Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Roti Canai - Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Or A Snack In Between


Malaysians would eat this at anytime of the day; as a meal, as a snack, with curries, dip in sugar or condensed milk. It has gained popularity in Australia in recent years, not from Malaysian restaurants but ironically from Thai restaurants since it is on every Thai restaurant's menu (it is possible to get this in Thailand especially the Muslim south but it is served more as a sweet treat). Most supermarkets have roti canai on their shelves these days but are often overpriced and rather doughy for my liking. Since we have just launched our "Muhibbah Malaysian Monday blog event", it is only fitting to share with you the Mamak stall quality roti canai and claim this back as ours! This will hardly cost you anything and it is dead easy. Also I urge you to throw out all the roti canai recipes that asked for condensed milk, egg or sugar right now.
P.S This is known as roti prata in Singapore. For the origin of the name; it is possible that the word canai derived from Chennai since most Indians migrated to Malaysia via the port city of Chennai (Mumbai). What do you think?





makes 6
you'll need;
500 g of plain flour
pinch of salt
1/2 cup of ghee (clarified butter) or cooking oil*
1/2 cup of water
* Please do not use ghee if you are making this in the middle of winter.






If you are making the clarified butter - place butter in a microwave safe jug and nuke it in the microwave oven for a minute. Pour the clear liquid out leaving the white cloudy bits behind.






Sieve flour and salt into a large bowl.






Pour cool clarified butter into the bowl with the flour and slowly mix in the water.






Knead dough til it is of smooth, medium consistency. Leave aside at a warm place for 2 to 3 hours to soften.






Divide dough into 6 equal parts and form portion into a ball. You can leave them covered til they are needed.






Roll out the dough and stretch it as thin as you can, drizzle with some cooking oil. Slowly pick up the disc and twist to make a rope then wrap it into a spiral.






You should end up with something like this. Leave it somewhere warm to soften.






Place the soften dough on the work surface and flatten it with your palm.






Place disc on a hot tava (flat griddle) and fry on both side til golden. When it is done place it on a plate and loosen it slightly with your palms.




Serve with curry as part of a Malaysian meal or have it with sugar or condensed milk.






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36 comments:

  1. They look great...reminds me of a tortilla.

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  2. dear,
    this is fabulous. roti canai is similar to south indian barotta.splendid looking and i can have this anytime of the day with chicken curry or vegetable kurma. yummy! love love love this post!

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  3. Wow- you are right! I could do that- I have to now admit that I buy roti at the Asian market- I am now ashamed- thank you for sharing!

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  4. Hi, I'm early. Your canai looks fluffy and crispy. Do you know how to flip it like how the roti canai man does it here? Noticed that you've changed your font in this post.

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  5. I have never heard of this. It looks very good!

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  6. wow...very appetizing clicks dear....yummy!

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  7. It's quite difficult to find ready-made roti in Tokyo, and I always order some in Singaporean restaurants. I'm so glad to get your recipe now :) Thanks a lot!!

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  8. Oh, yes! I've been wanting to make this for awhile! Thanks for the recipe I need to make!

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  9. This looks wonderful. I'll have to try this soon!

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  10. Fabulous roti canai, feel like having some..

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  11. fantastic rotis tummies! what a meal you had :))

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  12. I like my roti savoury rather than sweet. Interesting how its gained a foothold in Oz via Thai restaurants.

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  13. Fantastic Roti Canai! Looks so wonderful!

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  14. Wow, you actually made your own Roti!! Big Applause! I kowtow! You are so inspirational!

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  15. I am impressed! Look just like those made from the mamak stalls where they flip the dough thin instead of rolling it like you did! Good job!

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  16. Oh wow this look just like the one from the mamak stall. I tried making it but it was not as fluffy as I didn't stretch them enough. Hopefully I am able to join the Muhibbah event.

