effort it takes to make rotis in a nonstick roti/puri maker

Not including how long it took to prepare the dough, it took me 5 seconds to flatten the roti in my desired shape.

Quality of rotis made by the Bornix roti maker

I understand that the quality of rotis made with a roti/puri maker can vary depending on various factors, including the specific model and brand of the roti maker, the ingredients used, and the technique employed.

But if I talk about my personal experience, I would instead traditionally flatten my roti as it doesn't help me save time or make the process easy. It might be a better option for a bulk puri-making process where you do not need to worry about the thickness of the puri or the shape.

I found most rotis to be chewy, and they were never puffed well and were unevenly cooked.

The people who are more into thin rotis might find it a bad option as it doesn't give you nicely flattened thin rotis.
The size of the roti is also relatively small compared to our average roti size; it's more like a puri maker.

The verdict. My honest opinion after using this roti press for a week

I have summarized the pros and cons of this roti maker in the table below.

Roti/Puri press roti maker pros	Roti/Puri press roti maker cons
Economical	The dough needs to be prepared, so roti making process is time-consuming
Makes round-shaped rotis	It does not cook rotis for you as it helps you with flattening it only
It's pretty simple to use	Rotis are small; you have to apply oil to flatten them. It's more like a puri maker.
Lightweight and easy to store	Uneven shapes
Requires as much cleaning as, say, two pans, so maintaining is not difficult	Stickiness is an issue with the plates

My main problem with the roti/puri press is that it is typically a puri maker.

I tried rotis by applying dry flour to the dough and the plates, but it didn't work. On the second try, I tried using oil, and I got rid of the stickiness problem, but again, you cannot make rotis where you have applied oil. It's a good option for puris; I have to admit.

My rating

Based on my experience, I would rate a manual roti maker 2 out of 5.

Price of manual roti press roti makers around the world

Here is the cost of a roti press in various countries around the world in local currencies (Source: Amazon websites for the respective countries). You can search for these products on amazon using the titles.

The price of roti press roti makers in the United States was under USD 30

Tortilla Press, Tortilla Maker, Dough Press, Flour Tortilla Press, Rotis Press by Vivicreate for USD 24.99 rated 4.3

Victoria 8 Inch Cast Iron Tortilla Press. Tortilla Maker, Flour Tortilla Press, Rotis Press by Victoria for USD 20.99 rated 4.5

The price of roti press roti makers in Canada was below CAD 50

Bellemain Corn Tortilla Press 8-Inch - Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Press for CAD 43.06 rated 4.5

Victoria 8 Inch Cast Iron Tortilla Press. Tortilla Maker, costs CAD 48.48 and is rated 4.3

The price of roti press roti makers in Australia was between AUD 75 to 103

Cook N Home Tortilla Press and Pataconera, 8 inch, Black , costs AUD 102.93 rated 4.5

Tortillada – Tortilla Press, Quesadilla/Roti Maker (25 cm) Cast Iron, costs AUD 75.99 rated 4

The Price of roti press roti makers in India was under INR 1000

Neha enterprises Heavy Quality Iron CI Casting Puri Maker Press (Blue, 7.5 inch), costs INR 939 rated 3.6

Homevilla Manual Heavy Quality Iron Puri, Khakhra, Roti maker, costs INR 713 rated 3.8

The Price of roti press roti makers in New Zealand was below NZD 112

Tortillada – Tortilla Press, Quesadilla/Roti Maker (25 cm) Cast Iron, costs NZD 82.60

Cook N Home Tortilla Press and Pataconera, 8 inch, Black, costs NZD 111.88

All you need to know about electrical roti makers

An electrical roti maker is a slightly more advanced device than the roti press because it not only presses the dough into the shape and thickness of a roti, but it also flattens it by pressing it into the shape of a roti, just like how a roti press does but then it takes it further by cooking it and even puffing it. This is because the plates of an electrical roti maker have a heating element built-in with a thermostat to cook and puff the roti.

