Roti Canai
Roti Canai
Roti Canai is a flatbread that originated from India that is eaten with almost everything in Malaysian cuisine. While this recipe has minimal ingredients, it’s kind of hard to make. Mixing the ingredients and kneading is simple enough. Letting it sit is easy. The hard part lies in getting the roti thin enough. Once you flatten each dough ball with your hands, you have to pick it up and slam it to make it spread even thinner without creating holes. Then you fold it. Taking the folded dough, you let it stretch by holding it vertically and dropping it into another ball like shape. This creates in pockets in the roti, allowing it to be flaky like a croissant once it’s flattened again. It is worth all of the effort in the end.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup wheat flour
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup minus a tbsp water
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Dissolve the sugar and salt in the water.
- Add to the flour and need dough for 5 minutes.
- Separate dough into 3 separate balls. Cover in oilfive oil and let sit for at least 40 minutes, preferably overnight in the refrigerator.
- When ready to use, flatten the dough balls with your hands as thin as possible. They need to be less than 1/8” thick.
- Fold the bottom 2/3rds up, then the top over like so.
- Hold the folded piece up vertically. It will begin to pull. Drop the stretched dough into a ball like shape like so. What this process does is create air pockets within the dough ball.
- Let these rest for another 40 minutes.
- When ready to cook, flatten the dough balls again.
- Add a tbsp of cooking oil to a griddle over medium high heat. Through on one of the roti.
- Cook for 1 1/2-2 minutes a side.
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