Roti is generally an Indian bread, made from stoneground wholemeal flour, traditionally known as atta flour, that originated and is consumed in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It is also consumed in parts of South Africa, the southern Caribbean, particularly in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Suriname, and Fiji. Its defining characteristic is that it is unleavened. Indian naan bread, by contrast, is a yeast-leavened bread. A kulcha in Indian and Pakistani cuisine is a bread-like accompaniment, made of processed flour ("Maida") leavened with yeast.
In Indonesia and Malaysia the term encompasses all forms of bread, including western-style bread, as well as the traditional Punjabi breads.
In Thailand, "โรตี" refers to the maida paratha—known in Indonesia as roti maryam, roti cane or roti konde, Malaysia as roti canai and in Singapore as roti prata—which is sometimes drizzled with condensed milk, rolled up, and eaten as a hot snack, or fried with egg as a larger dish.