The Infamous Roti Canai

Bored of having the same ol' breakfast dishes? Why not try something different, like Roti Canai!

'Roti canai' is a type of famous local Indian Malaysian flatbread that can be commonly found all over Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Just that in southern Malaysia and Singapore, 'roti canai' is known as roti prata. In Sydney, you can get this unique dish at the Malaysian restaurant called Mamak where you can see how roti canai is made upfront. If not, frozen 'roti canai' can be bought from any supermarkets. I suggest that if you have the time and feeling a bit more adventurous, why not take up the challenge of making this at home.

Here's the recipe for it.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup water
2. 2 Tbs. sweetened condensed milk
3. ¾ tsp. kosher salt
4. 2 ½ cups of high-gluten flour
5. 1 oz ghee ( or clarified butter ), at room temperature
6. 1 Tbs vegetable oil

Directions:

1. First mix the water, condensed milk and salt in bowl. Then in a different bowl, mix the flour and ghee and make a well in the center.
2. Then pour the liquid ingredients in the well and knead outwardly until all the ingredients are mixed well.
3. Knead for about 5 to 10 minutes depending on the temperature of the room until a soft dough is form.
4. Then drizzle the oil on the dough and knead for a couple more minutes. Later cover the dough and with damp clothe and let it rest for about 1 hour at room temperature.
5. Divide the dough into 8 portions and mound each into a ball. Coat the ball in a bit of ghee so that the balls does not stick together and let it sit for another 2 hours.
6. On a large workplace, lightly flour the surface and roll each ball until paper-thin. In Malaysia, a technique called ‘tebar’ is used to achieve this thinness where the dough is flattened and tossed in the air a several times.
7. Fold four sides of the dough into the middle to form a square.
8. Melt a little bit of ghee in a preheated pan in over medium heat. Cook the roti one at a time, turning in once or twice until golden brown.
9. Put the cooked roti on a flat surface and give it a light whack from the sides to make the roti fluffier by separating the sides.

This dish is recommended to be served with curry as dipping sauce. Here are two short videos; the first one talk about how the roti canai is made and the ‘tebar’ technique is shown. The second video will amazed you so check out both videos. Hope you guys will enjoy it.