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  17. You mean Roti Pratha (hehe ... you Malaysians!!) Didn't you just die when you first came here and saw how much they were charging for Roti at the restaurants here. And thats just Roti without the greasy curry sauce with the one piece of fat in the middle masquerading as a piece of lamb. I'm so hopeless at anything remotely connected to pastry and dough but I am definitely giving this a shot.

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  18. I want to make this now! I thought it was quite hard but doesn't seem so. Hoot!

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  19. Oh! I love these layered pancakes...yours sure look delicious!

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  20. Great work! They do look just like the roti canai from the mamak stall. I think I will manage with the step by step instructions!

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  21. When did you post this? I must have missed it last night. I think the shop bought ones are indeed overpriced and often taste like rubber. We are guilty of ordering this every time we visit a Thai restaurant :( I will try making this to give my hubby a surprise!

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  22. Wow you even make your own roti! This looks like what we had in Malaysia and you are going to save me a lot of money!

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  23. oh gorgeous... I've always wanted o try my hand at making rotis but never got around to it. Thanks for the inspiration!
    Robynx

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  24. how wonderful it looks :)... its so nice to see step by step instructions :)... simply aweosme :)

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  25. Looks so perfect.....just had it today for lunch..

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  26. Bo,
    Thank you very much! You must try this!

    Cool Lassi(e) ,
    Thank you! It is indeed an Indian bread brought over to Malaysian by the south Indian migrants. I love it with chicken curry too :)

    Ren,
    Haha all my friends did too! Now you can start making them at home.

    Cheah,
    Thank you very much! I don't know how to flip it like the mamak unfortunately. Looking forward to your post. I have changed it back, strange things happened to this post lol

    Michael,
    Try look out for this next time you are at a Malaysian restaurant.

    Jay ,
    Thank you very much!

    the lacquer spoon ,
    Thank you very much! Now you can make it whenever you want to :)

    Lyndsey ,
    Please let me know how they turn out.

    Catherine,
    Thank you and please do!

    Priya ,
    Thank you! I bet you can make all sort of rotis.

    zurin ,
    Thank you very much! :)

    Mr Noodles ,
    Me too but once in a while I like it with sugar, it brings back childhood memory.

    Rachana ,
    Thank you very much!

    Shirley,
    Thank you very much! It is so much cheaper and rather easy to make :)

    Jeannie ,
    Thank you very much! I wish I can throw and flip like the mamaks :)

    ICook4Fun ,
    Thank you very much! I hope this will work for your :) Looking forward to your post!

    Temasek ,
    Haha it is roti canai even when I was living in Singapore :) I am very bad at pastry and dough making too, so if I can managed you'll be fine :)

    penny aka jeroxie ,
    Thank you! It is very easy!

    Juliana ,
    Thank you very much!

    KL girl in MELB ,
    Thank you! Please do!

    CW ,
    Haha very late at night! Please try this and say goodbye to the shop bought ones!

    Yasmin,
    Thank you! I am very glad to hear that!

    Koek! ,
    Thank you! I hope you'll try it soon!

    Reshmi ,
    Thank you!

    Neetz ,
    Thank you very much! I hope they are helpful!

    Priti,
    Thank you! I bet your version is very nice!

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  27. wahhh pandainyer awak menebar roti canai tuh tummy! saya suka roti canaiii!

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  28. Wow! Love this! This is one of those dishes that I am 'scared' to attempt! You make it look sooo easy!

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  29. Hey buddy your roti canai looks amazing! we will definitely going to try making this over the weekend.

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  30. wah rajinnya Tummy ni dan pandai tebar roti canai..boleh buka kedai roti canai ni:)

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  31. whoa! you made your own roti canai? Tabik hormat ;P

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  32. My daughter will be happy to see this, she can't get enough of roti!

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  33. Looks so good and nicely done. I am hungry now ;)... We welcome you to take a look at our finalists and vote for them...

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  34. I heart roti canai!!! Thanks for the recipe!

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