ROTI CANAI SATU...MALAYSIAN FAVOURITE'S PRATHA BREAD

This is one of the Malaysian's favourite breakfast...in fact I can say that, it is among the top 3 favourite's. Roti canai or roti chennai  is a dish unique to Malaysia, has it's origin from India, Roti means bread in Hindi (and Malay) The term 'canai' comes from 'channa', a mixture of boiled chickpeas in a spicy gravy from Northern India which it was traditionally served with.

This bread were introduced to Southeast Asia by the Indian-Muslim travellers when they ported in then Malaya (now Malaysia). There are two ways to make roti canai; twirl the dough until it becomes a very thin sheet and then fold it into a round or a square shape(Depending which is easier for individual). The second method involves skills to spread out the dough evenly and as thin as possible before being folded. The folded dough then will be grilled on a flat griller with oil, some prefer melted butter to replace the oil. The first method is more popular and faster than the second. The term 'Roti Paratha' is most commonly used in India and in Singapore; on the other hand in Malaysia it is largely well-known as ‘Roti Canai’

Roti canai is make of flour, water and ghee. The mixture is kneaded thoroughly, flattened, oiled and folded repeatedly. It is then allowed to rise, and the process is repeated. The final round of preparation consists of flattening the dough ball, coating it with oil and then cooking on a flat skillet with a lot of oil. The roti canai is flat, crispy and flaky on the outside but fluffy on the inside but some will like it crispy altogether. It is served with 'dhal' curry or fish and chicken curry or even mixed curry.

Making roti canai can be very stressing, don't expect to get it right the first time you make it, be prepared for disappointment. Anyhow once you know the technique you enjoy having roti canai of your own and more often you will tend to freeze it and fry it when ever you like it. I will be featuring a step by step process soon in the meantime this is our breakfast today. I made some chicken curry half for lunch and half for this roti canai.

Roti Canai - Adapted from Mamafami's Fotopage

3 cups flour
1 - 1.5 cups water
2 tbsp ghee
salt to taste
2 tablespoons condensed milk
1 tablespoon cooking oil
Extra ghee

Method :

1. Mix well water, salt and condensed milk
2. Add the liquid into the flour bit by bit if kneading manually
OR
pour the whole amount into the flour if using machine
3. Add in cooking oil
4. Add in margarine
5. Knead to form a soft dough. Leave it covered with a damp cloth for about 30 minutes.
6. Divide the dough into 10 portion and mould into balls.
7. Coat the balls with margarine so that they won't stick to each other. Leave to rest for not less than 2 hours.
8. Spread (tebar as we say it in Malay) each ball on a smooth surface to form a very thin layer. Fold the four sides into the middle and fry.
9. Enjoy. 

Salam semua, sudah sarapan?..breakfast apa hari ini?...hem saya hari ini menebar roti canai...buat untuk sarapan pagi ini dan buat sedikit untuk difrozenkan...supaya senang kalau ada kerja outstation anak-anak boleh goreng sendiri. Buat sedikit kari ayam separuh untuk roti canai ini dan separuh lagi buat makan tengah hari. Masih belum pandai menebar 100%...roti kali ini saya buat cara lipat aje...nanti bila sudah pandai menebar boleh buat cara lilit pula. Anak-anak saya suka cara lipat ini...nipis dan ranggup. Resipi saya ambil dari Mamafami Fotopages.

Next Post - Chicken Curry Mamak Style