Prestige electrical maker review

Ruby from our team bought a prestige roti maker from Amazon India and used it to make rotis for weeks before writing this review of an electrical roti maker. So over to Ruby so she can share her firsthand experience with this electrical roti maker.

First impressions and what is in the box

Here is my personal experience using Prestige electric roti maker.

I bought his brand because this product is the most well-rated electrical roti maker on Amazon India.

This is how the Prestige roti maker box looks like

This is what the roti maker looks like. It is black and overall, I think that the make of this product is good, it seems durable and well made.

This roti maker is simple in build. It has two pans, a handle, and a chord to plug into an electrical socket.

There is a control knob that allows you to adjust the roast level, and power indicators show if it is on.

How the Prestige electrical roti maker works

I was pretty excited to use this to make my first roti. It seemed simple enough to operate, but little did I know that the learning curve was pretty steep on this roti maker as it takes some practice to get the rotis right.

Using the electrical roti maker

Step 1: The first step is to make the dough. I prepared the dough the traditional way by mixing and kneading by hand. It was recommended in YouTube videos that the dough should be slightly thin in consistency. Meanwhile, I preheated the roti maker for 2 to 3 minutes to prepare it for making rotis.

Step 2: I made a dough ball, opened the roti maker, and placed it on the lower plate. Next, I closed the upper plate to press the roti. Next, I opened the top lid to see if the pressed roti was in the right shape.

Step 3: The roti started cooking; soon I turned it over and let the other side cook as well. Now you must turn over the roti and let it cook from the other side too. You need to keep the lid open when you do this.

Step 4: After the roti is cooked from both sides, it is time to puff it. If I were doing this the traditional way, I would need to transfer the roti to an open flame and let it puff. In the case of the electrical roti maker, you flip over the roti and rest the lid with the top heating element lightly on the roti. After this the roti should automatically start puffing.

Electrical roti maker roti quality

My first experience was quite bad. I was not able to flatten the roti properly. This is what the result looked like.

I tried again and failed on my second attempt. That was probably because I more or less followed the same process.

In my third attempt, I decided to change the process.

I mixed the dough so that it was soft with relatively more water
Use dry flour to cover the dough ball so that it does not stick to the pans
I pre-heated the electric roti maker before flattening the dough ball by pressing the top pan in the bottom one
I decided to give the machine more time to cook the roti and not flip it over constantly as I was doing in the last two attempts

On my 3rd try, I got a fully puffed roti that was not as chewy as the ones I had made before. You need to get the cooking timing right if you let the roti cook for too long, it will get too chewy. I found most rotis to be quite chewy, and they were never puffed well and were unevenly cooked.

Time and effort it takes to make rotis in an electrical roti maker

Not including how long it took to prepare the dough, it took me 1-2 minutes to get the roti to cook thoroughly. You must also preheat the roti maker for 3-4 minutes before making the rotis. So, in total, I would take a maximum of 6 minutes to make the first roti and 2 minutes after that for every roti.

The verdict. My honest opinion after using this electrical roti maker for a week

I have summarized the pros and cons of this roti maker

Electrical roti maker pros	Electrical roti maker cons
Economical	The dough needs to be prepared, so roti making process is time-consuming
Makes round-shaped rotis	Does not cook rotis evenly and does a poor job of puffing them
Not such a complicated device though it does have a steep learning curve	Rotis are not soft and end up being very chewy
Light weight and easy to store	Heats up considerably, so must be handled carefully
Requires as much cleaning as, say, two pans, so maintaining is not difficult	The handle is frail and not of good build

My main problem with the electrical roti maker is that it is not easy to use.

I will buy a roti maker if it makes my life easier by helping me make rotis conveniently. The electrical roti maker does not look like a machine is too complicated; after all, it has one knob to set the heat level and two nonstick pans where your roti is pressed and cooked. But things are not as easy as they look. It takes a lot of practice to make okay rotis using this device. Making a decent roti took me 2-3 days of regular use. It takes a lot of practice and getting used to; you must look for the right temperature and get the right timing to get a well-cooked roti. After using it for some days, I noticed that the handle was coming loose and it would also get very hot once you had made several rotis.

