Rakib AhamedROTI CANAI
October 31st 2010 10:51
Category: LOCAL CUISINE
Being a multicultural and cosmopolitan country, Malaysian food is derived from a number of traditions and cultures. There is a profound Multi-racial impact on the local Malaysian food. For instance, rice (which is a staple diet for most Malaysians), is served in a variety of ways. From short grained Japanese rice and fragrant rice from Thailand to Basmati rice from India and local varieties of rice, there is a lot to choose from and the choice stems from the cosmopolitan tastes of Malaysia and Malaysians.Apart from rice and noodles, Indian breads such as naan, roti and chapati are also an accepted part of the local food here- thanks to a dense Indian population in Malaysia.
One of the famous dish origin by indians is roti canai. Roti canai (pronounced "chanai," not "kanai") is a type of flatbread found in Malaysia, often sold in Mamak stalls. It is known as roti prata in Southern Malaysia and Singapore, and is similar to the Indian Kerala porotta.
Roti means bread in Hindi, Urdu, most other North Indian languages, and Malay while The word 'canai' in Malay means 'to knead'.
Roti canai is circular and flat. There are two ways to make roti canai that is either to twirl it until the dough becomes a very thin sheet and then folded into a circular shape or to spread out the dough as thinly as possible before being folded. Then the folded dough is grilled with oil. The first method is more popular and faster than the second.
The dish is composed of dough containing copious amounts of fat, egg, flour and water (although eggless vegan versions do exist). The form of fat used is usually ghee (clarified butter). Some people add sweetened condensed milk to the mix. The entire mixture is kneaded thoroughly, flattened, oiled and folded repeatedly. It is then allowed to proof and 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 iron skillet with a lot of oil. The ideal roti is flat, fluffy on the inside but crispy and flaky on the outside.
Traditionally, it is served with dal or 'dhal' (lentil) curry. It can sometimes be taken with sugar or condensed milk. More recently, various improvements on plain roti have been devised to suit Malaysians.
THE INGREDIENTS
600 g Plain wheat flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Warm water or milk
half cup Ghee or margarine
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Sugar
HOW TO MAKE IT
Sift the flour and salt together.
Knead flour, egg, sugar and ghee with water/milk (a little at a time) good enough to make a moderately soft dough or easy to handle.
Leave for 2-3 hours or overnight.
Divide dough into 8 equal parts.
Shape it into balls.
Flatten each ball with a rolling pin and fold in 1/2 teaspoon ghee.
Roll up dough and twist it into a coil. Pressing one open end onto the top.
Roll it again as thin as possible into a round shape.
Beginning at one of the open ends, roll up dough tightly and coil it again as before.
Roll out dough slowly onto lightly floured surface (to ensure air is not forced out).
Heat a pan.
Bake individually over a moderate heat.
Turn it over and spread a little ghee on it until both sides are golden brown.
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