roti prata/canai

roti prata/canai with curry

Roti prata as it is known in Singapore is also known as roti canai (I think in Malaysia). It’s one of my favorite breakfast eats when I go back home and I especially like it with onions inside. My MIL sent me a YouTube video of an Australian-Chinese lady (Poh) making Nyona chicken curry and roti canai. I was very excited to try it out as I am able to procure all of the ingredients here in the US. I haven’t tried the chicken curry recipe yet, as such the curry pictured above is from a pack bought in Singapore.

The roti prata is relatively simple to make. Just be careful not to add too much water to the dough. Add the water a little at a time. I also used my KitchenAid mixer to knead the dough but you can always do so by hand.

balls of rested dough

fried prata

I would highly recommend watching the video to get a good idea how to make the roti prata/canai. The roti prata/canai recipe is at the second half of the video.

Poh’s Roti Canai/Prata

(taken from here)

Ingredients:

• 500g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 1/3 cup water (I didn’t use all of it)
• 2 tablespoons condensed milk
• 2 tablespoons butter, ghee or margarine, at room temperature (and a little more for coating the balls of dough)
• 1/2 egg, lightly whisked
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil for greasing

Method:

1. Combine flour, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Make a well at the center of the dry ingredients and into it, pour the water, condensed milk, butter/ghee/margarine and egg. Work in a circular motion with your hand, gradually gathering more and more of the flour into the wet ingredients until you have a single mass. Tip all the ingredients onto the bench and knead until smooth and elastic. At this point the dough should not be sticking to the bench top. If it is, add a little flour and knead until smooth. Alternatively, combine all the dry ingredients in a stand mixer (using the mixer attachment) then add the condensed milk, butter and egg. Slowly add in the water and when you get a shaggy mess, change the attachment to a dough hook and knead till dough is smooth and elastic. You might have to add more water a little at a time.
2. Roll into a cylinder and divide the dough into 10 pieces. Knead each piece a few times to achieve a smooth texture, then shape into a ball. Gently cover each ball with butter/ghee/margarine and rest in a bowl. Cover in cling wrap and allow to rest overnight at room temperature.
3. After the overnight resting you will find the dough soft and stretchy. Start by oiling a substantial area of the bench liberally. Place one of the balls of dough onto the table and press down with the palm of your hand while moving it in a circular motion. This is just to flatten and smooth out the surface of the dough as much as possible before you stretch it. According to Poh, it takes a bit of practice to throw the roti the professional way and while it’s definitely quicker, an equally effective method is to work around the edges of the circle of dough, gently stretching the edges outwards as far and as thinly as you can before holes start to appear. The end result should be as thin as tracing paper and about 60-70 cm in diameter. This is what we did.
4. Pull opposite edges of the roti towards one another to overlap into 3 layers, each time drizzling a little oil between the layers. Fold this elongated shape into thirds again, drizzling more oil between layers, so you end up with a squarish shaped roti. You can also add chopped onions and/or an egg inside the roti at this stage.
5. Heat up your frying pan (I used a cast iron pan) on medium heat with a dash of vegetable oil and fry the roti until golden blisters appear on both sides. When cooked, immediately slide the roti onto a chopping board, wrap your palms around the edges and smash your hands together so the roti bunches up and flakes. Rotate the roti and do this several times while it is still hot.
6. Serve immediately with curry.