My rating

Based on my experience, I would rate an electrical roti maker 2 out of 5.

Price of electrical roti makers around the world

Here is the cost of an electrical roti maker in various countries around the world in local currencies (Source: Amazon websites for the respective countries). You can search for these products on amazon using the titles. As expected, electrical roti makers are much more expensive than manual roti presses.

The price of an electrical roti maker in the United States was under USD 100

10inch Roti Maker by StarBlue with FREE Roti Warmer by Brentwood, costs USD 69.99 and is rated 3.2

Brentwood Electric Tortilla Maker Non-Stick, 10-inch, Brushed Stainless Steel/Black, costs USD 56.66 and is rated 3.3

The price of an electrical roti maker in Canada was below CAD 150

10inch Roti Maker by StarBlue with FREE Roti Warmer by Brentwood, costs CAD 138.97 and is rated 3.3

Brentwood TS-127 Stainless Steel Non-Stick Electric Tortilla Maker, 8", Silver costs CAD 77.22 and is rated 3.4

The price of an electrical roti maker in Australia was less than AUD 200

Prestige Roti Maker PRM 5.0 costs AUD 130 and is rated 2.9

10inch Roti Maker by StarBlue with Free Roti Warmer costs AUD 187.71 and is rated 3.4

The Price of electrical roti makers in India was under INR 5000

Libra Roti Maker electric automatic costs INR 1999 and is rated 4.2

Home Need Roti Maker & Multi Maker Jumbo costs INR 3755 an is rated 5

The Price of electrical roti makers in New Zealand was below NZD 220

Prestige Roti Maker PRM 5.0 costs NZD 141.3 and is rated 2.9

10inch Roti Maker by StarBlue with Free Roti Warmer costs NZD 204 and is rated 3.4

Fully automatic roti makers

As the name suggests, the fully automatic roti maker is a sophisticated device that does all four stages of the roti making process. All you must do is add the ingredients (flour and water) and it mixes them to make a dough, makes a dough ball and flattens it into an uncooked roti and even cooks and puffs it, all this automatically and without any human interference.

Rotimatic is the world's first fully automatic roti maker that was launched in 2016 and has been the original roti-making robot in the world. Over the years, many companies have tried to reverse engineer the Rotimatic but they have not been able to make even a copy that is half decent.

Rotimatic fully automatic roti making robot reviewed

Kimaya an intern with Zimplistic Pte. Ltd. went to their Singapore office, where she got a chance to test the Rotimatic fully automatic roti maker to learn more about it. This is her experience which should help you compare it with the other roti makers reviewed in this blog.

First impressions

It is large, looks quite sleek, and the build quality of this roti maker is outstanding. To those accustomed to a regular electrical roti maker (I had seen one of my neighbors use an electrical roti maker to make rotis), the Rotimatic seems completely different.

Several Rotimatic fully automatic roti makers being tested at the Zimplistic labs in Singapore

The roti maker is supposed to be kept on a kitchen shelf next to a power outlet from where it should not be moved frequently, so it is not very portable. There are three containers; the largest is for the flour used to make the rotis, the next is a container for water, and the smallest is for vegetable oil. The oil is used in minimal quantities to prevent the rotis from getting stuck to the heating plates used to cook them.

There are two doors; one is from where the prepared roti is released; opening this door shows the heating plates used for cooking the rotis, which makes me curious about how this is done.

Another door gives access to the kneading area, where the flour is mixed with water to make a dough ball.

The build is quite good, and it is evident that they have used quality materials in their construction.

Though large, the built is relatively compact, so the Rotimatic can be placed on any kitchen slab.

I was unable to record videos in the office due to privacy concerns, so here is a video from the Rotimatic YouTube channel which describes the machine and its parts in detail

Using the Rotimatic

The team over at the Singapore office was kind enough to teach me how to make rotis using the Rotimatic. Since this is a fully automatic roti maker, the process is straightforward. One must fill the flour container with the recommended flour brand, add water and some oil, select the correct settings using simple buttons, and press the play button (yes, there is a play/pause button to start/pause roti making.

Using the buttons, you can select the type of roti (the Rotimatic makes more than just rotis, but more about that later), the thickness, and the roast level. The interface is simple and easy to understand as there aren't multiple buttons, and the menu is intuitive.

Once you press play, the machine makes sounds like a food processor. I could see some activity in the flour container and bubbles in the water container indicating that the water and flour were being mixed. This took around 5 minutes and then the roti making process began.

This was fascinating as I could see the dough being mixed with water and kneaded into the right consistency. Then the machine rolled the dough into a dough ball, which was transferred using a clever mechanical arm into the pressing area beyond the other door.

Here a plate descends and neatly presses the dough ball into the shape of a roti. Next, a kicker pushes the uncooked roti to the front where another plate cooks it, this one with a heating element. The motion of this plate was fascinating as it first cooked the roti and then puffed it as well. It was as if this plate mimicked the manual roti-making process in which the uncooked roti is first cooked on a tawa and then put on a naked flame so that it puffs.

I was surprised to see how well the roti puffed. Next, the kicker pushes the cooked roti out of the machine.

After 5 minutes of warm-up, the Rotimatic makes one roti in approximately 1 to 1.5 mins.

Rotimaker roti maker roti quality

Now it was the moment of truth, or it was time to taste the rotis. While the rotis were being made, the air was filled with the delicious smell of rotis cooking. I tasted the rotis as they were prepared, and this is my verdict based on various parameters.

Self-assessment of Rotimatic roti quality

Softness (4.5/5): These rotis were as soft as homemade rotis. The layers made by the puffed rotis made them even softer and crunchy
Chewiness (4.5/5): These rotis were not at all chewy
Puffed (5/5): I think the Rotimatic did a great job of puffing the roti; the layers could be seen when I broke the rotis.
Roast (5/5): The roast level was customizable. Even at low roast, the rotis were well cooked. I prefer the highest roast level as I like my rotis crunchy

I had some more questions about this roti maker and Shrugal from the Singapore office was kind enough to address all of them.

Shrugal told me that this fully automatic roti maker was the only one of its kind, it is almost a robot and is built on the latest tech used in cutting-edge industries. He told me that the brain behind the machine is A.I powered it so that the machine keeps improving as it makes rotis. It gets feedback from various sensors and from the user, and based on this, it iterates the variables to produce the perfect roti every time.

In addition to making atta rotis, the Rotimatic makes rotis from other flours like Bajra and Jowar and puris and pizza bases. There is a setting where the Rotimatic makes the dough ball and presses it to make uncooked discs that can be fried to make puris or made into pizzas by adding sauce, toppings, and cheese. I was told that the team continuously works on other recipes that will be available in future updates. Since the Rotimatic is an IoT device, these recipes will be downloaded even to older versions of the machines connected to the internet, almost like an application on your phone that silently updates itself and gets new features.

Maintenance and cleaning

In spite of the seemingly complicated make of this roti maker, cleaning is easy and takes a few mins a day and a few mins a week. The parts in touch with the dough are easily accessible and can be removed and cleaned. The parts are dishwasher safe, so you can just pop them in at the end of the day and reassemble them again the next day.

Another wonderful thing I found out was that, since this is an IoT device, most issues can be fixed remotely by downloading fixes to the machine. The company provides doorstep pick-up and drop in case it needs repairs, but Shrugal told me that most issues can be fixed remotely.

Fully automatic roti maker pros and cons

Rotimatic fully automatic roti maker pros	Rotimatic fully automatic roti maker cons
Very convenient. You do not have to do much, just add the ingredients and press play	Expensive relative to electrical roti makers
Can customize roti thickness and roast level	As noisy as a food processor
Roti quality is comparable, and I'd say even better than handmade rotis
Intelligent machine that gets better with use
Multiple recipes in addition to atta rotis

Overall rating of this fully automatic roti maker

I want to rate the Rotimatic 4.5/5. It is perfect! You do not have to do anything and can get hot, puffed and delicious rotis at the touch of a button.